The two-color brioche Brooklyn Mitts that Olga Putano designed for the premier print issue of Farm and Fiber Knits would be right at home during the chilly winters on her own farmstead. In the Endless Mountains region of northeastern Pennsylvania, she and her family raise chickens and pigs, keep bees, and grow most of their own produce. Having grown up with artistic parents and farming grandparents, it makes sense that Olga would end up living a creative life in the country, but she never thought knitting would be so central.
Born in Ukraine, where she lived until she was high-school age, Olga picked up the crafting bug early. She lived in a household where creative pursuits were encouraged: her mother sewed and knitted most of her daughters’ clothes while passing those skills along to them; her dad was a cab driver by day and an artist and poet by night. Both sets of grandparents raised farm animals, instilling Olga early on with a dream of homesteading.
Olga feels that knitting is “the perfect way for me to express my creativity every day.” Photo by Kristen Rice Photography
As a child, Olga loved to go to work with her grandmother—at a knitting factory! “I remember the first time I saw those huge knitting machines humming away and churning out a sleeve in seemingly no time, it was absolutely mind-blowing to me,” she recalls. Occasionally the machine her grandmother was working at would malfunction, and a sleeve would be rejected. “I was thrilled when she’d let me take one of those mistakes home so I could unravel it and knit something for my doll. Yarn wasn’t so easy to come by in Ukraine at that time.”
That may be where she became fascinated by knitting, but Olga was actually a sewist before her knitting career took off. “My favorite class in high school here in the States was Fashion, with Math being a close second. I had learned the basics of sewing from my mother, but the formal classes taught me how to design without a pattern and gave me the confidence to realize I was quite good at it!”
Olga is known for her seamless colorwork yoke sweaters. Photo by Kristen Rice Photography
She parlayed sewing into a business after she married and had two daughters, beginning by making dresses for the girls for fun. Dressmaking soon became a cottage industry for Olga . . . until she had two sons, and no time. “As our household expanded and I became increasingly more tired in the evenings, going into my sewing room was the last thing I wanted to do! I just wanted to sit on the couch and relax. So, I picked up knitting again, as I had done countless times throughout my teen and young adult years.” Olga laughs, “You could say I came to my knitting career through exhaustion!” At the same time, she discovered the huge community of knitters on Instagram, many of whom were around her own age. “Modern knitting patterns, hand-dyed yarn—oh my! My mind was blown by knitting once again. I started making all the shawls and eventually a sweater. After, I think, my third sweater, I began to see the similarities in the construction, and my math-loving brain started understanding how these patterns were made.” Olga Putano, knitting designer, was off and running.
Best known for the beautiful seamless colorwork yoke sweaters showcased in her first book, Only Yoking (David & Charles, 2023), Olga also likes to explore other techniques, including brioche. “I love knitting colorwork because it feels like I’m painting with yarn. But, personally, I tend to wear more subdued styles, which is why I began experimenting with “quieter” designs as well. Knitting offers so many possibilities. It’s the perfect way for me to express my creativity every day.”
The main color in the cuffs of Olga’s Brooklyn Mitts becomes the background as contrasting shades are added in the body of the mitt.
In addition to prolific knitting, somehow Olga Putano has time to raise four kids, numerous farm animals, and food for her family, and work on a second knitting book! Keep up with her creative and homesteading journey on Instagram @olgaputanodesigns.
Karin Strom has worked in the yarn industry for many years. She was the editor-in-chief of Yarn Market News, editorial director at Interweave, and most recently editor of the premier print issue of Farm & Fiber Knits. She has served as creative director and consultant for yarn companies and publishers. Karin lives, gardens, and knits in an 1850s farmhouse in northwest New Jersey. Find her on Instagram @yarnstrom.