How we began 

I learned to knit from my grandmother when I was a child and, although life eventually took me into engineering and a very different career, I never really lost my fascination with it. I have always loved yarns, colours and the process of figuring out how something is knitted. Somewhere along the way, having my own knitwear atelier became one of those childhood dreams that never quite disappeared.

The idea for MKnitwear really came from something much simpler — I couldn't find the knitwear I wanted to buy.

I wanted timeless pieces made from 100% natural yarns. If something was described as cashmere, I wanted it to actually be cashmere, rather than turning the label over and discovering 10% cashmere mixed with mostly synthetic fibres. I wanted beautiful design, but I also wanted clothes I could actually live in. Too much of what I found was either very basic, unnecessarily bulky or designed with sleeves so long that I wondered who exactly they had been made for.

And unlike a jacket or a dress, knitwear isn't particularly easy to alter afterwards. You can't simply take a beautifully knitted sweater to a tailor and shorten it without potentially changing the whole construction of the garment. So I started thinking — why shouldn't knitwear be made to fit the person who is actually going to wear it?

That question eventually became MKnitwear and our Made to Measure service.

I didn't arrive here knowing everything about making knitwear. Far from it. I learned through visits to manufacturers, research, YouTube videos and probably more trial and error than I would like to count. I still learn something from almost every new piece we develop.

What hasn't changed is how personally involved I want to remain. I design our pieces, choose the yarns and personally do the final finishing and inspection. Before anything is packed and sent to a customer, it comes back to me.

Maybe that's the engineer in me, or maybe it's simply because my name is behind it. Either way, I wouldn't feel comfortable sending you something I hadn't checked myself.

Why We Make to Order 

From the outset, we decided that MKnitwear would work a little differently. Instead of producing large quantities of finished garments and hoping we have correctly guessed which designs, colours and sizes people will want six months later, we keep yarn and make our pieces when they are actually ordered.

It isn't the quickest way to sell clothes. We know that. We have all become used to clicking “buy” and expecting something to arrive almost immediately. Made to order asks for a little more patience because when you place your order, in many cases your garment doesn't exist yet. That is when we start making it for you.

For us, this is one of the most meaningful ways we can contribute to a more sustainable way of making fashion.

The traditional model relies heavily on forecasting demand, and forecasting is never perfect. Produce too little and you lose sales. Produce too much and you are left with finished garments that need to be discounted, stored, disposed of or somehow persuaded into somebody's wardrobe. We would rather have beautiful yarn sitting on our shelves than clothes nobody asked us to make.

We’re not suggesting that made to order suddenly makes fashion completely sustainable. It doesn't. Yarn still has to be produced, garments still have to be made and parcels still have to travel to our customers. We simply believe that producing according to genuine demand is a more considered place to start.

There is another side to it that has nothing to do with sustainability.

There is something rather special about knowing that your piece wasn't pulled from a warehouse shelf. We start making it because you chose it. Someone selected your yarn, knitted your garment, finished it and prepared it specifically for your order.

Yes, you have to wait a little longer.

We think some things are worth waiting for.

It Starts With the Yarn

We can spend as much time as we like discussing design, knitting techniques and finishing, but the truth is that you cannot make exceptional knitwear from an ordinary yarn. Quality starts with the fibre, long before a garment ever reaches the knitting machine.

This is why we choose to work with yarns from Filati Biagioli Modesto. The Italian mill has been working with exceptional natural fibres for generations, with its expertise in fibre research dating back to Modesto Biagioli’s work in the 1960s. What we particularly appreciate is that their attention to quality starts at the source. The mill maintains relationships with shepherds and fibre producers, fibres are selected carefully and individual lots are analysed before entering production.

With cashmere, details that may be completely invisible when you first look at a sweater — the fineness and length of the fibre, its colour and where it comes from — make a very real difference to the yarn and ultimately to the garment made from it. Alongside cashmere and baby cashmere, Biagioli works with exceptional natural fibres including Australian merino wool, silk, yak, camel and linen.

Quality, however, shouldn't come at any cost. Biagioli's approach also considers the people, animals and environments behind its fibres, supported by recognised initiatives and standards including the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, Responsible Wool Standard and Good Cashmere Standard.

Could we buy cheaper yarn? Of course. But then we would have to compromise on the very thing MKnitwear was created around.

So we would rather start with an exceptional natural fibre, choose the knitting technique that allows it to perform at its best, and take the time to finish the garment properly. You may not know every technical reason why one sweater feels different from another when you put it on — and frankly, you shouldn't have to. You should simply be able to feel the difference.