Knitting: A New Experience

Today I learned something new. It’s something that can’t be learned from a textbook. It’s something that can only be learned by doing. It’s something that I never thought that I would learn to do. Today I learned to knit.

For most of us, the only experience that we’ve had with knitting is getting tacky knitted scarves from grandma on our birthday. It’s depicted in popular media as a time-guzzling hobby for little old ladies, but it wasn’t always just a pastime.

Knitting has probably been around for centuries, but it’s hard to date since yarn is biodegradable and therefore impossible to find evidence of after a long period of time. Many believe that knitting was invented by Arabian nomads and introduced into Egypt around 5^th century AD. Knitted socks have been discovered in Egyptian burials. From Egypt, the craft probably spread north through North Africa, Spain and finally England where the first knitting machine was invented. Although the first knitting machine was invented in the 16^th century by clergyman William Lee, modern knitting machines are remarkably similar. We use the same technology today that was created in the 16^th century!

Finally mastered the proper way to hold a needle!

In theory, knitting is easy! In practice, it’s quite a bit more complicated than it looks! At first, I couldn’t seem to get my fingers to work right. I kept trying to hold the needles like you would hold a pencil, earning me repeated reprimands from Shuan until she was forced to forbid me from doing it again! What can I say? Old habits die hard and I’ve been wielding a pencil since grade school. I’ve only just now held a knitting needle! And in my defense, knitting needles and pencils are incredibly alike. :D

Harder than mastering the needle was learning to keep the yarn loose, but being able to pull it tight at a moment’s notice. Without Shuan’s constant tutoring, I would have never gotten the hang of it! Shuan used a variety of teaching techniques (in a vain attempt to find a good way to teach me!) including: demonstrating technique on her own project, doing a few stitches with my yarn, and just verbally explaining. None of these methods seemed to work as well as talking me through the steps. We finally figured out that the best way to have me learn was to have me hold the yarn and have Shuan coach me through every step, catching my mistakes as they were happening and congratulating me on correct technique. This method requires just one thing, a patient and willing teacher. Thanks to Shuan, I learned a skill that I could have never learned from a textbook or a blog post. Good old fashioned folk knowledge (like knitting) can only be learned by someone who knows and is willing to share their knowledge. And like most old fashioned folk knowledge, knitting is an almost entirely useless skill. ;)

Comparing scarf lengths. haha!