About Tanis

Tanis Gray Chang believes in the power of community—that we are stronger when we come together. By respecting one another, listening, learning, and sharing knowledge, we can lift each other up and thrive as human beings. This is a space where everyone is welcome, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, age, religion, fiber or material choice, or crafting style.

A graduate of RISD, Tanis lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, a mechanical engineer, and their two children. Her career has spanned many years in the creative industry, with roles at Martha Stewart, HBO, Focus Features, Hungryman Productions, and as Yarn Editor at Vogue Knitting / Sixth & Spring, as well as co-editor of Knit.1. She has also collaborated on projects with Warner Bros., Lucasfilm, Tim Burton, and Disney.

With more than 700 published knitting designs, Tanis’s work has appeared in major publications and books around the world. She was a regular contributor on PBS’s Knitting Daily TV with Vickie Howell and has taught popular online Fair Isle classes through Craftsy. Her mission is to make knitting accessible to anyone who wants to learn and to help fiber enthusiasts achieve their creative goals. A champion of bold color, she embraces RuPaul’s philosophy: “Life is about using the whole box of crayons.”

Tanis Gray is the author of numerous acclaimed knitting books, spanning original collections and beloved pop-culture collaborations. Her debut, Knit Local: Celebrating America’s Homegrown Yarns (2011, Sixth & Spring), won the Gold IPPY Award. This was followed by Capitol Knits (2012, self-published), a knitting-meets-history collection inspired by Washington, DC, which earned the DAR American Heritage Women in the Arts Award. She went on to publish Knitting Architecture (2013, F&W/Interweave), Cozy Knits (2013, F&W/Interweave), and From Mama, with Love (self-published), as well as 3 Skeins or Less: Fresh Knitted Accessories (2014, F&W/Interweave), Wanderlust: 47 Modern Knits for Bohemian Style (2015, F&W/Interweave), Modern Baby Knits (2016, F&W/Interweave), and Gradient Knits (2017, Barron’s).

Her work later expanded into officially licensed pop-culture knitting guides, beginning with Knitting Magic: The Official Harry Potter Knitting Pattern Book (2020, Insight Editions). She continued with Knitting the Galaxy: The Official Star Wars Knitting Pattern Book (2021, Insight Editions), Knitting Magic: More Patterns from Hogwarts & Beyond (2021, Insight Editions), Knitting with Disney (2021, Insight Editions), The Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas Knitting Guide to Halloweentown and Christmastown (2023, Insight Editions), The Fellowship of the Knits: Lord of the Rings: The Unofficial Knitting Book (2023, Insight Editions), and Gilmore Girls: The Official Knitting Book (2024, Insight Editions). She is currently working on her next two books, coming out in 2026.

Across these 16 titles, Tanis has celebrated everything from timeless architecture and heritage fiber to iconic universes like Harry Potter, Star Wars, Disney, The Lord of the Rings, and Gilmore Girls—bringing the joy of knitting to audiences around the world.

Tanis is an active member of the Creative Knitters Guild, where she also serves as volunteer webmaster, and the DC Modern Quilt Guild. Dedicated to sharing her love of fiber arts with others, she volunteers with Project Knitwell and supports local Boy and Girl Scout troops as a co-leader, teaching crafts and knitting to the next generation.
Certain pattern proceeds are donated to The National Center for Transgender Equality, The Trevor Project, NAACP, Equality VA, The Union of Concerned Scientists, Doctors Without Borders, Metavivor, Friends of Notre Dame, The Red Cross, and Project Semicolon.

Tanis is an avid quilter, cross stitcher, photographer, sewer, enjoys Sashiko, bargello, hiking, Sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, baking, spoon carving, and woodworking.

Her work has been recognized nationally with first-place honors from both the American Heritage Award and the National Women in the Arts Award, distinctions she has earned multiple times for her achievements in fiber arts.