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`Not your grandmother's
knitting'
NEW BREED POSTS BLOGS, BONDS AT STITCH SESSIONS
By K. Oanh Ha
Mercury
News
Carolyn Cheng used to be a
closet knitter. Ever since her mother taught her to knit 20 years ago, she's
been working the sticks on and off -- but always in private, usually in
front of the television at the end of the day.
``It's just the kiss of death to
be 20 and have a boyfriend come over and see that you're knitting like their
mom,'' said Cheng, 27. ``Knitting was a really nerdy thing to do then.''
That all changed this year.
While cruising the Internet, Cheng found a posting from 20-year-old Jordana
Paige, who wanted to start a knitting group. Cheng now happily creates
shawls and purses among a sorority of former strangers who gather at a
Campbell coffeehouse weekly for a communal stitch.
The informal gathering is part
of a national phenomenon that might be called, well, knitworking. Once
perceived as the quaint hobby of grandmothers, the ancient craft has spun
back into vogue with a huge boost from the Internet.
Young women like Cheng and Paige
are using the Internet to organize knitting circles. They are putting up
must-read knitting blogs and sending off knitting e-mail. And they are
transforming the ancient art, using new materials such as ribbon, tofu-based
yarn and even bamboo strands to create skullcaps, bikinis, and cell phone or
laptop cozies.
Knitting's resurgence occurred
about the same time the Internet became a household fixture. Since 1998, the
number of women under 35 who knit and crochet has quintupled, according to
the Yarn Council of America. Online knitting sites, offering how-to advice
for beginners as well as patterns free or for sale, have mushroomed across
the Web.
``The Internet has been a
tremendous force,'' said Jean Guirguis, senior editor of Vogue Knitting (not
affiliated with Vogue magazine) and Family Circle Easy Knitting. ``There's
definitely more information about knitting now than ever. . . . It's
definitely not your grandmother's knitting.''
Cardigans to crop tops
Vogue Knitting, the top knitting
magazine, saw the shift in its audience five years ago. Now, about half of
its content and patterns are geared toward ``teens and the under-35 set,''
Guirguis said. The cardigans of a decade ago are replaced by patterns for
leg warmers, cropped tops and fingerless mittens.
Young women are filling up
classes at
Knitting Arts
in Saratoga, too. When the store opened last September, it offered beginning
knitting classes twice a month. Now it offers classes three times a week --
and they're full, said owner Jan Hurwitz. The store's core clientele is made
up of women 25 to 40 years old -- as well as many girls from Los Gatos High
School, which started a knitting club this year. (A few guys at the school
also knit.)
For many, knitting is a way to
connect with the past, as many women first learned to knit from their
mothers and grandmothers. The time-honored craft also seems to be an
antidote to a rushed and technologically frenzied culture. There was a spike
in the numbers of new knitters shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, according
to several knitting experts.
``After 9/11, people were
looking for something to center themselves around,'' said Mary Colucci of
the Yarn Council of America. ``People were looking for ways to express their
emotions. Knitting is very soothing.''
The new faces of knitting were
gathered on a recent Sunday at Orchard Valley Coffee in Campbell. While soft
pop music played overhead and laptops hummed, nearly a dozen women took out
their needles and shared yarns.
Stitching 'n' bitching
Since San Jose State University
student Paige put out a message on Craigslist in September, 73 knitters have
joined the group's message list. Several dozen such so-called ``Stitch 'n'
Bitch'' circles gather across the country.
The gals banter about boyfriends
and scarves (don't make him one unless you want to break up, is the
consensus), vacation plans and, what else, knitting -- without missing a
stitch.
``I'm finally making something
for myself this time,'' Cheng said to the group. She's making a shawl. ``How
many scarves have we all made for stupid boyfriends?'' The group erupted in
laughter.
Some of the women's ideas for
projects come out of knitting blogs. Knitting is undoubtedly one of the top
blog topics, said Mena Trott, co-founder of blog service TypePad in San
Mateo. In addition, knit-alongs -- where strangers around the country knit
the same pattern and share advice -- are gaining popularity.
Many young knitters say their
craft allows them to be creative.
``Anyone can go to the store and
buy something nice to wear,'' said Paige, who is making a sweater as a
Mother's Day gift. ``When you knit something for someone, you're stitching
your own love into the garment. You're thinking about them with every
stitch.''
Paige sells her own line of
purses, designed to fashionably hold a knitter's project. She recently sold
her first pattern -- an off-the-shoulder sweater -- to Vogue Knitting.
Another pattern she made for a hot pink ``party apron'' lined with faux fur
was featured on a knitting Web site.
For her part, Cheng, the former
closet knitter, is just thrilled to find a circle of young knitters.
``Knitting is all of a sudden
really hip and everyone wants to do it.'' she said. Laughing, she added, ``I
read on the Web that Russell Crowe's a knitter too.'' |
