Susan B. Anderson turned a passion for knitting into a family business | MADISON MAGAZINE

A bear in a coat buttoned up to its chin, a slumbering toadstool doll wrapped in a leaf, and a pig wearing overalls and a pom-pom hat. Each of these whimsical creatures was imagined — then created as an 8-inch-tall woolen toy — by Susan B. Anderson, an avid knitter and the co-founder of Barrett Wool Co.

Anderson learned to knit when she was a teenager, guided by pamphlets and printed patterns she bought at a local fabric store. Over time, the hobby became a career: Anderson published six knitting books, taught knitting workshops around the country and designed knitting patterns for yarn and knitting companies. By 2016, she was ready to branch out on her own — just as her son, Evan Anderson, was graduating from the Wisconsin School of Business. The duo started Barrett Wool Co., a small business run out of Anderson’s home that sells knitting patterns, kits and wool yarn that’s spun, dyed and skeined in the United States.

Anderson finds special joy in selling kits, which invite customers to engage with the craft of knitting. “People write [to] me all the time,” Anderson says. “They’re so proud of finishing a project.”

When Anderson creates a new garment, garland or toy, she takes painstaking notes about each step of the process. Her instructions need to be both comprehensive and easy-to-follow. To fine-tune a new pattern, Anderson will often knit the item over and over again, tweaking her handwritten instructions until every stitch is accounted for.

“I love that a lot of my patterns are timeless: They’re charming, make people feel good [and] make people smile,” Anderson says. “There’s nothing too serious about it.”

Table of Contents

From the Artist: Susan B. Anderson

Creative Inheritance

I was just a real crafty kid, and I grew up in a creative family. … My mother was a lovely seamstress and just a make-do kind of person who always came up with creative ideas to solve basically any problem or need or want. I just kind of had that mentality.

Sharing the Joy

I want whatever item it is that I’m creating to be instantly recognizable. And then what I really focus on is making it achievable and doable for knitters. So, my patterns are detailed but not convoluted. They’re concise. I want [following a pattern] to be fun and achievable.

The Little Things

I do a lot of seasonal designs. I’ve always had this interest in small, cute little things. I can’t really explain why, but I’ve always loved children’s storybooks, children’s literature and illustrations.

Dynamic Duo

[My son] Evan and I, we are just good buds. We love working together. He’s created a whole world for me where I kind of feel like any idea I have — and I’m an idea machine — he will make it happen.