Mona Zillah is a knitter, designer, documentary filmmaker, artist, and deep thinker. We are delighted to have chosen Mona's beautiful Heart Warming Mitts as the featured pattern for our Fall 2025 Giving Project. Mona is an active member of the Hudson Valley Textile Project, the nonprofit organization we have selected as the beneficiary of our Fall Giving Project.

Read on to learn how Mona came to be a fiber artist with a passion for small, sustainable farms.

Tell us about yourself and your journey as a fiber artist. When/where/how did you learn to knit? How did you start designing knitwear?

I picked up knitting at various points in my life, little by little, increasing my knowledge with the help of friends and books.

Over 10 years ago, I was in a place where I had to pause making art. Someone showed me their mystery shawl and I became interested. Being an artist and rule breaker, I immediately started to tweak the designs and then flat out began designing from scratch. Luckily, online sites were growing, and this made my designs into a viable business.

A sampling of knitwear designs by Mona Zillah

How did you come to be a member of the Hudson Valley Textile Project (HVTP)? What do you value most about the organization?

After moving back to NY, and this time very rural, I began following the HVTP on Instagram (unbeknownst to me, also most of the board members, individually). As I became more involved in the wonderful world of fibre and interested in sourcing and impact, I wondered if an HVTP membership was a good plan for me. I reached out to the HVTP people, and they were encouraging.

Now that I am a member, I enjoy the newsletters and updates and have the opportunity to actually meet in person! Along with their involvement with the Northeast Fibre Exchange, NY Textile Lab, and Fashion Innovation Centre, the organization continues to grow and connect people. At the last summit, I was able to see firsthand and speak to the grant winners about their projects. This aspect of soil to textiles has been expanding and includes things like support for dye technology, large scale manufacturing and mills, and even exploring viable competitive home goods, such as wall-to-wall carpet. (I am thrilled about this!)

Please tell us about your decision to design only with yarns from small farms.

We are nothing without our small farms; therefore, farming continues. Not only family farms with a long tradition, but also new people looking for change and believing there is a better way to engage with our communities are popping up all over (globally). From the just the 7 small farms I have visited, the people I have spoken to/worked with are keen to diversify and are flexible, wasting nothing, to create sustainable quality hand-grown/handmade products. People want things that last and want to know where their items come from. These small farms can offer complete traceability. They are the guardians of our food and continue a more balanced relationship between land, food, textiles, and goods. I want to share and support them.

You’ve chosen to donate proceeds from many of your patterns to World Central Kitchen. Why is their work important to you?

Charities can be a tricky thing, as I truly want ‘people policy’ to be the default in our societies. World Central Kitchen not only helps people in their immediate need, but also looks towards solutions to food insecurity, globally. This model is crucial to truly solve our problems.

If you could sit and knit anywhere in the world, where would you choose?

This is a difficult question. My knit group is a rather wonderful group, but I also met so many people from around the world and often joke about a knitter’s teleport system. Some people I have met in person and others not yet. So, I suppose my answer would be knitting together, with warm drinks and good conversation.

What’s on the horizon for you (as a designer, artist, etc.)?

I am teaching myself (with the help of YouTube and books) some of our other crafts to build my fundamental tool kit. I am searching for the materials that will add balance to my own artwork. One of my long-term projects is a quilt incorporating embroidery and painting about the accomplishments of, and what we would not have, without women people (I have over 100 accomplishments embroidered and still growing).

A sneak peak at Mona's work in progress

I have recently made a documentary for a current installation at our local folk-art place about the importance of community, our craft legacies and futures, and how we have sustained and can continue our small farms, embracing the natural fibre industry again. This has given me a taste to make my own films (having an encompassing admiration for film).

I am very much exploring and searching for my vocabulary (for lack of a better word). AND always, I am creating new knitting pattern designs; many of them have grown in complexity as of late, but I hope people enjoy them!

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I have a deep respect for our small sustainable farms, as you may have read, haha, and gratitude for people who have been open and supported my tiny business. Finally, a big thank you to The Endless Skein!

Be sure to check out Mona's website, monazillah.com, and follow Mona on Instagram @bunnymuff!

Mona is the featured designer for The Endless Skein's Fall Giving Project. Your purchase of yarn to knit Mona's Heart Warming Mitts will benefit the Hudson Valley Textile Project. Bonus: Your purchase of the pattern will also support World Central Kitchen!