A Stitch in Time… A Self-Made Career

Shirley Paden-Bernstein’s Journey from OWU to the Corporate World to Her Crafted Life of Creative Couture in Custom Knitwear

By Mary Lou Brecht Johnson

When Shirley Paden came to Ohio Wesleyan from inner-city Philadelphia as a 17-year-old, she had no idea that significant success in life would come from what happens when “two sticks” manipulate yarn in specific ways. Yet, this is exactly what happened. The business she created, Shirley Paden Custom Knits, celebrated its 30^th anniversary in 2022. As a designer of custom hand knitwear and an internationally recognized author, teacher, mentor, and philanthropist, Shirley is clear that she loves what she does and that she will keep going for the rest of her life to “keep this antique cloth-making art alive.”

Fortunately, both for Shirley and Ohio Wesleyan, her high school guidance counselor helped her choose OWU from among the seven university acceptances she had received. Talented in academics, sports, and dance, Shirley thrived at OWU as a first-generation college student. With OWU’s smaller size and many opportunities, she hit the ground running.

Shirley cites three overseas experiences while at Ohio Wesleyan that broadened her awareness of the world and exposed her to different cultures. She feels they expanded her values and changed her life. The first was a summer trip to build a youth hostel with Operation Crossroads Africa. The organization's motto is, "Make a difference for others, see the difference in yourself." This got Shirley’s cross-cultural juices flowing. She was hungry for more. The next summer, through The Experiment in International Living, she benefited from her experiences living with a close-knit family of many talents in Belgium. Senior year, as a French Literature major, she spent an academic term at the University of Dijon and solidified her French-speaking fluency. 

Shirley and her late husband of 35 years, Melvin Bernstein, a textile designer and Francophile, enjoyed their many travels and friends in France. Her New York City-based company has international reach, which promotes continued travel.

Looping back, what were the origins of Shirley’s self-made career? There were two major roots: early exposure to knitting and necessity.

As a girl, Shirley watched her paternal grandmother create lovely things as a “masterful crocheter and knitter.” She shared, “When I would watch the beautiful fabric growing from my grandmother's needles, I found it fascinating! It was like some type of magic.” This wonderful woman also firmly planted two guiding principles into young Shirley’s brain that she thinks about and often shares with others: “Just keep going—the light will come on,” and “Rip back if needed.”

The first principle is applicable to anyone learning a skill who thinks they need continual support and mentorship. Her grandmother said these wise words to convince Shirley that she did not need to be taught everything and that she just needed to keep practicing and trying without her help, and then she would get it. The second expression may need some explanation to those who haven’t done needlework. If a mistake is noticed in a piece of work, one needs to unravel the stitches back to that point and redo the work accurately. Shirley stated that both principles have served as valuable watchwords for her life.

On October 18, 1989, the day after the San Francisco earthquake, while waking up from anesthesia following major surgery, Shirley learned that she was out of a job. The company for which she had worked tirelessly in a significant role filed for bankruptcy protection and closed all branch operations. She soon realized the universe was pushing her forward to her next vocation. She just didn’t know yet what it was. Needing to do something during her lengthy convalescence, she picked up knitting needles and yarn, remembered what her grandmother had taught her, and gradually acquired more skills. The rest is history.

In addition to becoming a highly skilled and creative hand knitter and designer, she also wrote a guidebook, Knitwear Design Workshop: A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits (2010), that is still considered a key reference in the field. She followed that up with her second book, Knitwear Workshop Designs: Duets & Inspirations (2021), which features a series of creative designs from her worldwide Design-A-Long events. Her book creations propelled Shirley into the world of set designers, models and model choreography, photographers, and so much more.

Shirley also learned the world of self-publishing, again by necessity. When the publisher of her seminal work went bankrupt and did not turn over her book files, Shirley and her original book designer recreated the files to keep the book in print—updated with new photographs—an arduous process that took 8 months. However, through this process, Shirley learned she could be her own publisher. Once again, the sky is the limit for Shirley, since she plans to write and publish more books; her third book is halfway along.

Shirley is a creative tour de force. Online comments about the 40^th Anniversary issue of Vogue Knitting included, “Shirley Paden-Bernstein is as brilliant as she is creative,” “Gorgeous pattern. With Shirley as mentor, these designers will do well. She is a genius and excellent teacher,” and from Vogue Knitting itself, “She really is a force of nature! We just adore her.”

Shirley has steadily been designing and creating one more exquisite piece—her legacy. She has taught and mentored thousands of students, teaching them her 4-step design process so they can transform their own visions to carefully crafted, precision-fitting garments. Some students have advanced to be her peers at the highest level. She shared, “My longtime students are well known in the industry. They have design groups, and one has written several books. They serve along with me as the coaches for my design events.”

Shirley also helps those who are at their beginning stage. She established the Shirley Paden and Melvin Bernstein Scholarship Fund and last year donated to the Fashion Design Department at SUNY’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City. She also thinks about students at Ohio Wesleyan who have financial needs as she had and is a member of the OWU 1842 Society. In her interview with Mary Lou Brecht Johnson for this article, Shirley indicated she had just donated $100,000 to the Ohio Wesleyan Fund to join her classmates in achieving the stated 50^th Anniversary class goal of $400,000.  She stated, “I could never give as much as they [OWU] gave me. I wish I could give more.”

Shirley will be attending our 50th reunion. Whether or not you crossed paths with her during our time at Ohio Wesleyan, our golden anniversary gives you the opportunity to meet and talk with her now. Shirley has expressed what most of us are feeling as we look forward to being back on campus for this monumental event. She expressed a deep sense of pride in being a part of this remarkable class and stated that she looks forward to “all of us coming together to celebrate and share our lifelong memories of our time at OWU and our ongoing love for and commitment to our amazing alma mater.”

Learn more about Shirley's work at www.ShirleyPaden.com.