About VesterbyCrea

At VesterbyCrea, you will find knitting patterns designed by me, Thea Vesterby.

I created and established VesterbyCrea during a time when I was forced to find a new path in life due to severe stress-related illness. On 1 August 2023, I decided to leave my permanent job of 19 years and dedicate all my time to working with knitting designs.

I run everything myself, from website development, finances and accounting to marketing, graphic design and pattern translations — and, of course, developing knitting designs, knitting every one of my designs from start to finish. I have a team of test knitters who help ensure that my patterns have been thoroughly tested in all sizes and that the instructions are clear and easy to understand. I regularly welcome new test knitters, both to expand the team and to learn even more about the many different ways of knitting.

I was born in Switzerland and moved to Denmark with my mother and brother in 1986. My father still lives in that wonderful country, Switzerland.

I received my Master's degree in Design & Communication from Copenhagen Business School in 1997 and have worked with digital solutions ever since. I worked at Valtech for 19 years, developing digital solutions, and since 1 August 2023, I have devoted myself wholeheartedly to my own business, designing knitting patterns and teaching knitting.

I have twin daughters, a dog, and live north of Copenhagen with my partner and his two children.

I have been a long-distance runner for most of my life, completing 11 marathons, 2 Ironman races and a trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. I did all this while working so much that, unfortunately, I experienced stress-related illness on several occasions. As a result, during the last five years of my time at Valtech, I had to “make do” with working reduced hours.

But what does all this have to do with knitting?

Quite a lot, actually. In addition to everything else, my two wonderful daughters told me one day in the summer of 2019:

“You can't be a proper grandma if you don't know how to knit!”

My daughters

Knitting also opened the door to a new world where I could rediscover the joy of immersing myself in something completely different from digital solutions and the constant challenge of counting the kilometres I had run. Just imagine — these days, I no longer count kilometres, but the number of stitches I have knitted!

My running experience still allows me to enjoy the forest with my dog several times a week, but now with a completely different sense of calm and pleasure. It is much the same when I fall in love with a new yarn, dream up patterns, count stitches in Excel spreadsheets and on my needles, and follow the progress of my talented test knitters as they diligently work on my knitting patterns.

My experience with stress, together with my daughters' lovely remark, led me to start learning to knit in August 2019. It all began simply, with my mother teaching me how to cast on stitches, and I knitted my first sweater for my daughter.

I discovered how much knitting helped me relax — but also that my brain could be put to use again in a new way! This realisation gave me renewed confidence that I could still create something.

Designing knitting patterns and exploring all the different types of yarn has now become one of my greatest joys.

I began selling my knitting patterns in early 2020, and in August 2023, I chose to focus 100% on VesterbyCrea and left my job as a digital consultant.

I also host knitting workshops where participants can learn to knit some of the textured patterns featured in VesterbyCrea's designs.

I take part in knitting events such as Masken i Marsken and create designs for, among others, Filcolana and LAINE Magazine.

As an ambassador for Yroli Skincare, I was delighted to be featured in this lovely article about me: VesterbyCrea.

You can also find all my knitting patterns on Ravelry.

Patterns purchased from VesterbyCrea may not be copied, resold or redistributed.