Warm toes and a warm mind – knit a pair of new Aalto socks for yourself or your loved ones!

Knitting is becoming ever more popular, and it’s easy to see why. Knitting is fun and rewarding, and studies indicate that it’s also good for your health. The task of following knitting instructions and the peaceful movement of the needles can offer various benefits. Among other things, they can improve motor skills and memorization, and also reduce stress and depression. Knitting can help you focus during a remote meeting and calm your mind when world events make you anxious.

Marja Niemi, Development Manager at the Aalto University School of Science, and Outi Elina Kansanen, Development Manager at the Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering, are colleagues, friends and experienced knitters. They have now published two patterns of wool socks for members and friends of the Aalto community: a model for simple logo socks and another for slightly more complex pattern socks. They have also made a logo sock model for babies.

The journey from idea to implementation was fast.

’We find it easy to start working whenever we have new ideas. We often do projects together, both at work and in knitting’, Kansanen explains.

If knitting is new to you or you haven’t done it in a while, tips and tutorials can be easily found online. There are also plenty of groups in social media where you can ask help from other knitters.

Niemi and Kansanen note that small mistakes do not matter much in knitting. Even having to unravel some of your work isn’t a big setback if you have an encouraging knitting partner.

’For us, being a member of the Aalto community is about supporting each other through even the biggest difficulties. This also applies to colour work knitting’, Niemi says.