I have seen a lot of knitters this year reading Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein, and I finally got my hands on a copy and read it recently.
It’s a great book for knitters, crafters of all sorts, women, people with parents and kids and folks trying to make sense of the world we’re living in now.
The subtitle is “What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater,” though if the picture of the sweater on the back of the book is any indication it’s probably definitely not the ugliest sweater (it is a pretty small picture, though).
Orenstein decided during the pandemic that she wanted the sheep to sweater experience, so she found someone to teach her to shear sheep, learned to spin, did numerous dyeing experiments, got help to design a sweater using her DIY yarn and ultimate knit that sweater.
There’s a lot here about the value of making things, whether that thing is yarn or a sweater or a relationship with a family member. When writing about dyeing yarn with an indigo vat (something I’ve wanted to do but am a little afraid to try in my backyard), she talks about the pride of making things without worrying too much about the result.
“I will miss the lightness of a beginner, the freedom from expectation, my sense that any result is ‘good,’: she writes. “‘These are mine,’ I say, smiling to myself, and I know that is all that matters.”
The knitting part is actually a pretty small part of the story. It’s also about the history of craft, where colors come from, fast fashion, climate change, aging and more. I want to recommend it to knitters in particular but I really want to recommend it to everyone, because I think there are insights here that most people will find interesting (not to mention some funny bits, and some sad bits, and there’s a sweater at the end, which is kind of like a happy ending).
If you read it I’d love to hear what you think!
About the book: 224 pages, hardcover, published January 2023 by Harper Collins. Suggested retail $27.99.
Get the book here: Unraveling
