Knitting is Math: How Getting Girls to Knit Could Launch STEM Careers

March 10, 2017 by Sarah White 2 Comments

This one is kind of a long read, but I think it’s really interesting as a knitter and a mom of a girl who I hope can stay engaged in math and science as she gets older.

The post, “Girls Knit Their Way to a Math Career” looks at how knitting and other fiber arts can be used to encourage girls to engage in mathematical thinking and problem solving that just might lead the to careers in science and math in the future.

I hope more schools and programs will get this idea, that knitting is so much more than handcraft. It would be valuable even if it just helped kids to focus, lower their stress levels and gain confidence as they learn new skills and solve problems, but it’s really more than that. Knitting and crochet can not only be used to explore and explain higher mathematical concepts, the act of designing a knitting project — and sometimes even knitting from a pattern — requires problem solving and math skills.

Sometimes the mathematical connections are obvious, as when I spent a hectic morning with the Pythagorean Theorem while designing a set-in sweater sleeve. Other times it’s not as obvious, or we don’t think about the fact that we’re doing math when we knit a gauge swatch or adjust a pattern. The more experience and comfort kids have with these concepts in a non-classroom context can only benefit them, even if it doesn’t lead to more women in STEM careers.

Knitting might also be a way to reach girls with STEM projects when those girls aren’t interested in robots and computer gaming, which are classic points of entry that might appeal more to boys.

I know I’m going to keep encouraging my daughter in both her fiber arts and her mathematical studies, and I can’t wait to see where that all goes for her.

Have you ever taught kids to knit or crochet? Do you talk about it being math? Or in your own craft do you think about it being math? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Illustration by James Lewis for Bright.]

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Comments

Aubrey says
March 10, 2017 at 11:49 am
Girls and boys too!
piecefuldays says
March 10, 2017 at 12:21 pm
When I was in high school, the girls were discouraged (sometimes severely) to avoid math and science and to go toward English, and typing, and so forth. As I’ve aged and gotten into quilting I realized I certainly would have had easier lessons if I had been taught in a mode (piecing fabric angles for geometry, compositions of threads and battings for some science concepts). Thank you for a well written essay!

Have you read?

Get Graphic with the Snug Wrap Knitting Pattern

I don’t know if it’s possible to look at the Snug Wrap from Sylvia Watts-Cherry and not smile. There’s so much fun stuff going on in it that if I had a bunch of sport weight yarn in my house I definitely would have cast this one on immediately after seeing it.

There’s stripes and circles of different sizes and colors, worked with intarsia. The wrap is worked sideways in both garter stitch and stockinette, so different sections also have different textures. Color blocking means you’ll use a lot of two main colors, and there are two more colors used for contrast throughout the piece.

As I mentioned, the project calls for sport weight yarn, and it’s already pretty big — 23.25 by 82 inches or 59 by 208 cm — so you probably wouldn’t want to use heavier yarn unless you just want to make it a super scarf. You could use even lighter yarn to make it more of a scarf than a shawl if you wanted.

The yarn used is a combination of Merino wool and recycled threads from La Bien Aimée’s yarn making process, so it’s a fun way to reduce waste while making something awesome.

The color motifs are depicted in charts in the pattern, but none of these are difficult so even if you’re new to chart reading you should be able to handle this pattern. The colors in the sample are so pretty but you can of course change it up with your favorites that will make you smile as you knit and wear this super fun pattern.

As usual, checking out the projects tab on Ravelry will show you some more fun color options. I love the idea of using jewel tones to give it a more wintry look, but the sky is the limit when it comes to color options.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Sylvia Watts-Cherry]

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Comments

Have you read?

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