Tryin t temp my boys to knit

Phil Saul wants her young twin boys to discover the joys of working with yarn on their own terms

There are people out there – actual, real living people – who’ve never tried knitting. It’s a source of quiet puzzlement for me. How can this be? Maybe they assume it’s too di cult. Maybe they think they don’t have time. Maybe they think they’re not creative. Whatever the reason, these people regularly leave the house without as much as a half-finished Fair Isle jumper or a sock-in-progress in their bag. (Seriously, it’s true. I’m not making this up.)

KNITTING IS AWESOME

While I might not understand the ways of such mysterious folk, they’re adults and make their own life choices. Live and let live. At least the existence of these nonknitters means shorter queues at the yarn shop. However, when it comes to the next generation, I have no shame evangelising the all-round awesomeness of knitting. Children pick up new skills fast, and while they may grow to love or to hate it, they should have the opportunity to try to knit.

SURROUNDED BY YARN

But I’ve had to be cautious with my own twin boys. Like most self-respecting nineyear-olds, they’re automatically wary of anything their parents describe as ‘fun’, just in case it contains hidden vegetables or algebra. I’ve not pushed the idea of knitting, but have been waiting and hoping that curiosity would get the better of them, given that they’ve grown up surrounded by yarn. They’ve always known we have two pairs of children’s needles in a drawer, just in case.

PLAYING IT COOL

Time passed, and then more time. Just as I was losing hope that my sons would ever show the slightest interest in yarn, I finally heard those precious words – “Mummy, can you show me how to knit?” I could have shrieked with joy, but I know my sons so I kept quiet. Don’t let them see you’re excited. “Yeah, if you like,” I shrugged. I fetched the neverbefore-used children’s needles, and Twin One snuggled up beside me on the sofa. “OK, first you need to hold your needles, like this…”

MAGICAL MOMENTS

Where one of my sons goes, his partner in crime is rarely far away, and within minutes I was teaching two young boys the rudiments of knitting. My heart was practically exploding inside my chest. Concentrating hard, they wound the yarn around their needles and pulled through. Like every single beginner across hundreds and hundreds of years and dozens of countries before them, their early stitches were messy, uneven and chaotic. But they were knitting! They concentrated, they practised, and surprisingly rapidly, their stitches improved. They could see that they were improving, and their faces were full of smiles. It was completely magical.

HAPPY MEMORIES

I don’t know whether they will carry on knitting. I don’t know whether this will be a short-lived flare of enthusiasm or the beginning of a lifelong passion. I don’t know whether they’ll lose interest soon but then – like their mother – return to a love of knitting as an adult. But I do know that I will never forget watching them working their very first stitches. Whether or not they become knitters, I’ll never regret having introduced them to the magic of yarn and pointy sticks.

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