Anne Ventzel: “Knitting Made Me Stronger”
There have been many milestone patterns in the knitwear designer Anne Ventzel’s career: such as the colourful scrap-yarn version of her Spot Sweater she knitted for a knit-along during the Covid lockdowns, which became a surprise hit, or the cosy Badger Sweater she designed to be the ultimate beginner-friendly colourwork sweater.
But one very meaningful pattern is her Balabeanie, which she designed in 2023, having just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Anne wanted to create a hat to keep her head warm after losing her hair in chemotherapy. The simple beanie and hood set was worked in cashmere, which felt extra soft against her shaved head.
“That became a special design, designed especially for that period. It’s funny to wear the beanie now — it makes me realise how meaningful small things can be, like when you put on a hat and hair comes out from underneath it. It’s wonderful to have my hair back, to be honest.”
Two years after her diagnosis, Anne, 51, is cancer-free. The Danish designer lives in Copenhagen with her sons, Leif, 12, and Viggo, 17, and works full-time in her own business.
“Right now, I just love my everyday life,” Anne says.
Finding her path
Anne is one of the most popular knitwear designers today, but becoming one wasn’t an obvious path. Anne grew up in the city of Odense. Creativity was always inherent in her: she was knitting, drawing and sewing from a young age, making garments for dolls and modifying her clothes. School, on the other hand, was a struggle.
“It was hard for me to read and write. In fact, I didn’t feel like I was very good at anything other than the creative stuff.”
Even though Anne dreamt of becoming a designer, the idea seemed unrealistic. She knew design schools usually required a gymnasium degree (the Danish equivalent of secondary school), which felt impossible. Anne also sang and played music, and for years, she directed her ambitions there. However, when Anne was in her early twenties, a friend encouraged her to send her portfolio to a design school. She got in — despite the missing degree.
After graduating, Anne worked for major Danish fashion brands such as Bruuns Bazaar, Selected Femme and InWear. After 20 years in the industry, in 2022 she decided to focus solely on her knitwear design business. Anne loved her job, and leaving wasn’t an easy decision — but it was definitely the right one.
“When you work in the fashion industry, there are so many factors you have to consider, but this process comes purely from me.”
The foundation for creating her own knitwear patterns was built early on. Anne remembers how her mother taught her to knit socks: They never used a pattern or bought new yarn: instead, they sat side by side, and her mother showed her the basics of sock construction, using leftover yarn.
After childhood, Anne didn’t really knit for years, but when she got pregnant with her firstborn and couldn’t find patterns for kids' garments she liked, it felt natural to create them herself. Encouraged by her then mother-in-law, she sent a few patterns to a publisher. In 2016 and 2017, Anne published two books with kids' patterns — a process that taught her the basics of pattern writing.
However, even though Anne enjoyed making books, she felt she needed to find another way to publish her work. Compiling a full set of patterns for a book takes about a year, by which time her perception of her earliest designs had often changed, and she might want to revise them. At that time, a few other Danish designers had started selling single patterns via their websites.
“This solution was ideal, as it allowed me to publish the pattern while my idea was still fresh. Creativity is at its peak when an idea first emerges, and rather than revising finished pieces, it’s more rewarding to let these initial sparks inspire new work. As a designer, the pursuit of the best, most beautiful design is a lifelong challenge.”
The Danish style
Anne is drawn to textures and colourwork with strong Scandinavian influences. Simple stockinette-stitch sweaters are not really her thing.
“So many other people do it so very well! When I tried to create a simple solid-colour sweater last spring – which became my Mono Sweater — I still had to integrate some dotted lines along the shoulder and necklines!”
Anne has seen knitting become increasingly popular in Denmark in the past ten years — a huge contrast to when she was a teenager in the 1980s. Anne sees a few reasons for this: for one, it’s something tangible and local.
“We can be present in the whole world so easily via our computers, but we need some kind of nearness in our lives,” Anne says. “Doing things with your hands is also something you can control. The world is changing so much, and we have these huge environmental concerns. It can be scary and make you think, ’How can I make my own little world a nice place?’”
on her knitwear design business. Anne loved her job, and leaving wasn’t an easy decision — but it was definitely the right one.
“When you work in the fashion industry, there are so many factors you have to consider, but this process comes purely from me.”
The foundation for creating her own knitwear patterns was built early on. Anne remembers how her mother taught her to knit socks: They never used a pattern or bought new yarn: instead, they sat side by side, and her mother showed her the basics of sock construction, using leftover yarn.
After childhood, Anne didn’t really knit for years, but when she got pregnant with her firstborn and couldn’t find patterns for kids' garments she liked, it felt natural to create them herself. Encouraged by her then mother-in-law, she sent a few patterns to a publisher. In 2016 and 2017, Anne published two books with kids' patterns — a process that taught her the basics of pattern writing.
However, even though Anne enjoyed making books, she felt she needed to find another way to publish her work. Compiling a full set of patterns for a book takes about a year, by which time her perception of her earliest designs had often changed, and she might want to revise them. At that time, a few other Danish designers had started selling single patterns via their websites.
“This solution was ideal, as it allowed me to publish the pattern while my idea was still fresh. Creativity is at its peak when an idea first emerges, and rather than revising finished pieces, it’s more rewarding to let these initial sparks inspire new work. As a designer, the pursuit of the best, most beautiful design is a lifelong challenge.”
Open about being sick
In autumn 2023, Anne found a lump in her breast. Two weeks later, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, which had spread to the lymph nodes. She went through half a year of chemotherapy, followed by surgery and radiation treatment. Last summer, Anne underwent reconstructive breast surgery, where they built a new breast out of a muscle from her back.
Anne remembers how, even though the diagnosis was a shock, it was also a relief: the scariest part was not knowing. During those two weeks, Anne was supposed to give a presentation at a large yarn festival. For days, she pondered if she would be able to do it.
“Then I decided to just be honest with the audience. It was a really warm experience, and it became an important lesson for me to be open about being sick. We all have our own struggles in life, even though everything can look so perfect on social media.”
Anne continued the openness on Instagram. She has always seen it as her window out to the world, and creating content there has been an important part of her work: not just promoting patterns but showing her everyday life and offering inspiration. She was scared that talking about cancer might make people lose interest; instead, she was overwhelmed by the support. Many people wrote that they or someone in their family had been through the same, and it helped Anne to think: ”I can go through this because other people have, too.”
From the start, Anne’s doctors believed that she would survive: it would be hard, but she would make it. That became her mantra, which she also reassured her sons. Because she lives alone with them, she knew they would also have to see her at her weakest moments.
“I needed them not to be afraid. If I was crying, it wasn’t because I thought I was dying — it was just a tough ride.”
It was important for Anne that their life remained as normal as possible. This meant that she kept working as much as she could — after all, yarn and needles were something she could bring with her to the hospital.
“Knitting made me stronger. It helped me shift my focus from being sick and all the things in the process I couldn’t control.”
Asking for help
Now, the cancer is gone, but Anne still has follow-ups every three months. Life has slowly returned to its regular routines — one important milestone was being able to start running again. Before cancer, Anne would run four times a week; often, solutions to problems came when she dropped her needles and put on her sneakers.
“When I had to stop running, it felt like one more part of me was taken away.”
What has cancer changed, then? The most significant shift was realising that you don’t have to do everything yourself. And that if you like to help others, others might like to help you, too. Anne remembers how her neighbours would stop by the door for five minutes and bring food in boxes for her and her boys: a small, wonderful gesture showing her, ‘We are here for you.’
“I have never been good at asking for help; I think it comes from my mom. She grew up on a farm where it was important to be able to do every part of the process yourself. So, learning to do everything myself was also how I built up my little business.”
Now, Anne is outsourcing more and more. Getting help with things such as graphic design also gives her time to focus on her main gig — the pattern writing.
“And it’s wonderful to give work to other people, so they can make a living doing what they are best at.”
This is also the thing that never ceases to amaze Anne: making a living out of what she is best at.
“If you had asked me when I was a child if it was possible to build a career from hand knitting, I would never have believed that. I feel really humble and glad.”
TEXT: MAIJA KANGASLUOMA
PHOTOS: JACOB CRAWFURD
This feature was first published in Laine issue 27.