Unbeknownst to Alex, who wanted to learn how to knit, he sat next to a former knitting instructor. Laima (her name is pronounced “lima, like the bean,” she likes to say in introductions), who is a watercolor artist, has been knitting since she was five. She is one of the very skilled regulars who comes to Spinnaker Chocolate Cafe and Factory Store’s knitting circle on Wednesday nights from 5-7 p.m.

After an appointment nearby, Alex stopped by with his mom, who knows how to crochet but is knitting her first sweater. Successfully knitting and purling a few rows, he surmised it was like creating patterns to make structures in mathematics, which was his major in college.

Surveying the growing crowd, Rachel, who is the Assistant Cafe Manager at Spinnaker, says: “Obviously, just realizing that we are gonna need more seating especially with winter coming. Winter is our busiest season, especially with the holidays in December.” She is gleeful and surprised by the turnout on this night. All the cafe’s tables and chairs, including the children’s table and chairs and barstools at the counters are occupied.

What started as a fun way for five or six employees to get acquainted during their breaks, has now morphed into a meetup of approximately 25 people.

Brothers Kelly and Chris Van Arsdale started making bean-to-bar chocolate as a hobby during the pandemic, launching Spinnaker Chocolate in 2021 in a small Ravenna storefront. To expand production space as the company grew, the craft chocolatemaker moved into their current 5,400 square space in May 2025.

With new team members on board, Emily, who oversees production at Spinnaker, wanted a creative way to bond. “About three months after we opened up in our new location, I learned I wasn’t the only knitter. As one of the managers here, I thought a knitting club would be a great way for people on the team to enjoy a short break and help us get to know each other.”

Gill, who works in customer support at Spinnaker and learned how to knit from her grandma when she was a child, explains, “We started the public Wednesday knitting night after realizing how many knitters in our area needed a third space to meet folks with similar interests such as knitting.”

Gill boasts that her colleague Emily is a prolific knitter, producing almost a sweater each month. Emily proudly admits that in addition to various projects in her queue she always has a pair of socks on her needles. She is equally gratified by the club’s success: “Honestly, at the beginning we were not sure if anyone would come. We made sure to have a few employees present for the first month or so, and then it became clear that a group was forming and the knitting club was running itself! It's been so wonderful to witness - there's now a Discord channel, people will wear nametags, and it seems that true friendships have formed.”

Jacob, a software engineer who learned how to knit from his mom as a youngster, is a member of that Discord channel. He is also a member of Spinnaker’s quarterly shipment club, which allows subscribers to get free factory tours, first dibs on new flavors and occasionally get limited-release, small-batch and members-only flavors. He found the meetup because he frequents the shop to augment his membership chocolate stash.

Tonight he is sipping a Spinnaker Fog (which is their version of a London Fog, uniquely subbing the usual earl grey tea for cacao tea made from cacao husks that are normally discarded in the chocolate-making process) and knitting a complex, black and white sweater for his wife.

Many attendees like Claire, a PhD candidate at University of Washington, live nearby. Like others, she has also knitted off and on since she was young. She recently picked it up again because she became increasingly disenchanted by how clothes are made and how factories exploit their workers. “At least I know what I am wearing is ethically made,” she says as she joins the sleeves on her cardigan.

“We love that you guys are here. We are happy to host. I think it makes the cafe a really friendly place. It’s great to see people enjoying the space,” Rachel gushes.

Spinnaker Chocolate is located at 3509 Stone Way N, Seattle, WA 98103 and is open everyday from 8am - 8pm.