Jane is a pharmacist – and makes knitting videos on YouTube for followers around the world

Soft guitar music plays in the background as peaceful video clips of summer flowers and trees in the sunshine appear on the screen.

"Episode 83" is written in the bottom left corner before the video cuts to the next scene.

We now see a woman sitting on a sofa with her knitting in her hands. She smiles, continues knitting and looks up.

"Hello my friends! And welcome back to Mindful Making," she says.

The woman is Jane Balle, a Danish pharmacist with an extraordinary hobby – making YouTube videos about knitting.

"This YouTube channel is all about making and knitting in particular because that is what I love. And if you are here, I think you love that too," Jane continues in the video.

A slow-paced YouTuber

Episode 83 is one of many YouTube videos Jane has made over the years.

She has nearly 6,000 subscribers, and her viewers come from all over the world – India, the United States, Denmark, Australia, South Africa and countless other places.

Jane has been knitting for as long as she can remember. She learned from her grandmother, who always had either knitting needles or a crochet hook in her hands – and Jane has inherited her grandmother's passion.

Today, she always carries her knitting in her bag, and not a day goes by without her managing at least a few rows of whatever project she is working on.

"Sometimes I think I speak far too slowly, but I believe people find it very calming to watch and listen to."

Knitting is Jane's zen space, and Mindful Making is where she shares her passion and fascination for yarn, lace patterns and knit stitches.

Everything happens at a calm, relaxed pace, and Jane makes a point of speaking slowly in her videos as she shows off her knitting projects or talks about a new pattern she is developing.

"Sometimes I think I speak far too slowly, but I believe people find it very calming to watch and listen to," Jane says.

"It's also a bit of a reaction against the fast pace of everything around us. With my videos, you can simply sit down, pick up your knitting and listen. It's okay to slow things down."

Knitting needles brings a sense of calm

The slow, peaceful atmosphere is at the very heart of Jane's knitting universe. Her channel is called Mindful Making because it is all about finding calm and being present in the moment.

"Having something to do with your hands can really help if you're feeling a little stressed or have too many thoughts running through your head," Jane says.

She relaxes when she picks up her knitting needles, and she also finds that knitting helps her listen more attentively.

Whether she is attending a meeting or having dinner with others, she sometimes takes out her knitting because it helps her stay present.

"Having a knitting project in my hands is a bit like doodling on a piece of paper. My body relaxes, and I can focus better on what's going on around me. I can actually get quite restless if I don't have my knitting needles."

Knitting Down Under

Although knitting is a big part of Jane's life, Mindful Making is not her "real" job.

She is a qualified pharmacist and currently works as a department manager at Region Hovedstadens Apotek at Bispebjerg Hospital.

"Pharmacy and knitting are two completely different worlds, but they share an underlying emphasis on doing things properly. You approach things systematically – and although knitting is obviously creative, it also involves a lot of mathematics. For example, getting the knitting gauge right is essential."

Jane has been running her knitting channel alongside her professional career for many years. She started blogging in the late 2000s and eventually began making YouTube videos as well.

Her knitting activities became an increasingly important part of her life when she moved to Australia with her family in 2012.

"Pharmacy and knitting are two completely different worlds, but they share an underlying emphasis on doing things properly."

Her ex-husband had been offered a job at the University of Sydney, so the couple and their three children moved Down Under to build a new life.

Jane worked as a project manager in two different public-sector organisations, but she continued knitting in her spare time.

Like stepping 30 years back in time

Knitting also became a way for Jane to make new friends and connections in Australia.

"I started talking to other people who knitted. It was a bit of a social connector – when you share an interest, it's always much easier to strike up a conversation," Jane says.

Although Jane met other knitters, knitting was nowhere near as popular in Australia as it was – and still is – in Denmark.

Jane remembers one occasion when she decided to treat herself to a visit to a yarn shop in a neighbouring town. She had been looking forward to getting her hands on some beautiful new yarn, but what she found was far from what she had imagined.

"It was such a huge disappointment. There was nothing exciting at all. The yarn was sitting in plastic bags on the shelves, just like it used to be in Denmark years ago. It was like stepping 30 years back in time."

Jane had to find a new way to get hold of good-quality yarn.

Whenever friends and family visited from Denmark, she made sure they filled their suitcases with yarn from home.

"At one point, I thought Australians should have the chance to enjoy Danish yarn too, so I started importing it and selling it through an online shop and at markets. It was such a lovely experience to go out and talk to so many wonderful people about knitting, yarn and real wool," Jane recalls.

"We all want to be alike"

Today, Jane is back in Denmark. She lived in Australia for 12 years before returning at the end of 2024 following her divorce.

Coming home has been wonderful in many ways – not least when it comes to knitting. As a passionate knitter, Jane has been delighted to discover just how popular knitting has become.

"It's everywhere," Jane says, continuing:

"Whenever I'm on the train or sitting in a café, there's always someone knitting, and there are yarn shops everywhere. It's absolutely fantastic."

"I don't want my personal finances to depend on my hobby. That would put too much pressure on me."

According to Jane, Denmark has a strong design tradition and an incredibly vibrant knitting community.

The only thing she finds slightly disappointing is that everyone seems to be knitting the same things.

"We all want to be alike, and we knit the same designs. It would be great if people dared to experiment a little more," she says.

Jane often challenges herself by trying new techniques, and she regularly creates her own knitting patterns, which she sells on her website.

But although she would like to expand her pattern sales and develop her YouTube channel further, she has no plans to turn knitting into her main occupation.

"I don't want my personal finances to depend on my hobby. That would put too much pressure on me – and it would take away the joy I get from knitting."