Designer Spotlight on SweaterFreak

September 10, 2017 3 Comments

For this Designer Spotlight, it is with great pleasure that Yarn Loop can introduce Jenny Faifel, the knitwear designer known as SweaterFreak. SweaterFreak is the label for a wonderful collection of women's sweaters, cardigans, cowls, shawls & hats that have modern & minimalistic styling. Jenny's strong background in mathematical thinking (she is a software developer by day) can be seen in the scale and proportions of each garment as well as the beautiful color repeats.

Jenny in her Four on Six shawl

You can see Jenny's sense of personality in her posts on the SweaterFreak Knits Ravelry Forum. Her laid back style and friendliness show through in her readiness to help a fellow knitter. She is always there to clarify by means of photo tutorials and written instructions on the forums. I mean, come on...SweaterFreak definitely describes someone who is poking fun at something that is extremely important to themselves! However, there is a certain eloquence to her work, too. Carefully chosen words, perfectly written patterns, beautifully described landscapes and colors, and delicate descriptions are layered throughout her blog at SweaterFreak.com.

The Interview:

SweaterFreak's designer, Jenny is a bit of a chameleon, fitting in wherever she goes, adapting quickly to her environment, and always engaging and helpful. While this may seem a strange analogy, I think that these are very wonderful attributes that are rarely found in a single person. She was born and raised in Russia where, Jenny says, "knitting traditions are going strong...I learned how to knit as a young child." She made the hike across the sea to British Columbia, Canada, as a teenager when her mother and stepdad re-located. She quickly learned the lay of the land, putting her needles aside through most of her formal education in computer science, but with her friends' encouragement, Jenny published her own projects starting in 2011 because she says, "I almost never followed existing patterns." While Jenny does crochet as well, she states that she "prefers knitting because it gives me better control of my stitches, and I love the look of knitted fabric."

Jenny typically uses Light Fingering or Fingering Weight yarn but does dip into sport & DK weight projects as well. She finds that these lighter weights are ideal for the weather in the Pacific Northwest. "We don't get a real winter very often so light wool sweaters and shawls can be worn virtually all year round." While she has a rich heritage stemming from 100% wool yarns, Jenny also dapples in Wool/Mohair blends, alpaca and Wool/Silk blends because of their luscious sheen.

SweaterFreak patterns have a very modern edge, showcasing lean shaping and wonderful patterning. River Springs, Inverse, & the Ridge Cardigan (shown above, left to right) are beautiful, contemporary pieces layered with stripes of color or texture. Jenny loves top-down sweater construction because "You can try it on as you go to make sure you are on the right track." And you know, that with a name like SweaterFreak, your garment is going to fit perfectly. The attention to seaming and detail in all of Jenny's patterns still leave me breathless.

Inverse is one of my favorite designs because of its playful use of color in the striping and the seaming (shown below) which creates a very fun and youthful sweater that even an athletic thirty or forty-something year old can wear. Jenny has made wonderful tutorials on her blog regarding striping techniques in the round which can be found here.

The Ridge Cardigan is a completely different animal with broken textured lines around cuffs and hem in one colorway. This cardigan also has thoughtful details like using short rows to create slanted cuffs and interjecting a side vent so that the lower hem does not pucker.

Her work is expansive, including gorgeous shawls that drape just right and have bold yet intuitive colorwork in just the right spots. If you want to make a gradient piece, pick up Biased Transitions (orange/grey shawl pictured above) or the extremely popular Everyday Shawl. The Everyday Shawl is aptly named due to its versatility.

If you would rather have a playful colorwork piece, try the Zee Wrap!, Mind Games or Savoy Truffle (shown below, left to right). The Savoy Truffle is in the "Top-Down Sideways Triangle" shape that Jenny invented. The Top-Down Sideways Triangle shape uses short rows instead of the traditional triangular shape that requires 50" circulars. Helpful Tip: You can combine your interchangeable cables to make a longer one; just make sure to have the Cable Connector; it is worth the investment if your set doesn't come with one.Jenny has a great imagination, so there is a project for every speckled, gradient, variegated or solid colorway.

Jenny loves modern design but has a knack for putting a new twist on traditional icons as well. In the Vesica Piscis series, this well-known emblem decorates a hat, cowl & pullover in simple and repeatable Fair Isle. I especially love the Vesica Piscis Pullover with the traditional yoke design and a touch of colorwork along the bottom edges. It is a wonderful fusion of age old techniques and a modern sensibility. I always suggest that newer knitters try colorwork with just 2 colors like the Vesica Piscis pieces and use the 2-Handed Knitting Technique which Philosopher's Wool explains in this video.

Jenny also has an outstanding collection of cowls, some of which are inspired by nature and others by geometry. The innovative shaping and draping of the Volga cowl (below left) is inspired by nature. This fantastic piece is named after the Volga River and its "endless sea of blue-grey" as Jenny describes it on her blog. Other designs have bold geometrical prints like Lucky No. 7 and Mix No. 29 (below middle & right), both featuring zigzags in very different styles.

I love SweaterFreak's versatility and individuality. While I can see common threads throughout Jenny's work, I can also see the evolution and adaptations that have created an amazing designer. I hope that her work continues to grace our needles for many, many years to come.

KAL Announcement!

I hope that you can join me on the Tilted Cowl Knit Along which starts on September 11th! We have several beautiful kits ready to go based upon Jenny's recommendations. I know that we have very little time to get your kit to you, so please enjoy free Priority shipping on any Tilted Cowl Kit by using code TILTEDSHIPS through September 20th. Look for our Instagram posts (snippets only until the unveiling; we don't want to spoil the fun!) as this project takes shape.

The Softer Side - A Tribute to Elena Nodel

While Jenny never specifically said anything about Elena Nodel's fight with cancer, I could tell that she had a special relationship with Elena and Colour Adventures, Elena's yarn line. Jenny acts as forum moderator on Ravelry for Anadiomena's Adventures (Elena's forum at Ravelry) and has multiple projects on Colour Adventures yarns. While these yarns are in a transitional phase after Elena's recent demise, there is hope that the brand will continue under the wings of A Twist of Yarn in Vernon, BC and will continue supporting Elena's wonderful husband Peter and daughter Maya. Please visit Elena's Ravelry forum, Anadiomena's Adventures for updates.

Although she mentioned nothing about it in our interview, Jenny was a great friend to Elena. Jenny collaborated with other fellow designers to do a fundraiser for Elena's family by releasing an eBook called New Beginnings. In this collection, Jenny contributed a lovely shawl called Chemistry (seen above). "The shawl is dedicated to my dear friend, Elena Nodel who passed away this June. She loved bright fall colors and the shawl was originally made for her as a birthday gift. We met in a college chemistry class over 20 years ago and her bright smile, generosity and strength of spirit will remain with me forever."

Jenny also has a sentimental tie to Birch Sap (below) which was one of the latest collaborations with Colour Adventures. This seemingly complicated pattern combines "easy and wearable construction and everyone's favorite, Old Shale lace!" The Birch Sap is also in the Top-Down Sideways construction.

I am sure that Elena was one of the friend's that encouraged Jenny to create SweaterFreak. I am so thankful that amazing designers like Elena take the time to encourage other knitters to develop their craft and expand their repertoire. It just goes to show that no matter where you are or what you are doing, we all have the power to inspire those around us.

Special Discounts

At Yarn Loop, we always like to encourage crafters to try new designers and projects. Please enjoy 15% off of all of SweaterFreak designs throughout September by using code NEWKITS15 at checkout. And please remember, we are still adding kits for SweaterFreak Knits designs! Please check back in one week to see the new kits.

I hope that you have found this Designer Spotlight with Jenny of SweaterFreak Knits enlightening and entertaining. Please feel free to comment on anything you found particularly enjoyable, and please make suggestions for who should be interviewed next!