"Mary" Sweater by Wool and the Gang

WHAT DO YOU SEE when you hear the word “knitting?” Chances are, you’re picturing an old woman, planted so long in her rickety rocking chair that it looks as though she’s put down roots. Her white hair is thin and her glasses are thick because her eyes are nearly sightless. She’s wearing her old headscarf while she crafts that itchy and unsightly sweater she surely expects you to wear. Well my friend, the days of knitting being a pastime only for this aging babushka from the old country are over, and you can thank the fine folks at Wool and the Gang for that.

Founded in 2007, the company is the brainchild of former model and knitting enthusiast Lisa Sabrier. Armed with high fashion experience and a love for lasting, handmade goods, Sabrier began Wool and the Gang—a cleverly-titled bastion of high quality wool products that aren’t frumpy or flimsy—with the aim of changing public perceptions of knitting from matronly to hip.

Wool and the Gang's NYC Flagship.

Every piece in the brand’s line of laidback essentials is available in two forms—you can choose to pick up a sweater or knit tank premade and ready-to-wear, or try your hand at making it yourself with their all-in-one knitting kits. The kits span four levels of difficulty from “Beginner” to “Experienced” and include yarn, a pair of wooden knitting needles, a sewing needle, customization materials, and a pattern to follow. Cultivating a sense of creativity and independence in the shop’s customers, the kits allow hobbyists to experiment and learn the art of knitting at their own speed all while creating beautiful, well-designed garments.

The do-it-yourself mentality is a big part of the W.A.T.G. message, according to shop manager Keven Dakinah. “It’s really satisfying to have pieces that you’ll wear for years,” she says. “We don’t want things to be disposable—none of our products are really trendy.”

"Tala" Tank Top by Wool and the Gang

The shop offers customers three unique options of material, sourced entirely from Peru: 100% wool, which yields a chunky heavy-weight product; 100% pima cotton, which results in a more medium-weight garment; and baby alpaca, which is a finer lace-weight alternative. While the yarns each produce very different products, the constant between all the pieces is the care with which they are crafted. The shop’s ready-to-wear clothing is knit by hand by a group of Peruvian women in the Andean Highlands, ensuring that each item is made with the kind of attention to detail and quality you simply can’t get from a nameless factory.

“We really want things to be simple, classic, and timeless,” Dakinah says. “Easy to wear and easy to make.” Simple and incredibly sexy, may we add. To give you a better idea of what you’re missing out on if your significant other isn’t rocking one of these stylish knits, we’ve once again enlisted our friend Rebecca Lay from STYLUSTE to help us illustrate their versatility. Check out the gallery below to take a look.