Made from Scratch

Hi. I’m Karen, and I’m the gal behind MSGK. I’m from Dublin, Ireland, and when I’m not knitting I write and I run. Let me tell you a bit about how Miss She’s Got Knits was born.

I first learned how to knit as a child in school. My primary school teacher invited some of the parents in to help us get started and my mom volunteered. I loved it. I made a snake. Well, it was a long, thin, scarf but at that age it could have been anything.

I sewed and crafted a little as a teenager, buying up the cheaper stuff from Hickeys and making my own clothes. I originally wanted to go into costume design after school, but went a different direction.

Fast forward to the pandemic I found myself furloughed from work and with some extra time on my hands. My mom packed up a few balls of yarn I had sitting at home for years and told me knitting might help me ignore the news for a bit. I caught the knitting bug fast, and before I knew it, was creating my own designs, my own patterns, and friends wanted me to make pieces for them. At the end of 2020, I set up @MissShesGotKnits on Instagram to document my hobby and before long was being asked by some lovely people I met there to knit for them, too.

Knitting is a slow process, especially for a relative beginner. When I start something new, I think of it as painting with yarn. I feel like it's my way of expressing myself - through wool and thread and colours and stitches and shapes. It takes me time to turn out a garment but I love to do it, and I get a real kick from seeing someone wear something I made. The first time a friend sent me a photo in one of my jumpers I felt like I had found something I'd been looking for all my life. I really felt like this is what I'd be happiest doing.

I've always loved fashion, loved the whole scene. But I never in a million years would have imagined myself as a maker.

Now I run MSGK, a knitwear label that’s about having fun with traditional techniques, and feeling joy in the clothes we choose to wear.

I’m excited about the future, of where this will go. For now, thanks for reading down to this part of my bio. You seem cool. Let’s be friends.

UPDATE OCT 2022

As Miss She’s Got Knits begins to develop as an actual business, I am very privileged to now be aided by some very talented local knitters (in one case, very local - my own mother) who are as dedicated and passionate about creating beautiful knitwear as I am. This is a very exciting chapter, and allows for a little more time and flexibility in other areas, including future planning, new designs, more time communicating with customers and all the admin I never really considered was going to take up close to a day a week when I started! I hope that by bringing together a small, skilful team of talented knitters, Miss She’s Got Knits will become a stable business with longevity in mind.

CLICK HERE for information on sustainability at MSGK.