Changing gender roles and Knitting
Michelle Padgett/Contributing Writer
Issue date: 4/6/05 Section: Feature
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Thousands of women are picking up their needles and knitting. The face of knitting, however, has changed drastically in the past decades.
Instead of stereotypical grannies knitting multi-colored afghans and itchy Christmas sweaters, this generation's demographic of knitters is more varied, trendier, and usually much younger. According to the Craft Yarn Council of America, the percentage of women ages 23-34 who knit increased by 150 percent last year. All over the United States, college-aged students and hipsters are knitting everything from scarves and handbags to cozies for their cell phones and iPod holders.
In the forum dedicated to knitting, www.Craftster.org, people exchange ideas, talk about patterns, and share pictures of completed projects.
Sarah Kantor, Craftster member and student at the University of Wisconsin, has noticed the craft's growth in popularity.
"I think knitting is more popular than it was when I learned just four years ago. There are several student organizations at my university for knitters, and it's not uncommon to see people knitting in a coffee shop," she said.
One of the best-selling knitting books, Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook, targets this new audience of young knitters.
In the introduction, author Debbie Stoller, who is also editor-in-chief of the feminist magazine BUST, explains knitting is becoming more popular with the younger generation because women are no longer ashamed to take pride in a so-called "domestic art."
The strong feminist movement in the 1970s, inspired by Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, encouraged women to break free from their traditional gender roles. As a result, any craft or hobby that was typically reserved for women was shunned.
"It dawned on me," Stoller said, "all those people who looked down on knitting were not being feminist at all. In fact, they were being anti-feminist, since they seemed to think that those things that men did were worthwhile."
So, in an effort to "take back the knit" and give women's crafts the attention they deserve, Stoller wrote Stitch N' Bitch and started a group in New York City that meets to knit, visit, and share ideas.
Her book is designed with the beginner in mind and teaches basic knitting how-to. It also includes patterns for cardigans, scarves, bags, and even a Wonder Woman bikini.
New York City is not the only place where knitting groups have started-up. Almost every major city in the United States has a group that meets in a local café or bookstore.
Websites such as www.Kitting.Meetup.com help knitters find their city's knitting groups. There are more than five groups listed in the Dallas metroplex alone.
Women are not the only ones participating in the trend. Men are knitting, too. According to a recent MSNBC report, the majority of male knitters are actually (as hard as it may be to believe) snowboarders.
Tired of the same-old manufactured beanies and scarves, many snowboarders started knitting to make their own fashion statements.
A yarn store in Davis, Calif., In Sheep's Clothing, hosted the first-ever all-male knitting group this February. There are also two online forums for men who knit: www.YarnBoy.com and www.MenKnit.net.
Just as the typical knitter has changed, so has the typical yarn. Yarn stores offer different textured yarns in a wide variety of colors.
Knitters have the option of working with silk, acrylic, alpaca, and even soy-based yarns.
The Dallas-based knitter has a few specialty yarn stores to choose from. The Woolie Ewe (1301 Custer Rd. #328, Plano) and Yarn Heaven (1300 W. Arkansas, Arlington) are two of the largest. Both stores offer hands-on classes for those interested in picking up the hobby.