Keeping a family tradition alive through knitting

Rudaba Rufaida Hasan, a 20-year-old A level student from Loreeto School in Dhaka, takes joy in creating. There aren't a lot of people in her friend circle or age group who conjure up the same creations as her, however. That is because her niche lies in woollen needlework and the art of knitting.

Rudaba's interest in the field rose when she first saw former-YouTuber Marzia Kjellberg wearing an eye-catching sweater that she knitted on her own. "The idea that you could make something so intricate on your own in whatever way you wanted was what intrigued me greatly," she said.

Soon enough, Rudaba found out that her late grandmother also loved knitting, which motivated her to kickstart her passion in order to keep her grandmother's memory and tradition alive. Her journey started by borrowing materials from her mother and trying her hand at knitting.

Nowadays, she makes all sorts of items, like articles of clothing, plushies, keychains, bags, etc. She also likes to use knitting to find solutions to everyday problems. She shares one such experience, "In order to store my paint tubes, I once knitted a strawberry-themed paint bag. It was a perfect fit because I could fine-tune everything myself, which couldn't have been possible had I bought it from elsewhere."

A while after honing her craft, Rudaba started a small business making and selling custom knitted items. This gave her an uncharted avenue of creative exploration as her customers always challenge her to make things she never made before. The most difficult piece that she's ever made also came from a commission from a customer: a Minecraft fox keepsake holder that required knitting 50 individual squares and rectangles to make the Minecraft block effect come to life.

It isn't always easy to continue her passion. "A lack of materials or, more accurately, a limited variety of supplies is a big issue for me in my work as I have to wait months to get thick wool or round knitting needles to start a new project or learn a new stitch. Not to mention, these imported products are often extremely expensive, so much so that it's not always feasible for me to sell anything with them," says Rudaba.

Even then, she remains hopeful and excited about the future. She believes that her business started as a way for her to make people's dreams come true, and there's nothing more comforting than knowing that her hard work was able to make someone's day.