About Susan

Susan Feltman Sweater Designs LLC, t/a Custom Design Sweater Studio, is a one-person, home-based business.  I have been knitting sweaters, hats and scarves since I was seven years old.  Originally, I sold hand knitted baby sweater and hat sets locally at New Jersey craft shows (I've won a ribbon or two!) and from my home.  Over the years, the business has changed to include sweater designs for men and women.  You can learn more about the business by watching this YouTube video.  In it, I discuss the different types of sweaters which I've knitted, display some of the yarn which I use in my designs, and at the end, demonstrate how the knitting machine works.

Because so many of my custom designs have a single large initial monogram or a word(s) incorporated into the knitted fabric, a sample of my work was chosen to be included in the textbook, "Lettering and Process" by Andrew Haslam, which is used in the UK by university textile design students.  My technique for hand knitting lettering into the fabric, along with photographs of my work, are included in the textbook.  Thank you, Andrew Haslam, for allowing me to be included in your excellent design textbook!

Customers often ask me what my favorite project has been.  I'd have to say that it was working with Nickelodeon, the children's TV network which has shows for toddlers and young children.  In the summer of 2009, I was contacted by Nickelodeon's costume design department.  They needed a bright orange v-neck cardigan sweater with brown trim and big round brown buttons to be designed and knitted for Thomas Hobson, one of the four actors in the new hit show The Fresh Beat Band.  Thomas plays the character called "Shout".

Working with Nickelodeon's costume department, I designed and knitted two personalized cotton sweaters for Thomas, to wear on the set and in personal appearances.  Doesn't he look handsome in his new bright orange cotton v-neck cardigan sweater?

You can see more photos of Thomas, singing and dancing in his new custom design hand knitted sweater, on Nickleodeon's website.

My custom designed, hand knitted sweaters have appeared in several boutiques in New Jersey, California, Delaware and New York. I've done a modest amount of custom designing for a prestigious New York children's clothing company, a southern U.S. sweater manufacturer, and a designer in Australia. I have also created custom sweater designs for an up-and-coming new designer of children's dresses in Maryland, and knitted a very fitted, tunic-length sweater dress for a teenage beauty pageant contestant (and she won!).  I've designed sweaters for models, actors, opera stars, producers, teachers, writers, engineers, police officers, college professors and mommies. The photo below shows me in my studio, hard at work at my home knitting machine and loving every minute of it.

Designing and knitting has been my passion for most of my life. Nothing makes me happier than spending time in my studio, working on a new design. It will be my pleasure to create something special just for you.

Please send me an email, or give me a call toll free at 1-888-797-1088, and we'll get started on your new sweater.