Suddenly, it seemed like they were everywhere. They were in coffee shops. They were on trains. They were in bookstore cafes. Knitters were coming out of the woodwork around the year 2000 and they meant business. The number of yarn shops increased dramatically and a crop of knitting books hit the shelves. Knitting was back. Now a-days knitting is becoming a trending hobby fast and here’s why.
The truth is that it never really left, not for the knitters who remember other swings of popularity in previous decades. But it was obscure and not something people did in public, especially not the way knitters knit with pride on buses, in waiting rooms, and anywhere else these days. If you knew a knitter, she was probably your grandmother or your great aunt. And no one under a certain age even knew how to knit. How could an activity with no chance of a comeback stage such a strong revival? Just like there are dozens of ways to cast on, there are dozens of reasons.
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First, it was a reaction to the times. In a world where technology was slowly beginning to take center stage in all of our lives, knitting was something you could feel and create on your own. You could even call it an anti-technology pastime. Knitting made people who spent their whole day at a computer, or otherwise working with technology, connect with something by using their hands.
Yet, at the same time, the internet helped knitting grow like nothing else could. Websites, blogs, email chains, and message boards, they all helped to connect knitters with one another and share tips, as well as their love for knitting. Today, the internet is the quickest way to get the answer to a knitting question.
There was also a change in how women looked at knitting, and other traditional female skills and pastimes. At times, the women’s movement turned away from traditional crafts in the struggle for equality in other spheres, like the workplace and education. It was easy to dismiss these activities as frivolous and even demeaning, but as society changed, women began to have a greater respect for the skills. Now they were seen as something women could be proud of. These days knitting, sewing, and crafting are an important part of modern feminism. Women are proud to be women, and that means the ability to knit a sweater or climb the corporate ladder should get the same respect. This is not to say that men aren’t also knitting now too. In society today there has also been a fluctuation in men taking on this previously feminine skill.
It also helped that knitting got a serious makeover. Most knitters today steer clear of the patterns in books from the 1970s, but for a while that was all that was available. Since then, knitting has transformed into a part of the fashion industry with designers paying close attention to the use of knit pieces. These pieces can be replicated at home, as long as you have the pattern. Now knitters can fall in love with a sweater dress from their favorite designer, find the pattern, or something similar to it, and make it themselves.
This wave of knitting has proved to be the strongest in over a century and it shows no sign of fading. People are learning to knit everyday and while not all of them fall in love with it, there’s always someone discovering the joy so many women have found.
by Sarah Carbone
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