The Knitter - UK (2019-08)

IF YOU are a knitter or
crocheter, the chances are
that you have a KnitPro
knitting needle, hook or
accessory in your project
bag. KnitPro has swept the
globe since its launch ten
years ago, but there is so much more to the
brand than its high-quality products. At its
heart is an inclusive, philanthropic ethos
that drives the business.
KnitPro is part of a family-run company
with a factory in Jaipur in Rajasthan, India,
a wonderful city that is more than a
thousand years old and is well known for
its historic forts. It is also famous for its
handicrafts, and its talented workers who

pass their skills down from generation to

generation - the ideal workforce for KnitPro.

In 1988 the group that owns KnitPro

started a company to make high-end paint

brushes for artists. They manufacture up to

2.5 million brushes each month, turning

quality wood and assembling a number of

components. “One day, while visiting a

customer, a representative from the brush

company noticed a display of knitting

needles and this set him thinking. The

basic skills for making brushes and

knitting needles are very similar - and so

KnitPro was born,” explains Shirish Jain,

Vice President of Marketing at KnitPro.

The first two ranges, launched at the

beginning of 2009, were Nova, and the

much-loved Symfonie needles. Jain

continues: “At the time there weren’t

any high-quality wooden needle brands

in Europe, so Symfonie, with its iconic

design, became an instant hit.”

Craftsmanship

The birch wood for the Symfonie and now

other ranges comes from Finland and

Estonia. The sheets are impregnated with

coloured resin using a very skilled process

involving high pressure and baking to

make a strong substrate that is unique.

The wood is then carefully machined by

KnitPro’s experienced staff into dowels

which are then turned and finished, before

the nickel-free metallic components are

Community

matters

As well as making its world-famous knitting needles,

KnitPro works hard to improve the lives of women and girls

in Rajasthan, India, as Juliet Bernard discovers

1 Every woman asking

for a job at KnitPro is

given one 2 The team

runs a school in a

remote village 3 Male

workers are given a

bicycle so they can get

to work even if there

is no public transport

4 Making the needles

and hooks is a highly

skilled process

Nearly half of the

KnitPro workforce

is female

12

3

4

The Knitter 78 Issue 141 Subscribe now at TheYarnLoop.com