HIP TO KNIT: Urban Knitting
FEATURE KNITTING
WORDS BY REBECCA L WEBER
Trendsetters take a cue from granny and break out their needles and yarn.
Finally, an activity that doesn’t promise to make its devotees thinner, smarter or more attractive. Young people give it a try because their friends are doing it, and then they get hooked when it turns out to be fun and relaxing. Celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker and “Sex and the City” co-star Kristen Davis (shown above), Hilary Swank and Julia Roberts talk about their love of the craft. And it’s not just the ladies who are casting on—Laurence Fishbone, Russell Crowe and David Arquette are getting in on the action as well. As anybody who’s recently been on the New York subway or Santa Monica’s trendy beach can tell you, the hottest new pastime is knitting.
Across all age groups, income levels and celebrity status, people want to express themselves and give gifts that have a little more meaning than things that can be pulled off the shelf at a mall. According to the Craft Yarn Council of America (CYCA), there’s been a rapid increase among the highly desirable demographic of women ages 25 to 34 that knit (which requires two needles) and crochet (which uses a single hook).
In the past two years, the stats jumped from just 13% to 33%. Among girls ages 18 and younger, participation doubled in the same time frame. Overall, about one in three American women can knit or crochet, which is a 51% increase from 1994.
“It’s getting called hip and trendy, but it’s one of the few hip and trendy things that our grandmothers would have approved of,” says Debbie Stoller, author of bestselling books with instructions, patterns and information on how to start knitting groups. These aren’t grandma’s patterns, though: Stoller’s books even include how-tos for skull-and-cross-bones wrist cuffs.
“Crafting in general has more and more younger people discovering how much fun it is to make things yourself,” says Stoller. Most days, she wears her first sweater, a simple roll neck made of a mohair-silk blend, circa 1999. “It’s just pleasurable. And for some, it’s a creative outlet.”
Vickie Howell, who hosts DIY Network’s “Knitty Gritty,” is one of those creative types. “As women have stepped up in the workplace, we’ve mastered working hard to the detriment of our creative side,” says Howell. “Being creative is like water and air to me.”
Howell, 31, learned to knit as a little girl with scratchy acrylics from Yarn Barn, but put her needles down until she was in her 20s. The high-energy Howell took up knitting again partly as a way to sit still—which was a challenge for her—but keep her hands moving. Creating yarns out of nontraditional materials, such as ripped-up plastic grocery bags (for a beach tote) or thrift-store towels (for a bath mat), is one of her preferred methods. “Knitty Gritty” features handknit projects like an iPod cover (a “cozy” in craft lingo), a retro lampshade and a reversible tube top in addition to woolen standbys like socks and sweaters.
On each episode, a trio of knitsters—including one first-time knitter—works the featured projects in real time while a guest designer walks through the paces with viewers. Off the set, groups like this provide a sense of community and inspiration. For many, the social element build friendships and skills at the same time.
Knitting in public is sort of like walking a puppy—strangers notice, get curious and ask questions. It’s a great icebreaker, as everybody has a story about how he or she learned to knit or who he or she once knew who knit. And watching those clicking needles create fabric from string can be as hypnotic as watching a campfire.
Knitting groups have mushroomed all over the country. Knitters meet up in cafés, yarn shops or friends’ houses. Conversation moves seamlessly from wool to politics to relationships. “It’s people who happen to be knitting, talking about life,” says Howell.
Knitting has come in and out of popularity a number of times over the past century. Stoller links the surge in popularity in part to a new wave of feminism. “When you learn to knit for the first time, it’s a women’s history lesson,” she says. While so-called women’s work, like knitting, was rejected a generation ago, feminists today are reconsidering the things that women have traditionally done.
Mary Colucci, executive director of CYCA, says that young women in particular are interested in making a personal statement about their fashion sense. “Even a simple beginner’s scarf allows expression through the choice of colors and texture,” she adds.
Not surprisingly, there’s been a renaissance of yarn shops and products to try to meet the increased demand. Soy, bamboo and micro fiber yarns, as well as cashmere and cotton, are available in every color and texture imaginable. Highly textured or novelty yarns make great accents with traditional yarns, and allow more visual and tactile bang for the buck. Today, fun yarns are available at every price point, which wasn’t always the case.
Today’s knitters rarely knit to make or even save pocket money—knitters who invest a month or more of time on a project often choose to work with high-quality natural fibers that feel good in the hands and endure many wearings and washings. For a sweater, that could run from $50 to well over $200.
Having a huge range of options allows knitters to work on several projects at once. An easy project on large needles with thick yarn is great while watching TV, and an intricate lace project can break the boredom. While a wool afghan gets bulky fast, hats, socks and scarves are portable enough to take on a daily commute or vacation.
CYCA doesn’t research the number of males who knit. Howell’s young sons are most interested in using her knitting needles for sword fighting, but older boys and men are getting in on the action. Surfers in California beach towns make their own wool caps for chilly early hours. And an extracurricular club at Harbor School in inner-city Brooklyn has been more popular with boys than girls.
“The boys [at Harbor School] are saying things like, ‘Yo son, your purl stitches are mad tight!’ Knitting’s been out of favor for so long that a lot of the really young kids today have never even seen their grandmothers knit,” says Stoller. “They have no idea that they’re not ‘supposed’ to be doing this. So they can just take it at face value that it’s something fun and satisfying.”
© Richard Lautens/Toronto Star
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