re(Introducing) DYLBOB
Basically boys can wear pink and sparkles and girls can wear dinosaurs and blue and kids clothing should be fun and playful and colorful!!
It’s been a long time since coming on here- life has been crazy and I haven’t felt pulled to write in a while. But here we are (life is still crazy) but I finally have a moment to write about some new projects.
Much of this space has been used to talk about knitting and art and parenting. And here I am to talk about all those things again!
We’ve finally launched Dylbob - our kids knitwear brand!!! It took months and months and was quite the learning curve but I’m so proud of where we are and so excited for the future.
Some Background
I’ve been knitting since 2020 and quickly began selling my knits on a made-to-order basis. I was in online graduate school and was able to knit a lot in my free time. I did this for about a year before losing my creative spark (I was making variations of the same sweater over and over again). This is also when I experimented with scrap knitting - something I still love teaching and practicing!
After having my son, I started making kids clothes. I loved the creative freedom and quickness kids knitting allowed. It was faster than adult knitting so I was able to experiment and take more creative risks. Even though it took me less time than knitting adult clothes, it still took hours and hours. I started releasing limited drops of hand knit pieces every few months. It didn’t make any financial sense (yarn + time = expensive) but I loved sharing my designs and was comforted at the thought of shipping these tiny sweaters to strangers around the world and knowing it would keep their babies warm. I continued these small drops for another year and started to brainstorm how to upscale.
Turning Dylbob from an idea → a real project
I spent months trying to brainstorm how to upscale and grow my knitting business. Turns out- knitwear is expensive to make whether you make it by hand or on a machine! When I started looking for a manufacturer, I spent a lot of time clarifying what was important to our brand: maintaining high quality knits made with natural fibers and making clothes that are gender neutral.
I’ve written about it before, but I could speak for hours about my irritation at the narrow definition our culture has allowed for boys clothing. It seems like in most stores it’s all black, navy, army green, grey with dinosaurs, tractors or sharks. Now, nothing is black and white- my son is obsessed with dinosaurs, tractors and sharks. But, he also loves wearing sparkles and rainbows.
It wasn’t always this way though. In the 19th century, it was common for boys to wear pink and ruffly clothes with high socks and mary-janes (see Franklin Roosevelt’s childhood photo below). It wasn’t until post-war America that the gender associations in clothing started to look like what it does today.
Interestingly, In June 1918, for example, a trade publication called the Infant’s Department reported, “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.”
This article is a great starting point to learn a brief history of this topic of gender associations with clothes. The summary is basically that these gender norms have changed over time- blue used to be associated with girl clothing and pink for boys.
Knowing that these gender-norms change with time, culture and context, it’s helpful to remember that colors are just colors. Pink isn’t girly and blues aren’t a sign of masculinity.
Above all, I believe childhood is playful and full of imagination and kids clothing should reflect that.
Dylbob
At Dylbob, it’s been crucially important for us to make clothes that boys and girls can wear comfortably and confidently! Anyone can wear rainbows and no color is off limits.
Our knits are all 100% cotton too so that our pieces can be soft directly onto your baby or kiddo’s skin.
Process
We’ve started very small, just three pieces, one sweater and two vests. (Don’t worry though we have much more coming in the fall!!!!)
I originally started knitting sweater vests because my toddler refused to wear anything on his arms (~3 year old vibes~) but it was winter and he still needed to be warm. Hence: the sweater vests! He could stay warm and we could avoid a meltdown. They’re cute and retro and also makes layering and all-year wearing easier.
I knit all our samples and ship it to our small, family-owned factory in Peru where they knit a version on their machine. They send it back to me and after adding any changes in size, fit or design, we finalize it and start to produce. We’ve got very limited numbers of all our products so we can minimize waste and only make as many as we need.
I’m currently waiting for our samples for Fall and can’t wait to keep you guys in the loop once they arrive next week so you can get a peek into the process of manufacturing clothes.
HUGE thank you to everyone who has ordered so far. It means so much! We pack and ship each order ourselves and am so grateful every time I drop them off at the post office.
In closing, thank you for being here and can’t wait to see how you wear your kiddos wear their Dylbob!!!!! Talk soon!!!
Love this so much! I can’t wait to order ❤️