Learning to Knit in Mena, One Stitch at a Time
At Rich Mountain Fiber Co in downtown Mena, Malissa Fields turns "I could never do that" into a finished washcloth — one patient hour at a time.
Rich Mountain Fiber Co
Walk into Rich Mountain Fiber Co at 700 Mena Street and you'll see it before you hear it: yarn everywhere, and somebody's hands quietly making something. Malissa Fields has been knitting for more than twenty years — she learned from a popular knitwear designer, fell in love with the craft, and never put the needles down. Four years ago she added crochet, and today she designs her own knitting patterns, published on Ravelry.
But what she does best might be the hardest thing in any craft: teaching a total beginner without making them feel like one.
The washcloth: the perfect first project
Malissa starts almost every new knitter in the same place — a simple cotton washcloth. It looks humble, but it teaches everything a foundation is built on: casting on, the knit stitch, keeping even tension, and casting off. It's small enough to finish, useful enough to keep, and forgiving enough that mistakes mostly disappear into the texture.
Her kids' workshops start at age eight, and her adult sessions run the same way: all materials provided, everything laid out and ready, and an unhurried room where nobody is rushed. Her only real ask of students is a simple one — bring a positive attitude.
Where the stitches go next
Once a new knitter can make fabric, Malissa opens the rest of the craft a step at a time. Knitting in the round takes you off the straight needles and onto a hat. Cables look elaborate but turn out to be a matter of swapping a few stitches. Socks, lace, and sweaters follow the same principle: nothing in knitting is magic, it's just the same few moves arranged differently.
- Learn to Knit a Washcloth — kids 8+, $25, at Rich Mountain Fiber Co, 700 Mena St.
- Knitting in the Round: Making a Hat — September 25, $40, all materials included.
- Cables Without the Fear — October 2, $30.
- DK Weight Knit Socks and full sweater projects for knitters ready to go deeper.
Every session is small and in person, which is the whole point. A video can show you a stitch; a teacher across the table can see the two seconds where your yarn tension went wrong — and fix it before it becomes a habit.