14

Friday, May 3, 1985

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Is

BY HEIDI PRESS
Local News Editor

NV

Textured yarns are popular with Mavis Klein.

West Bloomfield
knit shop owner
Mavis Klein
turns yarn into gold,
after a fashion.

hen Mavis Klein
spins a yarn, it turns
into a fashionable,
custom-designed
sweater.
Some of her designs hang in her
small knit shop in West Bloomfield.
Others are worn by her customers and
students who have made their own ,„
sweaters from specially-designed pat-
terns created by Klein.
When she designs for herself, "I
just pick up the yarn and needles and
just go ahead." But when she creates a
pattern for a customer or for the yarn
company who buys the copyright and
publishes her designs in its ads, the
-procedure is a little more complex. -
First, she draws a simple sketch.
Then she must work out the pattern
mathematically on graph paper.
like working with numbers. It's
all very simple, basic math. I love se-
eing how everything fits together."
The Belfast, Ireland-born Klein
began her knitting career at age 10.
She earned spending money by creat-
ing "fisherman knit" sweaters for
stores.
Her mother, still in Ireland today,
was a "big knitter" and taught Klein to
knit at age 4. In grade school it was
required to have formal lessons from
age 5 to 11.
Klein was trained as a home eco-
nomics teacher, and while studying in
Israel, where she was working on her
thesis about children in a kibbutz, she
embarked on her designing specialty.
"When I was in Israel I really
taught myself how to design patterns
because I couldn't find patterns."
She said making a living in Israel
was difficult until people found ciut
that she knitted. They came to her for
i •
pattern designs.

"I made a lot of money in Israel by
knitting and custom designing sweat-
ers for people."
Not only did Israel provide a turn-
ing point in her knitting career, but it
also made an 'impact on her personal
life. It was there she met her husband,
Phil.
A student at Hebrew University,
where he was pursuing doctoral
studies, Phil met the former Mavis
Baynard in an Israeli supermarket
and five days later he proposed. He
took a sabbatical and the couple were
married in Ireland. They came back to
the United States 12 years ago.
Her husband's TV store is next
door to hers in West Bloomfield. She
originally worked part-time for him,
but had other ideas. She asked her
husband to split his space with her so
that she could open a knit shop. He
objected at first, but after several
months relented.
At her three-year-old store, The
Knitting Nook, Klein custom designs
sweaters, fulfills commissions and
teaches. The beginner's class, limited
to ten, is held for five weeks on Wed-
nesday evenings. Private instruction
is given by appointment.
When Klein creates a pattern for a-
customer, she follows through from
casting on to casting off. "I follow
through to the very end. I give them all
kindi of help. I encourage them to
come in when they need help and not to
feel shy about coming in. I like to check
their work as they go along to make
sure that everything going to end up
fitting correctly."
Klein has developed a philosophy
about her work:, "Educate the cus-
tomer as much as possible, because the
more they know the less frustrated