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Is Knitting Becoming a Lost Art?

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Is knitting a dying skill?Ordnance Survey is a British mapmaking company, but they’re interested in a lot of different things, including thinking about and talking about skills that seem to be in danger of dying out in the modern world.

Of course knowing how to read a map has become less important in the days of GPS navigation on our phones, but there are a lot of skills that we’re in danger of losing, according to a survey the group conducted, and knitting is one of them. As is knowing how to darn socks, a skill that should go hand in hand with knitting (at least among sock knitters).

The group came up with a list of 20 endangered skills, based on a survey of 2,000 Britons. The full list is:

1. Reading a map
2. Using a compass
3. Tie a specific knot
4. Darn socks
5. Looking something up in a book using an index rather than ‘Googling it’
6. Correct letter writing technique
7. Understanding pounds and ounces
8. Knowing your spelling and grammar
9. Converting pounds and ounces to grams and kilograms
10. Starting a fire from nothing
11. Handwriting
12. Understanding feet and inches
13. Knitting
14. Recall a friend or relative’s phone number from memory
15. Recall a partner’s phone number from memory
16. Identifying trees, insects, flowers etc
17. Touch typing
18. Baking bread from scratch
19. Taking up trousers
20. Wiring a plug

I can maybe do 12 of these; what about you?

I don’t really think we’re in danger of losing knitting, since so many people do it and are eager to teach the next generation, but some of these could certainly be on the way out. What do you think?

(Hat tip to the Grimsby Telegraph, which reported on the survey.)

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Comments

  1. Sadly much of that list is true although as a knitter I won’t stop. Add civility and manners to the list!

Have you read?

A Knit Vest to Get You Ready for Summer

I know that my posts can be read at different times of year and in different years by different people, but as I write this we’re on teh cusp of summer. And I know a lot of people don’t knit as much, and certainly don’t wear a lot of knits in the summer, but I want to encourage you to make and to wear your makes no matter the temperature.

To introduce you to the joys of summer garment knitting, I offer the Tied Vest from Lion Brand Yarn.

This easy project is great to make and wear throughout the year but it’s especially good for summer. It’s worked flat in one piece from the bottom up, mostly in stockinette stitch with a seed stitch edging. The I-cord ties are worked directly onto the garment so you don’t have to sew them on.

The project uses worsted weight yarn, and calls for a blend of cotton and hemp that’s great for warm weather.

There are eight size options, ranging from a finished chest measurement of 35 to 62.5 inches, or 89 to 159 cm. That makes it sound like it should be worn with at least a few inches of positive ease, but the pattern doesn’t specify.

The ties at the front give it a casual look and make it great to wear over a tank top or T-shirt when the weather is warm.

I also think this one would be good to knit in wool or a warmer fiber, too, to make a version you could wear more comfortably in the winter months, too. Though of course you could layer the summer version over a long-sleeved shirt and wear it throughout the year, too.

The tied vest is a free pattern available from Lion Brand. You can also purchase a kit that includes the yarn and optional needles and stitch markers if you need them.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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