Veera Välimäki — What Makes a Classic Knit
Veera Välimäki is a renowned Finnish knitwear designer whose latest book, My Dream Knits, is a collection of 20 enchanting patterns Veera considers her absolute essentials: timeless favourites made to be worn, lived in and loved for years to come.
We chatted with Veera about her book and her career — and even got to know her dream line-up for a knitwear designers’ dinner!
Hi Veera! Could you introduce yourself briefly?
“I’m a 43-year-old knitter living in Southern Finland, in the small village of Karjalohja. My two boys have already moved on their own for studies, so I’m living with my husband and our two elderly cats. Knitting truly is my passion — not a day goes by without at least a few stitches. But I also enjoy all kinds of sports; this summer’s favourite has been running.”
Your new book, My Dream Knits, is a collection of pieces you consider your absolute essentials. How long have these patterns been living in your dreams?
“These knits truly are the knitted wardrobe of my dreams — the title doesn’t lie! Some of them, like the Wivi cardigan and the Signe slipover, have been in my sketchbook for at least five years, but there are some more recent additions, too. The Salli skirt, for example, made its way to the book this year; mostly because I made my first skirt only last year, and now I simply love knitted skirts. I love the variety of knits in this collection: there are many simple sweaters, but also more complex patterns. Most importantly, I feel that every single design is something I love to wear.”
The book’s patterns are intended to be timeless pieces you will wear for years. What, in your opinion, makes a classic knit?
“I hope the designs have styles that don’t go out of fashion anytime soon, if ever. Classic sweaters, turtlenecks, cabled raglans — those are designs that always look good. But more personally, classic to me is something that I find easy to wear and easy to style. I hope these pieces make their way to be the cornerstones of your knitted wardrobe, too.”
Name one favourite piece from the collection! How would you style it?
“I love the Aili sweater a lot! There’s something about the simple all-over 2 x 2 rib, worked with double-stranded silk mohair, that I just adore. I originally planned the Aili sweater to be styled with the Salli skirt, also worked in 2 x 2 rib. But in the end, we styled the pieces separately. I hope that only shows how many ways there are to style these garments and accessories: both with the knitted and non-knitted items in your wardrobe. Fun fact about these two is that the pattern names, Aili and Salli, come from a Finnish architect, Aili-Salli Ahde.”
You use many of your most beloved yarns in the book. Name a few current favourites!
“The yarns were selected completely based on what I love! I am very partial to the combination of holding silk-mohair together with a fingering-weight yarn. I always feel that it gives any knit extra durability and a longer lifetime. These combos are also plentiful in this book: the Helmi and Wivi cardigans, the Martta sweater, and the Signe slipover, to name a few! I also love the Novita Halaus yarn that you can see used in the Elsa sweater. Bought from my local supermarket (see, I can’t even go to a grocery store without buying a sweater quantity!), I find it a very good yarn to knit with, and it seems to hold up well.”
You are one of the most established Finnish knitwear designers with a long career behind you. How has your approach to design changed during that time?
“I’m very lucky to have been doing this dream job for as long as I have! What a privilege! My approach to design, however, has pretty much stayed the same: I always try to create those knits that are either missing from my life or that inspire me technique-wise. My obsession for a long time was stripes and short rows, but lately I’ve been venturing into techniques that I’m less familiar with, like intarsia.”
Is there still something you’d like to learn or get better at?
“This might be a bit embarrassing to admit, but in nature, I’m quite haphazard, so even after all these years as a designer, there always seems to be some errors in my patterns — even in the final ones. I’m doing my best to get better at it, though!”
How has the knitting community evolved during your time?
“The knitting community has grown so much! I love that the power of the Internet has made knitting so readily available to so many — just think about all the tutorial videos making it easy to learn for newer knitters, for example. I also love that the community aspect of knitting seems to keep growing. We have knitting clubs, knitting festivals, great yarn stores all over the world and online — and at least in Finland, we still have yarn available in many grocery stores. This hopefully lowers the threshold for grabbing your needles.
When we can buy a ready-made sweater with very little money from a store, we should make knitting something special to invest our time and money in. With knitting, you get more than just a sweater; you learn new skills and hopefully also find a community.
When and where do you typically knit, and what does knitting feel like for you?
“I love to knit all the time and would do just that if I could. It’s surprising how much time one spends on the computer as a knitwear designer — and I even knit 99% of all my samples. While working on the samples of this book, I think I knitted more than ten hours a day, but most of the time the hours are more reasonable than on that stretch.
Knitting to me is just a way of life now. I take my knitting everywhere, and I also knit everywhere: trails, bars, gatherings… But the best way is to knit on my couch, with a cat or two, often watching football (or almost any sport, for that matter). I love how knitting keeps my hands busy and soothes my mind. It’s like an instant relaxation and my happy place.”
If you could invite three knitwear designers for dinner, who would they be?
“Oh, a great question! A dream knitting dinner! I would, of course, invite my best friend Joji Locatelli. She’s the best company one can hope for, and there’s no better person to talk all things knitting with! There’s never a dull moment with Joji. I would also love to invite Norah Gaughan, so I can learn more about cables. And finally, I would love to invite Midori Hirose because I have never met her and love her design aesthetic.
I would serve pizza and wine, and we would talk all things knitting!”
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