In fashion and culture, knitting resurfaces cyclically through the decades, each generation rediscovering this ancient craft with fresh eyes and renewed perspective. In the early 2000s, Heidi Klum embodied this resurgence when she charmed interviewers during her Project Runway days with a simple admission: “I knit on planes—I’m crafty, you know.” Her declaration helped reframe the perception of knitting from grandmother’s hobby to sophisticated pastime. What began millennia ago as practical necessity—creating warmth, protection, survival—has evolved into something far more nuanced: social ritual, creative expression, cognitive exercise, and now, luxury indulgence.
The craft’s origins trace back over a thousand years to the Middle East, where the oldest surviving knitted artifacts—intricate Egyptian socks dating back to the fourth century—reveal sophisticated colorwork and shaping techniques. These weren’t crude attempts; they were masterworks, suggesting knitting was already well-established. The technique likely evolved from nålbinding, an earlier single-needle method, eventually spreading through Mediterranean trade routes to Europe. By the fourteenth century, fishermen across the Scottish Isles relied on hand-knit sweaters, the natural wool oils providing weather protection at sea. The craft moved from survival tool to status symbol when European nobility commissioned silk stockings, elevating knitters to guild-protected artisans.
Egyptian, 4th to 5th century AD
Single-needle ‘knitted’ wool
Today, knitting transcends its folksy reputation. Olympic diver Tom Daley transformed the perception entirely when cameras caught him knitting poolside at the 2021 Tokyo Games, creating a Union Jack medal cozy between dives. Today, his brand Made With Love by Tom Daley collaborates with Woolmark on a certified merino wool yarn collection and with Lion Brand Yarn on seventeen exclusive colorways. Athletes recognize what knitters have always known: the repetitive motion improves finger dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor control—skills that translate directly to performance, whether catching a football or executing a perfect dive.
This understanding inspired my own Signature Pillow collection. Knitting has long carried a “crafty,” homespun connotation, but as someone who’s been knitting since age ten, I wanted to reinterpret it through a minimalist lens while using premium materials. Each pillow I designed is knit three-dimensionally in pure merino wool around a color-matched sateen-covered feather down insert, finished with an invisible kitchener stitch that mimics the knit fabric itself. The result: truly seamless luxury, where traditional craft meets contemporary design.
Knitting remains what it has always been—a craft for all ages, a deep winter comfort, an expression of creative individuality, and increasingly, a modern luxury. The loops that connect yarn also connect us: the fabric we knit literally wraps around our bodies, holding us close. We gather in groups to share the rhythm and ritual, needles clicking in quiet conversation. We spend countless hours crafting garments only to give them away to those we love most—the ultimate act of devotion. These same loops connect us to centuries of history, to each other across generations and geographies, and to the meditative rhythm of creating something beautiful with our own hands.
Photos | Victoria and Albert Museum · Made With Love by Tom Daley
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