Unique knits for children

I’ve been driving up the steep Divisadero Street hill toward the San Francisco Bay for as long as I can remember, but each time the colors and the light inspire me – whether it’s the foggy grays and pastels, or bright blues contrasting with their surroundings.

Looking at, and searching for color has always been a kind of happy obsession of mine. You could call it a passion.

But it wasn’t until I discovered knitting about 30 years ago, that I found a way of turning that lifelong obsession into something functional, that could be shared.

Even before knitting, I started expressing some of that obsession as a child, through crafts taught to me by my mother and grandmother . I loved, and still love the textures and attention to detail involved in craftwork – all the little things that came together to form a larger picture.

When I was 10 my grandmother used to take me to the fabric store, where I would follow her and my aunt for hours, fascinated, picking out the fabrics that would be whipped into exquisite, long gowns and coats. My grandmother showed me how to visualize the final product. I learned that from her.

Beading, needlepoint, sewing, embroidery and knitting… I can’t think of any of it without also seeing my grandmother and mother.

One of my favorite places and memories as a child – and probably to this day, if it hadn’t burned down – was visiting an old button and ribbon shop in Sausalito with my mother. Bejeweled buttons and rows of ribbons were tucked away in winding nooks and crannies. Going there was like going on a treasure hunt.

I feel the same kind of excitement now, when I enter a place like the yarn factory in Peru that is producing the Peruvian cotton yarn for the sweaters I design and sell. A single thread is pulled out of a huge bin of cotton and spun into giant cones, or pyramids of color, that fill the factory. Walking through there is like wading through a sea of color. Another world.

After experimenting with various different crafts, I realized knitting gave me the breadth I needed to make an endless variety of items.

I quickly began adapting patterns to fit my body type, and designing my own patterns about 20 years ago. I also got in the habit of making sweaters for my many little nieces and nephews. It felt good knowing I had made something special that no one else had. So after 12 years in the retail world of accessories and jewelry, 4 years in wholesale for Swatch, and 13 years at Fossil accessories, I decided to launch my own brand of infant and children’s sweaters.

I hope you are able to sense some of the joy that has gone into these products, and perhaps even a small part of this other world of color, texture and detail, that has gripped me all these years.

Sarah

Lauter

Blanket & hat sets
100% cotton