Sticking to the Knitting

British Olympic diving gold-medalist Tom Daley, who is known for his passion for knitting, signed a deal with Woolmark in October to become a brand ambassador for merino wool, with a line of signature knitting kits planned as part of the agreement. He becomes the latest of a handful of celebrities who have lent their names over the years to lines of yarns and/or patterns for knitting and crocheting. These collaborative products, which can be limited editions but often remain on the market for years, have credibility because of the celebrity’s deep passion for and time spent on the pastime: 

• Daley’s products with Woolmark will be introduced next year. The diver’s hobby went viral during the Olympic Games in Tokyo and again in Paris, as pictures were shared of him calming himself by knitting before competitions. That led Daley to found Made With Love, a knitting and crocheting brand with a strong presence on social and traditional media, in November 2021. In November 2022, Daley released a knitting book with Dey Street Books called Made With Love that includes 30 knitting and crochet patterns. In December 2021 he had introduced a line of Made With Love kits encompassing knitted cardigans, pullover sweaters, hats, scarves, blankets, and plush toys, sold through retailers such as LoveCrafts and John Lewis. He is reportedly set to host a “cut-throat” knitting competition show called Game of Wool on Channel 4 in the U.K.; the production is currently accepting applications for contestants.  

• Ella Emhoff, textile artist, fashion designer, and stepdaughter of Kamala Harris, launched a collection of limited-edition kits with We Are Knitters, a community of knitting enthusiasts, in 2023. They included the patterns, yarn, and other materials needed to make a headscarf (the “granny bonnet”), a skirt, a tank and bandeau set, or a sweater; the granny bonnet kit remains available for sale. Emhoff’s lifelong love of knitting became known to the public after her outfit at the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris went viral and her celebrity grew. She leads a knitting club in New York City that has generated visibility in a variety of publications and operates a how-to knitting site on Substack.  

• Actress Krysten Ritter paired with We Are Knitters for a limited-edition knit scarf kit in 2017 at the time she was starring in the Marvel TV series Jennifer Jones. That led to other kits as well, including for sweaters; a pullover sweater kit is currently available on the We Are Knitters site. Ritter’s knitting patterns have appeared in publications such as Vogue Knitting. 

• Home expert Martha Stewart began a long relationship with Lion Brand in 2011 under her Martha Stewart Crafts brand. The line featured materials such as wool, alpaca, acrylic, and hemp and included a variety of yarn types, from glitter to fringy eyelash to extra-thick mambo. A few years earlier, Lion had published a pattern of the hand-knitted poncho Stewart wore when she left prison after serving time for insider trading, which crashed its website. 

• TV host Deborah Norville had a decade-long relationship with Premier Yarns for The Deborah Norville Collection of affordable knit and crochet products. The program started in 2008 with four yarns and expanded to a variety of offerings made from materials such as wool, alpaca, and bamboo. In addition to hosting news and celebrity programs including Inside Edition and Today, Norville fronted Knit and Crochet Now, a show airing on public television stations around the U.S., for a time.  

• Wheel of Fortune letter-turner Vanna White, an avid crocheter, has overseen the Vanna’s Choice brand of worsted acrylic and rayon yarns from Lion Brand since 2006. The range has expanded to more than 100 unique colors over the years, with 35 hues currently available. Some of the proceeds from every sale are donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, raising more than $2 million for the organization so far. This is one of the most high-profile and longest-lasting celebrity yarn lines to date. 

• Author Debbie Macomber paired with Universal Yarns in 2005 for a line of products under the Blossom Street brand, named for Macomber’s 10-book series of romances, which are centered in a yarn shop. At the same time, the author, an avid knitter, released her first of several books of knit and crochet patterns under the Blossom Street name, with Leisure Arts, which are still available. 

These celebrities’ love for knitting or crocheting came to light, for the most part, after they gained fame for other pursuits. The yarn industry also has had a number of collaborations in place with knitting and crochet celebrities whose renown came from their expertise in this specialty. They have included, among many others, Nordic knitting specialists Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrison (known simply as Arne and Carlos), who collaborated with Australian Country Spinners for a line of superfine merino wool; knitting expert and feminist commentator Debbie Stoller, who debuted Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller yarns with Red Heart Yarns in 2011; yarn crafts influencer Vickie Howell, who has partnered over the years with the likes of Quince for knitting and crochet kits and South West Trading Company (SWTC) for yarns; and crochet artist and doll maker Aniqua Wilkerson, who collaborated with Lion Brand in 2021 on a line of yarns called Skein Tones, which represented a whole range of complexions.

It should be noted that celebrities are not the only collaborators in this space, as knitting and crochet craft kits have long been tied to properties ranging from character/entertainment IPs (Star Wars, Miffy, Outlander, and Schitt’s Creek, to name a few) to fashion designers (Isaac Mizrahi, Karl Lagerfeld). 

While actors, TV hosts, athletes, and other celebrities who have credibility in this niche are relatively few, many of those who have entered the knitting and crocheting sector have created products that have resonated with their fans, and some have managed to maintain significant longevity in the marketplace.