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Practicality Meets Passion: Mary Lou Egan Finds Inspiration on the Needles
Mary Lou Egan’s mother taught her to be a knitter. Teaching others is what made her a knitwear designer.
Mary Lou Egan calls herself a “yarn first” designer. “When I design for patterns or publications, I almost always start with the yarn. I swatch and play with it to figure out what the yarn and swatch wants to be,” she explains. “I test out stitch patterns to see what works together and what is not annoying to knit. Some yarns are not meant for certain stitch patterns, no matter how great either is on their own.” After swatching, Mary Lou makes rough sketches with some draft dimensions. “I design on the needles, really. It means a lot more ripping out, but I can’t get it all figured out before I cast on the actual project.”
Mary Lou tests out stitch patterns to determine how the yarn behaves. Photo by Mary Lou Egan
Mary Lou based the popular and practical Chore Jacket she designed for the premier issue of Farm & Fiber Knitson a similar style she made for herself over 10 years ago. “It was getting a bit stretched out, and I’ve always wanted to make a pattern for it,” she says. An avid gardener and horseback rider living in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Mary Lou knows the importance of rugged layers.
The original version had a shawl collar and was knit in yarn from Starcroft Fibers. “Jani [Estell of Starcroft Fibers, in Maine] had dyed a sweater quantity of their Nash Island yarn in a color I loved, and I went to work making my (almost) perfect jacket,” she says. “I didn’t end up really loving the shawl collar, so I jumped at the chance to redo the jacket for Farm & Fiber Knits. Nash Island yarn is being redeveloped, so wasn’t available.” (Read Mary Lou’s article about Jani, Starcroft Fibers, and the unique sheep of Nash Island, “Sheep to Shore,” in the premier issue of Farm & Fiber Knits.) “The Harborside Aran I used is a perfect sub—the mixture of Columbia and Rambouillet is soft, wooly, and just springy enough.” She went with the stand-up collar she wished she had used the first time and put in modified drop sleeves instead of the set-in ones of the original. “The pockets are similar, because I love the size and the angled top.”
The author and the original version of her Chore Jacket. Photo at left by Gale Zucker; at right, by Mary Lou Egan
Her mother taught her to knit, but with seven kids, Mom didn’t have much time for crafting. “She taught me to make two-needle mittens from an old Jack Frost booklet, which I still have,” she laughs. She returned to knitting
Mary Lou Egan calls herself a “yarn first” designer. “When I design for patterns or publications, I almost always start with the yarn. I swatch and play with it to figure out what the yarn and swatch wants to be,” she explains. “I test out stitch patterns to see what works together and what is not annoying to knit. Some yarns are not meant for certain stitch patterns, no matter how great either is on their own.” After swatching, Mary Lou makes rough sketches with some draft dimensions. “I design on the needles, really. It means a lot more ripping out, but I can’t get it all figured out before I cast on the actual project.”
Mary Lou tests out stitch patterns to determine how the yarn behaves. Photo by Mary Lou Egan
Mary Lou based the popular and practical Chore Jacket she designed for the premier issue of Farm & Fiber Knitson a similar style she made for herself over 10 years ago. “It was getting a bit stretched out, and I’ve always wanted to make a pattern for it,” she says. An avid gardener and horseback rider living in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Mary Lou knows the importance of rugged layers.
The original version had a shawl collar and was knit in yarn from Starcroft Fibers. “Jani [Estell of Starcroft Fibers, in Maine] had dyed a sweater quantity of their Nash Island yarn in a color I loved, and I went to work making my (almost) perfect jacket,” she says. “I didn’t end up really loving the shawl collar, so I jumped at the chance to redo the jacket for Farm & Fiber Knits. Nash Island yarn is being redeveloped, so wasn’t available.” (Read Mary Lou’s article about Jani, Starcroft Fibers, and the unique sheep of Nash Island, “Sheep to Shore,” in the premier issue of Farm & Fiber Knits.) “The Harborside Aran I used is a perfect sub—the mixture of Columbia and Rambouillet is soft, wooly, and just springy enough.” She went with the stand-up collar she wished she had used the first time and put in modified drop sleeves instead of the set-in ones of the original. “The pockets are similar, because I love the size and the angled top.”
The author and the original version of her Chore Jacket. Photo at left by Gale Zucker; at right, by Mary Lou Egan
Her mother taught her to knit, but with seven kids, Mom didn’t have much time for crafting. “She taught me to make two-needle mittens from an old Jack Frost booklet, which I still have,” she laughs. She returned to knitting[PAYWALL] in college when her then-boyfriend persuaded her to knit him a Doctor Who scarf, which he promptly left in the school library. They broke up (the curse of the boyfriend scarf?), but that only encouraged her to knit more. “This was pre-internet, of course, so I borrowed books from the library and taught myself. That’s when I discovered Elizabeth Zimmermann, who opened all sorts of doors for me.” EZ gave her the courage to stop trying to follow patterns and design her own projects.
But Mary Lou says it wasn’t until she started teaching knitting years later, and started writing patterns to teach from, that her passion for knitting really set in. “I love sharing what I know, and helping new knitters be successful. It is less about showing students what I can do and more about showing knitters what they can do. I keep my patterns fairly simple and straightforward to build confidence and encourage creative changes.”
The body of the Chore Jacket is worked in one piece to the underarms, then the left and right fronts and back are worked separately.
Recently retired from a career in in Community and Economic Development, with a focus on affordable housing, Mary Lou now has more time to focus on all the things she loves: designing, teaching, reading, horseback riding, and gardening. “My husband and I were fortunate enough to find an old house with a large lot right in Saint Paul. The garden has grown and changed over the 20 years we’ve lived here. Flowers, vegetables, and berries. I love going out to harvest for dinner and then making extra to freeze. Those meals are like money in the bank come January! My current favorites are Moussaka and Stuffed Cubanelles with peppers and eggplants from the ‘back 40.’”
Co-author of two knitting books—Wearwithall: Knits for Your Life (840 Books, 2012), with four pals from her LYS, The Yarnery in Saint Paul, and Drop-Dead Easy Knits (Clarkson Potter, 2016) with Gale Zucker and Kirsten Kapur—Mary Lou loves the collaborative spirit of the fiber community. “I’ve made many good friends and have learned so much from each of them. I’m grateful to those who have helped me along the path. I think working with your hands benefits so many areas of life. I hope to facilitate that passion in others and plan keep doing it myself!”
Follow Mary Lou’s farm, equestrian, and knitwear adventures on Instagram @mlegandesign.
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.
