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Meet The Designers
Skill Builder Yarn Club
We're thrilled to introduce the designers who are collaborating with us on our Skill Builder yarn club boxes. Each of these talented designers will use their expertise to create a pattern that introduces the featured technique for their box in an approachable way, and illustrate its strengths and possibilities. Club members will receive a box every two months with the exclusive club pattern, plus enough of our beautiful hand-dyed yarn to knit it with!
Steeking - January Box 2026
Jennifer Beale is a self-taught artistic knitwear designer living on the Avalon Peninsula in St. John’s. In her pre-kid life, she was an atmospheric scientist obsessed with the Need to Know about everything atmospheric physics, fog in particular. She has a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science, and an M.Sc. in Physical Oceanography.
After her son was born in 2017, this is * wear * she's ended up: designing handknits in the land of fog instead of researching fog in the land of fog. She loves writing patterns and designing, puzzles and mysteries, and colourful, enchanted and epic things.
You can find Jennifer's patterns on Ravelry or knitjbealedesigns.com and connect with her on Instagram @knitjbeale.
Brioche - March Box 2026
Michele Lee Bernstein designs and teaches from her home base in Portland, Oregon. She’s fond of texture (brioche, lace, entrelac, elongated stitches, assigned pooling), and loves using interesting techniques to make patterns sing. She fell in love with brioche in 2017, and it’s still her favorite kind of knitting.
Michele loves teaching knitters to be the boss of their knitting! Her book, Brioche Knit Love: 21 Skill Building Projects from Simple to Sublime combines her love for teaching and designing, using simple accessories to guide knitters through mastering brioche.
Michele blogs about knitting, food, and music at PDXKnitterati.com. You can also find her patterns on Ravelry and connect with her on various social media as @pdxknitterati
Double Knitting - May Box 2026
Duke Akiba (under the designer name “Duke of Nikko”) is a knitwear designer based in Philadelphia. He was born and raised in the suburb of Tokyo, Japan. He moved to the U.S. shortly after college and established his career as a project manager in Automotive, IT Services and Banking industries.
Duke started knitting in 2010 and released his first knitted design in 2019. His works have been featured in Ancient Arts Fibre's collections, Radicle Threads Magazine, Knotions Magazine, Nomadic Knits, etc. He enjoys colourwork knitting and is especially interested in incorporating his Japanese heritage in his colourwork designs.
Beaded Knitting - July Box 2026
Galina Zapletnuka is a Latvian knitwear designer based in Riga, whose diverse background includes TEFL teaching, mobile development, and work as a professional seamstress.
Galina focuses primarily on knit accessories worked in garter stitch with a twist. She enjoys various techniques like short-row shaping, double knitting, intarsia and especially beaded knitting, a passion she discovered in 2017.
You can find Galina's patterns on Ravelry and Payhip and connect on Instagram @gz_designs. She also has a dedicated YouTube channel for the different knitting techniques she uses in her patterns.
Past Designers
Check out our past collaborations with some of our favourite designers!
These Skill Builder Boxes are now available for purchase as individual boxes to focus on learning a particular skill.
Mosaic Knitting Box
Arella Seaton is an Estonian knitting pattern designer, living, knitting, and designing in England. Estonia is a small Baltic country with a big knitting tradition, famous for Haapsalu lace and colourwork knitting.
After working in many techniques for years, Arella learnt about mosaic knitting over ten years ago. Shortly after grasping the fundamentals of mosaic pattern creation, she began to design her own distinctive charts. Her inspiration comes from her native Estonian folk costumes, travel, architecture, and art.
You can find Arella's patterns on Ravelry or at arellaseatondesign.com and connect with her on Instagram @arellaseatondesign.
Lace Knitting Box
Based in Montreal, Gabrielle Vézina is a knitting pattern designer and author who finds beauty in the balance between logic and creativity. With a background in programming and a lifelong love of fiber arts, she crafts elegant and cozy designs that invite knitters to slow down and savor every stitch.
While lace holds a special place in her heart—reflected in her book Lovely Lace Knits—she delights in exploring a wide variety of techniques. Thoughtful construction, soft textures, and timeless details define her work, bringing warmth to both the maker and the wearer.
You can find Gabrielle's patterns on Ravelry or at gabriellevezina.com and connect with her on Instagram @gabrielleknits.
Stranded Colourwork Box
Faye Kennington is the designer behind UkeeKnits, creating knitting patterns that keep things interesting. Whether it’s bold colourwork, clever construction, or quick wins, her designs are all about skill-building with a fun twist.
Based on Vancouver Island, BC, Faye believes knitting is the perfect escape from the daily grind—a peaceful, hands-on distraction that lets you focus, create, and maybe even learn something new along the way.
You can find Faye's patterns on Ravelry or Payhip and connect with her on Instagram @ukeeknits
Cables Box
Fatimah is a newly relocated Vancouver based knitter and cat lover. She learned to knit as a young adult and started modifying patterns immediately. For the last 10 years, she's been designing and making custom knits, writing knitwear patterns for all genders, and creating an inclusive community on Instagram. In her spare time, she curates a gin collection and listens to music.
You can find Fatimah's patterns on Ravelry or disturbingthefleece.com and connect with her on Instagram @disturbingthefleece or Bluesky @disturbingthefleece.com.
Our Cable Box will be available for individual purchase in January 2026.
© 2026 Sweet Paprika Designs.