Sonia Rykiel is among the big-name designers who specialise in knitwear, as seen here at a recent Paris Fashion Week Credit: Getty Images. Even though knitting has boomed during periods of social isolation, it has long been a tool for community building.
Sicgmone Kludje and Vea Koranteng founded Black Girl Knit Club after diversknitty trended on social media in , which promoted the visibility and recognition of more BAME people within the craft community. Even though knitting circles remain the butt of many jokes, these spaces have radical implications. So will this trend endure? As a sustainable practice that builds community, healing and even activism, all signs point to knitting only growing in popularity in the coming years, particularly as efforts to avoid the fast fashion industry increase among consumers.
Creators merging age-old methods with innovative attitudes are helping reshape widespread attitudes about who knitting is for — and what it signifies. With experimental knits on the rise, perhaps one day the knitter stereotype will be that of a subversive and imaginative young creator, who has reclaimed a practice from ageist and sexist tropes.
If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc. The Collection. The Collection Fashion. At the New York showroom, Stoll America works with a wide range of highly skilled specialists to develop the shapes and patterns utilised by famous major American retail companies and knitwear designers.
How much knitwear production is there in North America these days and where is it located geographically? What are North American manufacturers producing and who are they producing for? Stephan Robertson: Knitwear production is rapidly evolving in North America — particularly in the realm of technical textiles. In order to respect the privacy of our customers and their NDAs, we cannot provide the exact North American locations. However, we can say that in the US, specifically, there are many production opportunities on both the east and west coasts — with some soon-to-be production opportunities in the mid-west.
All regions mentioned cater to both fashion and technical markets. Older customers have discovered the brand via their sons and daughters and what they value most are the quality and colors of our yarn.
We have noticed that more and more men are starting to knit and are not afraid to show it! That is great, indeed. People aged usually buy kits and people 40 and older normally buy supplies.
They already know how to knit and want to make their own designs. We have lots of bestsellers, but the Downtown Snood has been one of our most popular kits since the very beginning.
As someone who struggles with anxiety, knitting helps calm my mind. For the past two weeks, we have been receiving these kind of comments and messages on social media all the time. Knitting keeps your mind occupied, it reduces your stress level and it also improves your self-esteem when you realize that you are able to create something with your own hands.
There are a lot of young moms teaching their children the basics. It helps kids to be focused on an activity for a while and improves their creativity and psychomotricity. We are happy to learn that knitting is helping a lot of people deal with these weird times in a more positive and productive way.
As with every new skill, you need to be patient in order to learn. In the beginning you will make mistakes but you can always start over again. There are endless stitch options; you just have to learn the basics — knit and purl — and then start combining them.
There is not just one way but from our experience we think it is always good to start with thick chunky wool, big needles and a small project that does not take a lot of time to finish. This way you will see results pretty fast and you will feel encouraged to keep going. Also, our knitting tutorials are really useful for those who have never tried it before as they are filmed in a way that you just have to mimic what you are watching.
Knitters are our priority, and our community is one of the key points about We Are Knitters. Through the years, we have been able to build a real network of makers who help each other, share tips, comment on their projects.
Since we, as a civilization, are not used to making things with our hands anymore, once you start seeing results the first thing you want to do is to post about it on Instagram. That makes a lot of people think that if their friends, their sister or their colleague was able to do it, they can do it too! We have always encouraged people to share their projects using the hashtag weareknitters which now has more than k posts so that we could see how they were doing.
How are you and the knitting community coming together during this challenging time? We are really trying to make this as easy for everyone as possible. Two weeks ago, we realized our sales were increasing by the day so we started offering free shipping on all orders.
We share pics and videos of people knitting and having a good time at home so people can see they are not alone in this. Most of us are confined at home at the moment.
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