By Samantha (Sibel) Diaz
Imagine we are in the 1800s. Winter is coming and mother is sitting next to the fireplace making a new pair of warm wool socks for you. You really treasure the kilt she made for you last year, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to appropriately dress to shield from the low temperatures. Mother’s knitting abilities are an everyday advantage as she covers a necessity for the whole family. Now, come back to the present where you can find a wide variety of clothes to wear in the cold, from different styles, materials, and spanning a range of prices, etc. It is not up to mother – or your sisters or wife – to assure you that you have a warm sweater anymore. So, why are women knitting? They don’t need to anymore; it is actually more expensive and takes a lot more time to get some garment from knitting than to buy it from the store.
With the surge of social media self-help videos in recent years, knitting and crocheting has made a comeback as new generations are learning and sharing more about this art and science on various platforms. As noted in a research study on the influence of YouTube knitting and crocheting vlogs of late, “Seeing others’ needs gratified or feeling one’s needs can be gratified by a behaviour increases the likelihood of observers doing that behaviour” (Gregg, 2021). Viewers with certain affinities then find it appealing to take part in the experience using the mostly-free guidance from online videos.
A variety of studies have been conducted to show what is the modern function of knitting and crocheting. I’ll refer here to research applied solely on women and with a variety of angles for the craft of knitting and crochet: as a leisure activity, as a materialization of a social bond or memorialization, and as a tool for mental wellbeing. Leaving aside the point of view of these activities as a means of economic support. It’s also important to point out that although knitting and crochet are not exactly the same, they share a good number of characteristics, and hence, they may share the same intrinsic benefits and motivations. Please refer to my table below:
Women grab their hooks because “crocheting made them feel calmer (90%), happier (82%) and more useful (75%)” according to Burns & Van Der Meer in a study that gathered the responses of more than eight thousand crocheters with a survey. They focused on investigating the impact of crocheting on individuals’ wellbeing. In this survey, they also found out that crocheters identified creativity (82%), relaxation (79%) and accomplishment (75%) as the main benefits of this activity. Respondents of Burns & Van Der Meer’s survey revealed that they feel the need to crochet because they see a very positive impact on their mood, although there is also another point of view that crocheting feels like an obligation, and that’s the less enjoyable part of the activity.
Another research study found that there are also times when the knitters feel obliged to knit, especially for presents. They take their “knitter” identity so seriously that they don’t know how to stop when they are not really enjoying what they do. In a series of interviews with women knitters in Edinburgh, Scotland, researcher Kate Court looks at knitting as an amateur leisure activity and finds out that “women knit for personal reasons, as gifts, to make something to fit our bodies, or to communicate our individuality” (Court, 2020). It is highlighted here the function of knitting is an individual expression or an art. Participants recognize their knitting as a channel to vent their emotions through a tangible activity. They also use this craft to have a sense that they are not “wasting their time” when they watch television or doing other activities like being in a hospital waiting room.
We can find this sense of achievement also in other studies. Fisk (2019) conducted a series of unstructured interviews with knitters in Scotland to learn about their motivations to knit connected to their ancestors. Mothers teaching their daughters how to knit is the most common way to pass the knowledge of this craft, or at least it was before technology took over, so Fisk was curious to know if women still honour their mothers and grandmothers by preserving this activity in their lives. The researcher found that through all kinds of garments, it was the bonds created by knitting that were the most relevant reasons to knit for the interviewees. “Ritualized remembering of familial relationships is particularly significant, in both maintaining continuing bonds with dead loved ones and finding ways of coping with loss” (Fisk, 2019).
Based on all this research, I am proud to conclude that women knit and crochet because they really find benefits to it these days. Not as an obligation or as a gendered social norm anymore. Many women actually find these activities therapeutic and necessary for their mental health. However, as a craft deeply linked to stereotypes and stigma, it is worth noticing that knitting and crocheting should not anymore be attached to a certain age group or lifestyle. Maybe if you give it a chance, whoever you are or whatever your gender or profession, you can also benefit from getting your hands on all those needles and wool. For me, crocheting has been the perfect fit for my wandering mind for quite a few years now since I started to learn from online videos in my bedroom during a particularly lonely period of my life. And even when I did it for myself, and I tremendously enjoy wearing what I crochet, I’ve personally discovered the satisfaction of putting my heart and ability in a present for a loved one, and also in finding a community that shares this passion.
Women knit and crochet just because they want to, and that is a real revolution.
References
Burns, P., & Van Der Meer, R. (2021). Happy Hookers: findings from an international
study exploring the effects of crochet on wellbeing. Perspectives in Public Health,
141(3), 149–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913920911961
Court, K. (2020). A grounded theory approach to studying craft: The serious work and
leisure of knitting. Craft Research, 11(1), 79–95.
https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00016_1
Fisk, A. (2019). “Stitch for Stitch, You Are Remembering”: Knitting and Crochet as
Material Memorialization. Material Religion, 15(5), 553–576.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17432200.2019.1676621
Gregg, P. B. (2021). Social responses to and motivation involving knitting vlog viewing.
Convergence, 27(2), 508-523. https://doi-org.ezproxy.humber.ca/10.1177/1354856520960287
Samantha Diaz is a marketing expert with long experience in social media management for a variety of international brands moving to Canada from Mexico. Her passion for data has driven her into the market research field. She enjoys reading fiction, crocheting, and taking walks with her dog. She is currently a Research Analyst student at Humber College.
