A Family Journey of Dedication, Skill, and Quiet Mastery
I’m Dimo Chankov, the son of Velichka and Chanko, and the second generation continuing what my parents began. I grew up surrounded by yarn, needles, and the quiet hum of knitting machines. My parents started our family factory in Bulgaria at a time when everything around us was changing, the economy, the country, the way people dressed. What never changed was their belief that real craftsmanship mattered. Today, Kniterlandia carries that belief forward.
The Disappearance of True Craftsmanship
When my mother began knitting in the late 1990s, everything was done with simple hand operated machines, the kind you start by hand and patiently guide as each stitch takes shape. There was no linking yet, no automated systems, only practice, precision, and a lot of heart. She sewed the pieces together on small sewing and overlock machines, learning through trial and error what would one day become the foundation of our family craft.
My father helped whenever he could. He worked another job at the time but spent evenings maintaining the knitting machines, often buying broken ones just for parts to keep ours running. In 2005 we made a big step forward: our first Shima Seiki machine, a leap from hand knitting to professional design. By 2007, we had a second one, and my father took over the software side, where every design begins after sketching it on paper. With every piece, we learned something new, the importance of linking, the precision of finishing, the endless possibilities of knitwear.
Back then, the craft was alive and thriving. The industry in Bulgaria was improving, people were proud of what they could make with their hands. But after 2010, everything began to change. Imported, mass produced stock flooded the market, and with the rise of online platforms, price became the only thing that mattered. Many factories that had been improving for decades started to close their doors. Today, with mass dropshipping and ultra cheap clothing dominating the internet, craftsmanship faces its hardest moment yet.
The Family Behind Every Stitch
Through all of it, my mother never stopped creating. She researched designs, sketched her own, selected the right yarns, and did the linking once the panels were knitted. With every piece, she refined the process, adjusting a neckline, reshaping an armhole, changing the density until the piece felt exactly right. Her hands guided the evolution of every design we made.
That belief, that only care creates quality, shaped everything I know. When I founded Kniterlandia, I didn’t want to start something new. I wanted to protect something that shouldn’t be lost.
Why We Still Make Every Piece Ourselves
In a world that celebrates shortcuts, we choose to take the long way. Every Kniterlandia design still passes through our family’s hands, from the first paper sketch to the final press. We keep the process close, because that’s where the difference lives, in the quiet precision of linking, in the finishing of a neckline, in the way a piece feels when you wear it years later.
With every piece, we refine what we do, never rushing, always improving. Our team includes craftsmen and craftswomen with decades of experience, people who understand that true quality takes time. We continue to invest in modern technology, not to replace skilled hands, but to preserve and strengthen the knitwear craft itself. Progress, for us, means ensuring that this knowledge lives on, improved, refined, and ready for the next generation.
The Beauty of Lasting Knitwear
When you hold a Kniterlandia piece, you’re holding hours of work, not from a line of machines, but from people who care. Craftsmanship isn’t nostalgia for us, it’s our answer to a world that forgot how things are made. We believe beauty isn’t about perfection, but about permanence, about the feeling that something was made to stay with you.
In recent years, Kniterlandia has been reborn. My parents remain at the heart of our production, and Alex van der Wal has now joined me in shaping its next chapter. He leads the technical and digital side of the brand, from the website to the systems that power our growth, and will soon help expand our marketing efforts. Together, we’re combining craftsmanship and technology to ensure that the spirit of Kniterlandia not only survives, but thrives for generations to come.
Thank you for reading our story to the end! To show our gratitude, you can use the code Craftsmanship10 for 10% off your first order.
