Knitting podcasters
Turn on, tune in (and don’t drop a stitch). Katy Bevan finds a community in the airways as she explores the wonderful world of knitting podcasts
Listen and learn while you knit with our favourite British podcasts
you listen to while you’re knitting? Knitting in front of the telly is great in the evening when you’re doing something straightforward, but a taxing project may need your full eye-attention. I listen to the radio a lot, although recently I need a rest from the relentless bad news. The great thing about podcasts is that you can choose your subject matter and download them when you have a good connection, then listen to them on the go, or binge listen to a whole load at once.
Although it’s all online, it is actually quite low-tech and reminds me of the old fashioned Citizens Band radio and connects people in a similar way. However, to become a serial podcast listener, you don’t need any special equipment — try iTunes, Podbean, SoundCloud. nd There are also ‘podcatchers’ that will manage your podcasts (Stitcher or Overcast.fm both have crafty titles, although aren’t craft specific), and once you subscribe to a series they’ll download episodes automatically.
Best of all, it’s free to listen. Some podcasters are crowdfunded, while others attract sponsors, although the adverts don’t usually interfere with listening enjoyment.
The quality of recordings varies enormously, from the professional microphone in a studio to those recorded on phones in echoey rooms. There’s plenty of yarning vernacular - from KALs and stash enhancement to talk of WIPs and frogging – but it quickly becomes part of the chat, and ultimately helps you to feel included.
Sharing stories
Being part of a community is the motivation behind many of the casters I spoke to. Louise Hunt lives on the very northern coast of Scotland with two bairns, a hubby and a dog. Louise says: “I started my own podcast Caithness Craft Collective to start a conversation with other like minded crafters - seven years later I’m still going strong.”
TJ Frog is a new podcast by Tania Jane Ashton Jones, also known as the Dorset Button Lady, who now lives on the Isle of Skye, another remote outpost, and has an easy-to-listen-to voice.
Crochet Circle Podcast is hosted by Fay Dashper-Hughes, another Scot, in Cheshire this time, with a positive and cheery take on learning new things (while listening, I learnt all about the chainless cast-on). Fay is not in a remote place geologically, but works from home, “…so that, by default, means I am isolated,” she says. “I do the podcast as a means of having a community around me that influences my work and my crafting activities,” Fay says.
The chatty podcasts from Allison Thistlewood and Rachel Brown of Yarn in the City have been download more than 60,000 times. The brains behind Yarnporium and the Great London Yarn
Crawl, they promote the work of independent designers and shops. They started off advertising their projects, then began to chat about knitting events “just as we would if at we were hanging out with our stitchy friends,” they say.
It’s a growing sector - there was a dedicated Podcaster’s Lounge at this year’s Edinburgh Yarn Festival, hosted by Louise Scollay. “Three years ago we had around ten podcasters attend the event, and this time we have almost 50 attending from all over the world,” Louise says. “It doesn’t matter whether you vlog or record audio, for the most part everyone is doing their unique thing and we are all tied together with a shared interest in craft and the knitting community — that is a powerful thing.”
Since listening to all these lovely folk chattering away in the background, I feel more connected to and part of the knitting fraternity. Why not tune in and find one that works for you?