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Not-Breaking News: Knitting Isn’t Rude

April 18, 2023 by Sarah White

If you’ve been knitting for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed there are a few classic types of stories that regular media does about knitting. One of them has to do with (gasp) men who knit. This was huge around the last summer Olympics, when everyone (including, we’re happy to admit, other knitters) was enamored with Tom Daley, the British diver who knit a cozy for his gold medal and his own Olympic sweater, among other projects he worked on poolside during the games.

Another popular trope is the “not your grandma’s knitting” story, which is usually about yarn bombing, or someone under the age of 50 who knits.

And then there’s the seemingly never-ending discussion of whether it’s rude to knit in various places.

This is the latest story to make the rounds, via the New York Times (that’s a shared link so you should be able to read it if you’re not a subscriber).

This time the story goes like this: Rachel Garrick, a county councilor in Wales was accused by a colleague via Twitter of bringing the board “into disrepute” by knitting on screen during a virtual meeting.

Of course that’s ridiculous (and who hasn’t knit — on screen or off — during a meeting in these days of virtual meetings?).

The article doesn’t spend much time on that inciting incident, though Garrick notes she took up knitting to help deal with the pain associated with chronic osteoarthritis and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Instead, it talks to people about why they knit in meetings or at work (there’s even a male knitter and none of the “aww, shucks” attitude usually presented in stories about men who knit).

There’s even an expert, John Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who says knitting and other activities done with the hands activate the prefrontal cortex, which aids in concentration. Without the professional language, any knitter could tell you about a time working with their hands has saved them from boredom, helped them concentrate or even kept them from falling asleep when they shouldn’t.

Do you have a story about someone’s reaction to you knitting in a meeting or elsewhere in public? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Andrew Testa for the New York Times.]

To explore the many aspects of knitting in public, we have written several articles that cover everything from the benefits and challenges of public knitting, to the etiquette and history behind it. So if you’re a knitter looking to take your craft on the go, or simply curious about this growing trend, these articles provide a wealth of information and inspiration to help you get started.

Knitting in Public: Better than Using Your Phone

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Knit a Great Button Down Shirt

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting. 

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of. 

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams. 

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs. 

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty. 

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this). 

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry. 

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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