Making Stories: Knitting Sustainably

Issue 5 / INSIDE NATURE   
Available now!

With Making Stories Magazine, we strive to feature companies and makers who focus on sustainability, transparency, fairness and equity in their work.

We love telling their stories and hope to inspire and enable crafters to make conscious and informed decisions about the materials they use and companies they support. 

Issue 5 / INSIDE NATURE explores the hidden qualities of plants and nature to shed a light on the essential role they have for us and the planet.

The 12 knitwear designs featured in this issue celebrate nature in all its glorious ways through texture, shape and form – as do the artists and writers who dive deep into the connection between nature and making in their works.

The designers featured in this publication include: Audrey Borrego, Barbara Gottwik, Courtney Spainhower, Dana Kikic, Fiona Alice, Heidi Reszies, Jennifer Brou, Joan Forgione, Ksenia Naidyon, Madeleine Renarde, Marianne Munier, and Thien-Kieu Lam.

As always we have used gorgeous sustainably made yarns, this time from: De Rerum Natura, Echoview Fiber Mill, Frida Fuchs, John Arbon Textiles, Knitting for Olive, La Bien Aimée, Maison Corlène, Swans Island Company, The Fibre Co., Triskelion Yarn, Whistlebare, and woollenflower.

Also:

• Marina Skua celebrates the first signs of spring in her beautiful poem “Emerging”

• Camille Rosselle explores the connection of fiber and music in her comic “The Song”

• Inês Peixoto dives into the threads that connect fiber and nature in her essay “Material Connections”

Issue 4 / SUBVERTING THE NORM is an invitation to take a look at the craft we love and share as a way of challenging the status quo, changing standards that no longer serve us, and, yes, subverting the norm. 

In its pages you’ll find accessory and garment patterns that do just that by introducing us to a new technique, a unique construction method, a brave design inspiration. Stories about body image, size inclusivity, and queer identity, shared by a handful of wonderful authors and illustrators, invite you to sit down, read, and question.

The designers featured in this issue include Hanna Lisa Haferkamp, Marina Skua, Julie Robinson, ash alberg, Renate Kamm, Julie Exner, Sari Nordlund, Maria Muscarella, and Crystal Hiatt.

Yarn partners include: BC Garn, Biches et Bûches, Erika Knight, G-uld, Marina Skua, Tulliver Yarn, Walcot Yarns, Wing & A Prayer Farm Yarns, and YOTH Yarns.

In addition to the designs, three fantastic contributions are featured in Issue 4:

• ash alberg shares deep, thoughtful, and inspiring insights into norms and standards and their story in “on being ‘queer enough’”

• Caroline Frett illustrates her view on standards beautifully in “Miss Me With Your Bullshit Norms”

• Crystal Hiatt dives into her story as a plus-size designer and inclusivity activist in “Embrace”

Issue 3 / GROWTH explores the topic of Growth with patterns that reflect this inspiration both in their stitch patterns and construction. All of them have been selected with an eye towards versatility in wearing as we're entering spring and autumn, both transitional seasons where layering is key.

In terms of editorial content, Issue 3 looks at Growth from a few different angles: It includes a fantastic conversation among a few fibre business owners who share their views on business growth and sustainability, Gaye Glasspie (ggmadeit) dives into what sustainable growth meant and means for her, Alina Jordan explores the depth of Social Media and how its growth has changed her life as a knitter, and Ani Lee opens up about growing to appreciate her body.

Includes 8 designs by A L Leong, Claire Walls, Making Stories, Nataliya Sinelshchikova, Sari Nordlund, Stephanie Earp, Valentina Cosciani, and Vanessa Pellisa. Yarn partners: De Rerum Natura, Garthenor Organic, Lino Mūka, mYak, Stolen Stitches, The Fibre Co., Triskelion Yarn, Woolly Mammoth Fibre Co.

Issue 2 / LOVING & CARING includes cosy accessories and comfortable garments that are inspired by loving and caring for ourselves, our community and our planet. We’re delighted to share the extraordinary stories and visual art pieces of our contributors with you, from discovering the love for your body to finding the common threads in your communities and having necessary conversations on inclusion and racism.

Designers & contributors include* Ainur Berkimbayeva, Beatrice Perron Dahlen, Camille Romano, Caroline Frett, Carolyn Kern, Catarina Seixas, Dawn Henderson, Ema Marinescu, Jeanette Sloan, Joanne Seiff, Leeni Hoimela, Nicole Bracey, Renate Kamm, Susanna Winter, Theresa Shingler, and Verena Cohrs.

Issue 1 / CHANGE contains thoughtful accessories and versatile garments that are designed with change in mind - change in seasons, in the way we work and live, in our choice of materials. We’re proud to be able to share the fantastic work of writers and visual artists with you with pieces that range from disability and knitting to body image, from queering the knitting status quo to what change means for our lives.

Designers & contributors include Adrienne Larsen, Armenuhi Khachatryan, ash alberg, Camille Rosselle, Cheryl Eaton, Felicity Ford, Jennifer Barrett, Joanna Ignatius, Lauren Wallis, Linolimon, Lorna Hamilton-Brown, Maddie Harvey, Nataliya Sinelshchikova, Ocean Rose, Rhiannon Owens, and Skeinwalker.

WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT MAKING STORIES MAGAZINE?

We’re (to our knowledge) the only ad-free knitting magazine on the market today. We believe in preserving our independence when it comes to deciding who we feature and work with through not accepting any ads for this magazine. 

We’re printing on 100% recycled paper, one of the few that’s certified not only with the EU Ecolabel and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, but also with the Blauer Engel certificate. 

We’re keeping production and fulfilment as local as possible, working with Druckhaus Berlin-Mitte as our printer, the first printer to be certified with Blauer Engel, and with Urbanmail as our fulfilment and shipping partner, both here in Berlin. 

WHO'S BEHIND MAKING STORIES MAGAZINE?

Making Stories GmbH is an independent knitwear design publisher based in Berlin. 

We believe in choosing to use resources and capacities, be they human, environmental, social or financial, in a way that can be sustained in the long run. We believe in being aware of and actively reflecting on all parts of our (work) process and communicating them openly and honestly. We believe in treating all living beings involved in our work fairly, respectfully and lovingly and in caring about and for their physical and mental well-being. We believe in not discriminating against anyone based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, health, physical appearance, economic situation, education or any other factor, being mindful of what that means for their lives and their stories and working towards a world where everyone is free to create the life they wish to live.

Details:

• 7.9" x 10.3" x 0.4”
• Approx. 400g
• 136 pages, completely ad-free 

*Note: Issue 2 had originally included an article by Nathan Taylor (Sockmatician). After his behavior online and offline which is deeply at odds with the values we base our work on, we’ve re-printed the portion of the magazine where his article should have appeared so that it does not longer appear. We’ve also put in place additional action steps, from donating 6% of profits of Issue 2 to anti-racism causes to figuring out a way to cover / remove his name from the cover. You can read more about these here.

Images courtesy of Making Stories magazine. Photographer: Melinda Dela Costa