Today is the day I finally get to bring you part 2 of the Face Behind the Brand series! The idea behind this series is to get to know some of the kind and gifted makers I’ve met on Instagram a little better. It’s also the perfect opportunity to introduce you to some of my favorite fellow creatives and small businesses. I will be interviewing them, and asking them to share more about their brand and personal interests.
First up for this series was Charlie from Charlingual, and for today’s post I got to interview Alix Kramer from I Run This Knit! Alix is a wildly gifted knitwear designer and a full time MSW student. Besides coming up with the most beautiful designs, she’s also passionate about advocacy and filling gaps she sees in the maker community.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and I Run This Knit!
I am a part-time knitwear designer and full time MSW student. I started I Run This Knit two summers ago right after I knitted my first garment (the basic bralette by Sara Knits Co.), but I’ve been knitting since I was 7. My grandma taught me to knit at age 7, and I didn’t start designing garments until 2019, the same year I started I Run This Knit! My day to day is either going to my social work internship or classes at U Chicago, and then working on knitting patterns or with my part-time creative agency job in the evenings and on weekends.
How and when did you get the idea for I Run This Knit?
I didn’t realize that I Run This Knit would ever be as big as it is, so when I was deciding on the name I meditated on my choice for less than a minute before creating the Instagram handle! Looking back, I probably wouldn’t have made any other choice – I Run This Knit is just the perfect name for it – but it’s wild to think that a split second decision to create an Instagram called I Run This Knit has lead to where I am now.
What are some of the things you (regularly) do for your brand?
For my part-time job, I actually run social media for a creative agency, so I am well-versed in marketing and social media. I try to apply all of the principles I do for my clients in my own business, which can be really hard! Mostly I try to make sure that I am posting regularly in both my feed and stories, linking to products for sale, promoting IRTK whenever I can, and sharing other makers to my stories. I recently started a Patreon which I update regularly, posting a special color work chart each month, and I started a newsletter to share promos and updates with IRTK subscribers.
How would you describe the “I Run This Knit Style”?
I think something I really love about the maker community and being in knitwear is that, for me, there is huge overlap between my personal brand and my knitting brand. I would describe IRTK the same way I describe myself: bold, outspoken, open, creative, and passionate.
What are you hoping to add to the maker community (or change in it) with I Run This Knit?
I love how the maker community highly values equity and inclusion, and while I think it’s leagues above other communities, I’ve still seen a lot of room for growth. I initially noted that the community is very culturally hegemonic when it comes to winter holidays, and the majority of patterns revolve around Christmas, and start being advertised as early as July! Working on Jewish education and advocacy to primarily introduce makers to Judaism (many of my knitting friends from outside the US have had little education on what Judaism is) and to bring awareness to the cultural imperialism that is seeping into the maker community from larger society was my initial goal, alongside creating Jewish patterns and non-denominational seasonal patterns (primarily for winter and spring, which are Christmas and Easter dominant). I recently also undertook a campaign during June to encourage makers to support LGBTQIA+ owned businesses during the month, as I saw that many straight makers were profiting off the month in a way that was inappropriate. Currently my efforts are focused on this Jewish pattern making and education, but I am always honored to be able to use my platform to do any type of advocacy.
What’s something you really want to design?
Oh man, I have so many things I want to design. My biggest design that has been on the back burner because it’s just a super ambitious project not just to knit the sample but especially to then grade for multiple sizes is a Ten Plagues sweater for Passover. I am really hoping to get that done in time for Passover this year, but I have a bunch of patterns in the works right now (cable sweater collab, winter mittens, Hanukkah mittens collab, Hanukkah vest collab, and Valentine’s Day vest collab) that the jury is still out on if I’ll be able to get a Passover sweater done in time. Luckily, the holiday comes every year, so I will have so many more opportunities to make it!
What’s your favorite design so far?
I feel like all my designs are my children and it is so hard to pick favorites. I have a special place in my heart for my Pop Art Cardigan, since it was the pattern that really launched my Instagram and helped me hone in on a niche. I think my favorite pattern is the Ugly Hanukkah knit, though, because it was my first pattern to help fill the gap in winter holiday patterns and the response to it from makers who finally felt represented was incredible. I have two other patterns that are very demographic specific that are also so important to me: The Pronoun Top (which is currently in testing) and the Spoonie Top. I was especially overwhelmed by the response to the Spoonie top because I didn’t realize just how many knitters there are also chronically ill. It is by far my favorite part of the job to be able to make patterns for people who don’t normally get patterns.
What are some of the goals you’ve set for I Run This Knit?
At this point, all of my goals are patterns! I have planned out the next year of patterns, just because it takes a month or two for me to knit the sample and grade the pattern, then two months for testers, then if the pattern is for a holiday I want to release it a month before… so there’s a lot of backwards planning to make sure everything is done on time! I think a big goal of mine is just to keep growing and educating makers on how to make the community even more inclusive and to be able to reach as many Jewish knitters as I can.
Where do you see I Run This Knit in 5 years?
In five years I will hopefully be in Germany getting my PhD, studying Jewish discrimination! At that point I would love to be able to make more of an income from IRTK to support me while I am getting my research done, and to continue to use the platform to educate, hopefully pulling in some of my research for infographics. By then I hope to have covered all major Jewish holidays when it comes to patterns and to just keep putting out accessible and inclusive patterns. Oh, and to have inspired many people to learn to knit or to learn to knit garments!
What’s your ultimate dream for I Run This Knit?
My ultimate dream for IRTK is to start and be able to fund a charity organization that brings volunteer knitters into hospitals to teach inpatients how to knit. I know how much it meant to me to be able to knit when I was inpatient at the hospital, and I want to be able to supply resources and bring the craft to people to give them the joy of creating in a space where they are so limited.
How and when did you get into crafting?
My grandmother taught me how to knit and crochet when I was 7. She is an incredible knitter, and back in her heyday was absolutely leagues above me in terms of skill level. I made only scarves and hats and blankets all through grade school and college, and it wasn’t until 2019 when I moved into garments. I had complimented my mom on a cable sweater she was wearing and she told me my grandma knit it – and that was the impetus I needed to try and make a garment! I started with a sweater from Gorilla Knits and the basic bralette from Sara Knits Co and my obsession took off. I went from a casual knitter to an avid knitter, and now you can’t find me without at least a project (usually two or three) in my bag.
What’s your favorite craft?
I’m not sure if this is a trick question, because it’s definitely knitting! I love many crochet things, but don’t enjoy crochet nearly as much as knitting. (I’m trying to get my girlfriend to start crochet so that between the two of us we can make every cool pattern!) I also recently learned how to spin yarn with a drop spindle and I love to do that, although I have surprisingly little patience for it in relation to knitting so it’s progressing very slowly.
Favorite thing you’ve ever made?
I think this is the same as my favorite design – my pop art cardigan is absolutely one of the most precious things I’ve ever made. I am unfortunately too nervous to actually wear it, so it’s currently sitting in my closet… but I am the most proud of it when it comes to finished garments.
Favorite yarn(s) or fiber to work with?
I am all over the board when it comes to yarns and fiber – I love working tiny sock yarn on tiny needles and I love using super bulky yarn on huge needles too. My go to yarns for pattern designing are either acrylic (Lion Brand’s Wool Ease or Loops & Threads Impeccable), because I love how accessible it is price-wise, or a merino wool DK yarn. I love working with indie dyers like Isabelle Fiber Company and The Yarn Addict Co and I’m looking forward to upcoming collabs with other yarn dyers.
What are your other hobbies – besides crafting?
I am someone who absolutely cannot sit still. When I’m not knitting (which is most of the time) I am biking or reading or unraveling sweaters or singing or photographing (I used to be a professional photographer) or traveling (when safe) or trying to learn how to sew or watching TV with my girlfriend. My favorite hobby is definitely photography, although I have to admit that because I used to be a professional wedding photographer I still do shoot professionally, but rarely. When wedding referrals come in I am happy to take them, but I’m not longer actively marketing myself since I have so much on my plate!
Thank you so much taking the time to answer my questions, Alix! I loved getting to know you a little better.
That’s it for the second part of the Face Behind the Brand series! You can find Alix on Instagram, Patreon, and Facebook. She also has her own website. Alix’s designs are available in her webshop. I will soon be interviewing the next maker for this series, so stay tuned!
