Meiju Kallio’s soft, stunning designs are making waves across the knitting world—discover Meiju’s hit pattern on Kotona!

Meiju, what’s on your needles right now?

I have quite a few projects in progress! I’m about halfway through a cardigan. It’s taken a bit longer than usual because I’ve had to cut back on knitting due to an aching elbow. I also just finished binding off two pairs of wool socks. At work, in between meetings, I’ve been knitting a sweater.

Indeed, we often see you knitting at the office! In what situations do you knit?

I can concentrate better when I knit. That’s why I sometimes bring my knitting to meetings. I also knit often while watching TV or listening to an audiobook.

Sometimes I knit standing up or while walking, for example at knitting events or in line at the coffee machine. Then I hang a small yarn bag on my left wrist, and if needed, I wrap the project around my right arm to lighten the load. Soon I might be knitting in my sleep!

Have you always enjoyed knitting?

My grandmother taught me to knit when I was in elementary school, and I enjoyed it even then. Somehow, I grasped the process right away.

When I was a teenager, I made my own sweaters from separate pieces without following a pattern, then seamed them together. I rode horses at the time, so I also knitted riding gloves.

Your Meiju Knits social media has followers worldwide, and people knit your patterns a lot in the U.S., for example. How did you become an internationally known knitwear designer?

I stopped knitting during my studies, but when I was expecting my first child, I picked it up again. After my second child was born, knitting became even more important to me. My baby was allergic and cried constantly, sleeping only when rocked. It was mentally exhausting—there was little time for housework, and I barely managed to feed myself and my older child. Often, I’d sit in our garden swing, rocking the stroller with my foot and knitting. Knitting was psychologically important because it was purely for me, not for anyone else. It helped me get through that tough year.

Around that time, I was part of a lovely group of mothers, and whenever we met, we knitted. We often dealt with confusing instructions, and I ended up clarifying them. I also wanted to adapt patterns to create exactly the kind of garment I had in mind.

My first pattern was for wool socks, then I designed a beanie. I shared them for free on the international knitting community Ravelry. Not long afterward, I needed a cardigan pattern but couldn’t find one that suited me. So I tried making my own and listed it for sale on Ravelry. I earned about 30 euros, which felt so rewarding! Eventually, I realized I might cover my yarn expenses by selling patterns, so I started designing more.

I have a master’s degree in social sciences, specializing in social psychology, and I’ve worked at Statistics Finland, among other places. Over time, I began earning more from my knitting patterns, so I decided to try part-time entrepreneurship.

I’ve always written my patterns in English, which helped me find a broader audience beyond Finland. As the years passed, my social media following grew, and now I have more than 30,000 Instagram followers. Designing patterns remains an important side job for me—it helped me tremendously after my divorce, when I bought a single-family home in Helsinki.

How does it feel to create patterns for others?

When I worked on my first cabled cardigan pattern, it took me six months. I worried so much about whether the instructions were right that I didn’t dare publish them. In the end, Silversmith Hoodie became one of my most popular designs, which is funny to look back on now. I’ve developed a rhythm and confidence in writing patterns, and I’ve published around 250 on Ravelry.

I’ve always focused on designing pieces that I personally love. There’s usually a little detail in the stitch pattern or construction—cables and lace are my favorites. It’s important to me that my patterns are detailed and easy to follow. I appreciate the style of English-language patterns, which tend to be more richly explained than Finnish ones. I clarify every technique, and for the most challenging parts, I create tutorial videos.

What’s the most fun part of knitting?

For me, the best part is that there’s still always something new to learn and innovate. A fresh technique or a more efficient way to do something. Those insights can be small, like a new way to cast on or bind off, or a hack to make bobbles look neater. And I love passing on that learning—each pattern is an opportunity for knitters to learn something new.

What do you most and least enjoy knitting?

I love knitting bigger items like sweaters and cardigans—there’s simply more to knit. I also enjoy repeating patterns because they help me relax. When I knit, I quietly repeat the stitch sequence in my mind, something like knit one, two together, yarn over, ssk. It’s like a mantra that puts me in a flow state. Meanwhile, I can think about other things, and that’s often when new ideas spark—or I might remember that I need to empty the washing machine!

I’m not a fan of knitting wool socks because they’re done too quickly. But I’d much rather knit a new pair than darn an old one—mending feels like a chore.

What are you planning to knit next?

I always have a swirl of ideas about what I want to knit next. I just visited Woolen Affair and New York State Sheep and Wool festivals in the United States, where I bought yarn for five sweaters and cardigans. I’ve also been exploring my leftover yarn stash lately and trying to use it up.

Check out one Meiju’s most popular free patterns below!

1. Easy yoke sweater

The simple yet stylish yoke sweater pattern has been very popular on Kotona.

“I wanted to create a pattern that even a fairly new knitter could handle. A sweater made with chunky yarn knits up relatively quickly.”

Still, Meiju wanted a little twist, so she included stripes and eyelets formed by purl stitches and yarn overs. You can skip the purl stripes if you want a simpler sweater.

See the instructions for the easy yoke sweater here. [in Finnish]