On a quiet Thursday night in our little town of Nelson, it is anything but quiet in the LYS – the local yarn shop. People from their 20s to their 80s are sitting in circles, chatting, laughing, and knitting. People walking by the shop window peer in, wondering what event is happening to draw such a crowd!
Rediscovering An Ancient Craft
There has been a recent resurgence of crafts like knitting. No longer is it viewed as a pursuit of the elderly. There are new styles of yarn, giant-sized needles, trending knitwear designers, and fashionable patterns that have attracted a whole new generation. Instagram is full of reels showing knitting in every colour and style imaginable.
There have been a few catalysts for this revival of knitting in the younger generation. The isolation of the pandemic lockdown saw a surge in people looking for new home-based hobbies.
There was the viral photo of British diver Tom Daley knitting poolside at the Tokyo Olympics. Knitting celebrities like Michelle Obama, Kristen Stewart, and Russel Crowe have also helped to raise knitting’s profile.
Small, innovative businesses like Cardigang and Wool and the Gang have brought a youthful, trendy, and fresh image to an ancient craft. Even Late Night host Stephen Colbert gave a shout-out to ‘ravelheads’, the enthusiastic knitting community on ravelry.com.
The Healing Power of Knitting
Knitting gives people of all ages a sense of achievement and a way to express their creative side. It also has a strong effect on our ability to handle the stresses we all face each day. In this time of bad news stories, skyrocketing inflation, and tough social issues, many of us are left feeling a bit anxious and overwhelmed.
The creative, rhythmic, repetitive motion of knitting can trigger a relaxation response that lowers your blood pressure, releases serotonin, and suppresses cortisol. Knitting, can “activate areas of the brain that are good for generating a sense of calm, (and contribute to) improved emotional processing and better decision making”, according to researchers at the University of Sydney.
At my LYS’s Knit Night, the younger and older knitters talk about knitting giving them a feeling of creative accomplishment and something to do with their hands that gets them away from scrolling on their phones. There is a calm, meditative feeling with the rhythm of the stitches.
Knitting, Literacy and Lifelong Learning
Knitting is simple but also taps into a multitude of skills. As you wind yarn around your needles, you practice reading patterns, writing charts, counting in multiples, following sequential directions, and measuring length and width.
In fact, when you look at the Nine Skills for Success needed to thrive in learning, work, and life, they are all practiced when we knit.
There is much reading to be done, from patterns and blog posts to magazine articles. Knitting even has its own written language. Can you read and understand: CO 40, k1, p1, yo, ssk, k2tog, RC3, k to BOR?
Knitters immersed in the craft write emails to share patterns, comment on social media posts, and sometimes even write their own patterns.
Digital skills are used to access websites and in using knitting apps to track projects and progress through a knitting pattern.
Much collaboration and communication happens when knitters participate in mystery knit alongs, host events like World Knit in Public Day, and work on charity knits together. Have you heard of knitted knockers?
Knitters are continually learning, adapting, and problem-solving as they tailor a pattern, learn new skills, and share their knowledge with each other. Knitters of all ages help each other find solutions when they get stuck.
Numeracy skills emerge every time a knitter works out the gauge (tension) of a piece or calculates the amount of yarn needed. When a pattern is adjusted, or calculations are done to change the size of a sweater math is used.
And of course, creativity and innovation abound. I’ve noticed that the younger knitters are bold and creative. They start a project, like a multicoloured vest or tank top, and often don’t use a pattern. They make it up as they go!
Knitting helps us manage stress, keeps us learning, and is an outlet for our creativity. It is a great way for generations to connect and for knowledge to be shared. It is so much more than taking a long strand of fibre spun together into a thread and tying knots into it! If you want to join in on the fun, reach out to a keen knitter, visit your local yarn shop, or look up a beginner knitting video on YouTube.
Knitting your way to a healthier, happier mind
How Crochet and Knitting Help the Brain – Anxiety Resource Center
This is your brain on knitting – Dr Sarah McKay
How pandemic burnout sparked a knitting revival – BBC News
Joan Exley
Community Literacy Outreach Coordinator – Nelson
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy
