What is Slow Knitting?
Slow knitting is the act of knitting intentionally. This means that the supplies we choose, the reasons why we knit, and how we actually spend our time knitting are all part of the slow knitting movement. Read on for more about what is slow knitting, plus how to practice and benefit from it.
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Contents
- The slow knitting movement
- Why slow knitting is counter-cultural
- Benefits of slow knitting
- How to practice slow knitting
- The environment
- The intention
- The influence
- The yarn
- Slow knitting in nature
- Slowly growing your knitwear and home collection
The slow knitting movement
Did you know that there was a 4x increase in views of videos with “slow living” in its title in 2020 compared to 2019?
Like slow living, slow knitting has been a more prominent topic over the past few years.
Some people are looking to relieve stress from their lives and are turning to knitting. Other knitters have become more mindful of where their yarn comes from and how its produced.
Many of us are choosing to knit intentionally and un-rushed. To knit for the process and not just for the end product.
And all of us feel the effects of social media, which has brought a rise in consumerism and comparison in the knitting world that wasn’t there before. Or at least, not at our fingertips.
While everyone has different values and priorities, even within slow knitting, the umbrella definition is being mindful about why we knit and how we knit.
Why slow knitting is counter-cultural
The current culture of knitting on social media is telling us this: your knitting needs more, faster, bigger, and better.
More patterns
Recently, our pastor shared a sentiment that went something like this: we live in homes that are bigger than ever before and we use them less than ever before. For some of us, the same can be said of our yarn stash and pattern collection.
I’m a pattern designer, so I don’t point my nose up at designing and pattern releases. While designing isn’t my livelihood and full time income, it’s been an important creative outlet for me over the past several years, and I’m very grateful for it. It’s seen me through post-partum depression and contributes to our simple family fun time budget.
At the same time, algorithms and the pressure that’s put on the designers and dyers alike trickle down to even the hobby knitters. Designers need to churn out new designs multiple times a year to stay relevant. Dyers need new collections for almost every holiday. We’re consuming patterns and yarn faster than we did before social media and all the pattern sharing websites existed.
And still we’re being shown more and told that we need it all!
Bigger yarn stash
I frequently share my yarn in an old painted hutch in photos online. It brings me joy and inspires my knitting, plus it’s just plain pretty for our home decor.
Despite a quick scroll on Instagram at the beautiful new yarn collections, I shop my stash first. But I didn’t used to. My yarn collection did used to be more of a hoard, until I realized that I didn’t know what yarn I owned, if it was under the bed or stuffed in the bottom of the hutch, and if I had 1 ball or 5 balls.
Even though I decluttered my yarn and keep it a realistic size, the temptation to buy more likes to try to sneak back in.
The sad truth is that we live in a world that makes reels about hiding your yarn in the fridge, lying to husbands about how much was spent on yarn, and buying patterns that we never even knit up.
Faster knitting speed
Slow knitting is counter-cultural because we want to knit faster. We’ll work on ten WIPs (works in progress) at a time and learn tips and tricks to use our needles quicker. We even watch knitting influencers make multiple sweaters a month and compare their knitting speed and time devoted to the craft to our own, and end up unhappy!
Sometimes we think about our busy days and think I can’t wait to get home and knit later! Only when you get home and knit later, you think to yourself, I have to hurry to finish this blanket by tomorrow’s baby shower.
What if we shifted our focus around knitting from product to process? That doesn’t mean that you don’t care about having a finished product! It just means that we focus on enjoying the process, the journey of knitting along the way.
Better tools
Be honest: How many different types of knitting needles do you have?
If you’re still finding out if you’re a bamboo or metal needle lover, keep testing. But, if you’ve already discovered that metal clanking on metal drives you nuts, or that tiny 9″ circulars hurt your joints, why are keeping them? Sometimes we buy and hold onto what was promised by another knitter to be life-changing in your knitting. Pom pom makers. Looms. Blocking mats. Insert whatever you just had to have because someone made it look like a “must have” online. We’ve all been there!
We’re constantly being sold from sales that seem like they’ll only come once in a lifetime, and products that were bought or given to an influencer and are really barely or never really used themselves. As a knitting blogger, I can attest to the struggle of sharing what you love even if it’s not trending right then.
If you want to knit, the necessities are yarn and needles. Of course, we all like to add some fun projects bags, stitch markers, and yarn bowls because we’re human! It’s when we’re constantly collecting the newest, greatest thing that we might want to evaluate what we actually like and use.
Slow knitting practices that are counter-cultural:
- Following your own knitting style, not the must have patterns or yarn.
- Taking the time to mend your knit socks instead of casting on or buying new.
- Buying yarn for the pattern you have already bought or saved.
- Knitting to enjoy the process, not to add to your busyness.
- Ignoring the pressure to keep up with the Joneses knitting on social media.
- Setting and reaching realistic knitting goals based on your life.
Benefits of slow knitting
There is a lot of research on how knitting keep us healthy. But, the physical benefits don’t actually benefit us if our knitting is actually causing more stress.
But, the act of intentional slow knitting in particular can have enormous health benefits.
- When you knit for your own enjoyment, you stay in a calm and mindful mood rather than feeling rushed and competitive.
- Working with and interacting with natural fibers gives you the benefit of being in nature even if you’re indoors.
- Knitting mindfully keeps you focused on the rhythm of the needles, and has been proven to release serotonin, which is associated with calmness.
- Slow knitting with other like-minded knitters connects you with a community (very hygge).
- Slowing down your knitting regulates your breathing.
While slow knitting doesn’t literally mean that you’re a slow knitter speed-wise, it does mean that you knit at your own speed for your own enjoyment. Taking your time to choose patterns, yarn, and curate your knitwear and home collection is more about mindfulness than the actual speed at which you move!
How to practice slow knitting
Whether you’re knitting alone or with a group, practicing slow knitting during the actual act of knitting is important. You have your supplies and I’m going to assuming you’re knitting and not scrolling Instagram, so this is how we practice slow knitting now that it’s actually time to knit:
The environment
The first way to be intentional and set up a whole slow knitting mood is to focus on your senses.
Look around you. Do you have a favorite chair you knit in? Maybe a favorite side of the bed or couch. Or, you might be a front porch knitter!
When you’re getting ready to sit down and knit, try to plan out and grab a few things that will make it an even more enjoyable moment.
A bath with bubbles, candles, soft lights, and wine is more enjoyable than just a warm tub of water. In the same way, prep your knitting time first. Here are a few ideas:
- Warm lights, not florescent. I avoid overhead lights altogether.
- An audiobook or music. I’ve been really into the Vampire Knitting Club series by Nancy Warren, and the audiobooks by Sara Zimmerman are fantastic! I’m also on a big instrumental folk music kick because I can still count stitches in my head but it’s upbeat.
- Scent is important to me while I’m knitting. It inspires my designing, hence the Sweet Cider Cabin Socks! I’m a big fan of candles that smell like baked goods, so it also helps scratch my itch for late night snacking!
- Something easy to watch. In the winter when it gets dark by 4:30 p.m. here, I do like to watch TV while knitting. I prefer fun and easy to watch shows, like Parks and Recreation, The Office, Seinfeld, and New Girl. It makes my knitting more enjoyable, too, since there aren’t any tense scenes to mess up my stitches or tension! I also really recommend Slow TV Knitting videos, either straight from Norway or my own YouTube collection.
The intention
When you’re sitting down to knit, it can be helpful to think about why you’re knitting. That may seem silly, I mean you like knitting, right? But let me explain.
We all pick up our needles for some reason. Tonight, are you working on yours to relieve stress after a long day? Maybe you’re hoping it will bring joy to work on those cables tonight.
Sometimes, we sit down in a mood ready to learn something new, or tackle a new heel technique on our socks.
Surrounded by your family, you might be knitting to clothe them (or yourself) with new Christmas hats to wear while you pick out a tree in a few weeks.
A lot of my friends found themselves looking for entertainment during the season of Lent, when they unplugged from social media.
Why are you knitting right now? That might help center your mind and knit with joy instead of focusing on a stressful deadline or pushing through a hard pattern past the point of joy, just to finish it.
The influence
Who are you knitting for?
Whether you’re knitting to prevent boredom, to heal from something, or to love on those around you, I stand firm on one belief: you should not be knitting out of pressure or competition.
Basically, if the reason why you’re knitting is because you’re under pressure to finish a gift, or you feel jealous of a project you saw online, then you’re more focused on keeping up with the Joneses than you are about knitting for your own enjoyment.
Not everyone falls prey to this, but next time you’re choosing yarn or a pattern, ask yourself this: am I knitting for my own joy or to impress someone else?
The yarn
The slow living movement is heavily centered around knowing the full story of something. In knitting, and with yarn in particular, it means knowing that its whole story from sheep to yarn.
Admittedly, this is still something that I still am learning about.
Few knitters dive into learning about where and how wool is sourced, or what acrylic yarn really is, or how superwash wool is made when they first start knitting. When we first start knitting, many of us start with cheap craft store yarn. Some of us stay there because its all we know, and others of us because it’s all we can afford.
So while this is a big part of slow knitting, I consider myself still learning and creating a closet that reflects more natural and local yarns. As I decide what patterns to knit and the yarn to match, I’m definitely moving more towards rustic and natural yarns!
Here are a few great resources for learning more about carefully sourcing your yarns:
Slow knitting in nature
One way that I enjoy slow knitting is by knitting in nature. Preferably actually knitting outside, although in rough weather, next to a big window will do!
When you sit in nature, you’re able to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds. By the seaside, in the woods (watch out for ticks!), or on your patio are all knitting in nature.
Nature sounds have their own rhythm, and sitting outside knitting helps your heart rate slow, regulates your breathing, and syncs your body up to seasonal rhythms.
While I was skeptical at first, I found I enjoyed knitting in nature. When I’m outside, I’m less likely to look around and see my to-do list like I am inside. That means that you can actually just sit and knit. And that sounds like actually enjoying the knitting process.
Slow knitting in nature helps guide my knitting calendar naturally. I’m more likely to see a project through if I’m realistic about the kind of yarn and project I’m knitting. No wool sweaters in July, because I’m not knitting them inside in the air conditioning!
Slowly growing your knitwear and home collection
Have you heard of cottage style home decor? It’s the idea of collecting (not hoarding) pieces and decorations for your home over time, instead of running out to Target to knock out your wants list in a day.
One person who does this really well is Andrea of Pine and Prospect Home. She used a less-than-loved chair as a place holder for a future dream chair. This served as two purposes: she was able to make sure that was the spot she wanted a chair before impulse buying one, and she eventually ended up with her dream unique chair.
Even though it takes longer to “fill up” or feel like its completed, we can use the cottage style gathering (or in this case, making) in our knitwear and home collection.
Is it easier to run out to a store or get next day shipping to fill up a spring closet? Yes. But I believe in quality over quantity and slow knitting a me-made wardrobe that’s truly your style.
I’m currently building up my handknit box of socks. I know it will take time, and I’m trying to mix in shortie socks for summer and cabin socks for winter. But knowing that they’ll last longer than cheap socks is huge. Plus, I know how to mend handknit socks, but not tiny machine knit socks with cheap materials.
How do you practice slow knitting?
Are you more intentional in your knitting time? Do you guard your heart against the tempting newness of yarn and accessories we see online? Are you good about sourcing your yarn? Get out and knit in nature?
Slow knitting looks different for all of us. We have different values and different lifestyles! But when we’re mindful about why we knit and how we knit, we can enjoy our knitting altogether.
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