Why we knit

I'm sure knitting is a relaxing hobby, but we've been feeling more like the cottage farmers who knit in every spare minute. In the past 2.5 weeks, we have completed three projects, a nice accomplishment for new knitters. Rather than knitting to clothe ourselves or to raise a bit of cash, the students are knitting for a grade and I am knitting for my full-time job. Today we look at some of the reasons why people knit.


The term craftivism combines the words craft and activism to describe the notion that engaging in crafting can be a way to make a difference in the world, whether it be charity knitting or political activist knitting. For some, it means making things that would otherwise be machine-made or come from a corporate sweatshop. Although craftivism is a fairly new word, it's not a new idea.


Knitting and charity work have a long association in the U.S. At least since the Revolutionary War, we have been knitting to clothe soldiers at war. The tradition continues today for soldiers in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can knit helmet liners, or knit hats and slippers for The Ships Project. Old soldiers are not forgotten; the Knit Your Bit campaign of the WWII Museum collects scarves for veterans.


If you prefer to knit for peace, you can choose from a variety of organizations that collect handknit items for children, orphans, homeless, elderly, or animals. Adoptions Together ships items to orphans in Eastern Europe. Afghans for Afghans collects items for children and adults in Afghanistan. Warm Woolies supplies orphanages in Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, China and South Dakota. You can knit or crochet for the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. The Snuggles Project collects security blankets for shelter animals. College-bound foster kids can receive handknit scarves through the Red Scarf Project. Warm the World provides blankets, hats, and scarves to kids in need, and collects hats for soldiers. Warm Up America collects afghans or parts of afghans for distribution, but also encourages people to find agencies to which they can directly donate afghans. You can make a Christmas stocking for Navajo children or elders through the Adopt-An-Elder program. You can also support Peace Fleece.


Political activists can find an outlet in knitting as well. microRevolt is collecting knit or crochet squares of the Nike blanket to serve as a petition for fair labor standards. You can send a message with your testimony about the Iraq war to your senator along with a helmet liner through the Stitch for Senate campaign. Graffiti artists can switch from spray paint to knitting and join Knitta with members who tag utility poles and more with knit objects.


Many knitters today knit for the satisfaction in creating the object and to promote our ability to make things for ourselves rather than just buy them. This is reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19th century and early 20th century, which was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. Believing that a healthy society needed skilled craftsmen and creative people, supporters preferred handmade objects to those made entirely on soul-less machines. This movement has never entirely died out.


Even if you can't knit, you can support knitters through the donation of materials or the purchase of handmade objects. You can donate yarn and needles to the Hennepin County Home School, which is teaching non-violent juvenile offenders to knit to make amends. You can buy yarn for Navajo weavers through the Adopt-An-Elder program. Buy handmade products from around the world through Economic Development Imports, Lantern Moon, Rosie's Place, Snow Cabin Goods, Kenana Knitters, and Etsy.


What are your reasons for knitting or buying handknit items?