Simple, empowering, and accessible patterns for every body.
Our story
Hi, I’m Talena Winters! I’m so glad you’re here. Grab a cup of tea, and let’s knit and visit for a while.
My knitting journey began at age five, when I cast on my first knitting and crochet projects under the tutelage of my very crafty grandmother. However, it wasn’t until nearly two decades later when I was expecting my first child that I became obsessed. I re-taught myself to knit using a sketchy Web 1.0 tutorial that only showed the knit stitch, reverse-engineered the purl stitch (helped by dim memories), and a self-designed fantastically long scarf later, I was hooked for life.
Soon, I was creating more complex designs on the needles and blogging about them. Others asked me to publish the patterns, and in 2010, I created My Secret Wish by Talena to share my designs with the world.
I started on Etsy and Ravelry, then created my own website under a combined author and knitting brand in 2014. In 2023, the rebranded My Secret Wish Knitting finally got its own website and social media presence. I’m excited by the opportunities this brand separation will present to serve my customers better.
Obsessed with Accessibility
From the beginning, I’ve wanted to create designs that could be made by anyone, for anyone. My patterns have focused on developing knitters’ skills by including tutorials for every required technique and have always included a wide range of sizes.
As my knowledge has increased, I’ve constantly gone back through my catalogue to upgrade designs to be more inclusive. When Vogue Knitting published an article around 2018 about the underserved Print Challenged and Low Vision knitting market, I knew I needed to make my entire platform accessible for this group of knitters.
This website is a major milestone in accomplishing this goal. Every pattern I offer is written in plain language with minimal abbreviations. They are all colour-blind accessible and left-handed inclusive. I’m working on creating multiple versions of every pattern so print-challenged knitters have large print and digital audio options that can easily be understood when read aloud. And I’m expanding my size ranges as I revise to allow each pattern to be made for the widest range of bodies possible.
My Promise to You
While I don’t claim to be doing accessibility perfectly, I am constantly learning and growing. I welcome your feedback so I can serve you better. If you have a question or comment about how I can make my patterns better for you, please send me a message. I’d love to hear from you.
I promise to continue to strive to create high-quality, accessible, empowering patterns that allow you to create beautiful, classic knitwear designs you can be proud of.
Together, we can make magic.
Tell Me Your Story
One of the best parts about knitting is the community that goes with it. I want to hear your knitting stories too, so I created a community where we can gather and gab, no matter where in the world you are.
Please come check out the My Secret Wish Knitting community. I can’t wait to meet you.
“This pattern is easy to read and follow. I absolutely love that it provides separate instructions depending on your yarn weight. Thank you! I can’t wait to make more gloves for the whole family :)”
- Hollie about the Just Plain Gloves pattern