Netflix and knit? Yes please
Get over the initial learning curve and knitting can have all the benefits of a relaxing day at the spa. Plus, you can get yourself a cool hat out of it
“Is knitting cool?” my editor asked me in earnest on the phone last week. She had heard about We Are Knitters, an online company based in Spain that offers knit kits — complete with all the knitting accoutrement (Wool! Needles! A stepby-step pattern guide with coinciding videos!) — to make knitting easy and accessible.
I told her knitting has definitely become A Thing for the millennial set — my progressive, 20-something cousin
Laura, who lives in L.A., has been knitting for a handful of years already — and so, I decided to get a kit of my own to see if I could get into it. ’Tis the season, and as the temperatures get cooler and I begin to hibernate, it seems like the most apropos time of year to pick up a new hobby. I also love the idea of gifting friends knitted hats or mittens for the holiday season — that is, if I can master the art of knitting.
We Are Knitters set me up with its
brand partner Julie Crawford, 40, a Toronto-based knitting expert who shares her creations on her @knittedblissjc Instagram account. It provided us both with a kit, which costs $70, to knit a beanie (how hipster,) so she could walk me through my first official knitting lesson.
I suggested we meet up at Drake Commissary in the west end since the space lends itself to creative types and its midday vibe is that of a hip lounge.
Before meeting her, I began to type the word “knitting” in my Instagram (a place where I tend to do all my research) and the hashtag #knittersofinstagram popped up, showcasing over 5.9 million posts.
A quick scan through the feed and it was clear that these aren’t your grandmothers, bubbies and nanas. These are millennials who come up with unique patterns in fun colours and boast their skills (like most do on the ’gram) one hashtag at a time. A deep dive brought my attention to the fact that the knit community is loud and strong.
I threw on a velvet suit to up my “cool girl” cred, then headed to meet Crawford. Over tea and pastries, we opened up our chic kits (all the packaging and products are completely sustainable), and she told me to take a moment to just squeeze the ball of yarn.
The yarn we were sent was 100-per-cent alpaca and was soft to the touch. Squeezing it like a stress ball was soothing and was the perfect way to familiarize myself with the material and to transition into my lesson. She educated me on knitting need-to-knows, and we got started.
As I attempted to mirror her actions, I grew incredibly frustrated with myself. Though she was patient and kept showing me how to start, I couldn’t seem to understand what to her is likely a simple step. I was disappointed that I was unable to pick it up just like that or understand how to make the stitches without messing it up. She started my first handful of stitches for me to give me a hand and told me I needed to hone in on a beginner mindset.
“This is an exercise in self compassion,” says Crawford.
“Lean into this. Relax into the experience. Get into the mess of the sloppy beginner stage like anything else you’re starting to learn.”
As she corrected some of the mistakes, and told me a repetitive saying, I started to go easier on myself.
Through the side, around the back, through the loop. I said it over and over as I did each stitch and as I did, I found success in my efforts and my enthusiasm grew.
I felt proud of myself, even though I messed up a minute or two later. There was something ever so soothing about the repetition of the rhythm, and I was excited by the idea of taking part in a healthy hobby.
I learned through our two hours together, as my hat started to take form, that this meditative activity comes alongside a sense of pride and satisfaction.
“It can be really meditative in terms of focusing on the knitting pattern and taking the time to focus on each step like counting the stitches, and it’s hard to spin out on whatever you’re dealing with externally because there’s a task at hand,”
Crawford says.
“You’re also doing something that’s product-placed, and there’s a real sense of achievement and a real sense of accomplishment.”
We chatted about some of the trends and happenings in the knitting community of which she’s very much a part.
“Most of the knitting market is now 40 years old and younger, by and large,” says Crawford.
The Purple Purl in Kensington market offers “Knit Nights,” and she tells me there are a handful of places that host “Stitch and Bitch” gatherings, where people come together to knit and vent about whatever drama is currently going on in their lives.
The rise in this trend is similar to other old-school maker trends, like being a plant parent, collecting cacti and making macramé wall hangings.
I was talking to a few people I met at a cocktail party about my knitting assignment for the Star, and it just so happened that I was talking to Matthew
Rowe, the CEO of the Campaign for Wool, which was started by the Prince of Wales.
“Hopefully, the Campaign for Wool played a role in bringing back all things wool,” says Rowe of the campaign, which was started in 2010.
He told me that last week happened to be wool week (who knew?) and that he partnered with Holt Renfrew for a capsule collection featuring three Canadian designers — Smythe, Line and Mikhael Kale — giving them access to British Heritage wool. Their designs were showcased at the Royal Winter Fair for guests on the Royal Terrace.
He acknowledged the rise in wool being picked up by the millennial set and says he’s not surprised.
“People are conscious of what they’re consuming and what they’re buying, and looking to the past for good examples of what things work. Millennials want to connect with real things that connect them to a broader narrative,” says Rowe.
“It’s like people have discovered it anew, and there’s this past time of knitting that’s soothing and calming and, in the end, you create something that is beautiful and durable.” He tells me that it’s cosy, natural and good for the planet.
As I continued knitting with Crawford, I caught myself smiling and thought about my bubbie Lola, who knitted late into her 90s, donating her work to hospitals and gifting friends and family with everything from sweaters to scarves to toy clowns and cats.
I wish I had picked up knitting when I was younger so we could bond over the shared experience of creating. But it’s never too late to learn.
I see knitting as a healthy distraction and something to do while bingeing the latest show on Netflix, sitting in the back of a Lyft ride into the city or on the subway, and something I can maybe teach my niece, if she can also get past the beginner mindset.
“It’s as simple or as complex as you want it to be, and there’s the opportunity to zen out once you get used to it and have your muscle memory in place doing the basic stitches. Sure you may be doing it while bingeing on Netflix, but hey, you’re also going to get a hat out of it,” says Crawford.
“This is an exercise in self compassion. Lean into this. Relax into the experience.”
JULIE CRAWFORD KNITTING EXPERT