www.registerguard.com | © The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon

March 21, 2004

The new knitters: The younger generation discovers an old craft that is inexpensive, easy and creative

By Lewis Taylor
The Register-Guard

Nathan Hazard is one of the new faces of knitting.

A lean, 23-year-old University of Oregon art student with an interest in design, Hazard looks like he'd be right at home in an indie rock band. But he's learning to stitch scarves and hats. He says knitting offers the chance to create something without going through an elaborate design process.

"It's something I've always wanted to do," says Hazard. "To take a piece of yarn and make a garment is such a cool thing to me."

Hazard isn't the only non-granny picking up knitting needles. Mirroring a national trend, local high school kids, college students and Gen-Xers are discovering knitting, a craft that's easy, inexpensive and very portable.

"I love having something that I made on my own," says Meara Gilhooly, 18, a first-year student who knits every day. "It's also really meditative, it really relaxes me when I'm feeling stressed out. It helps me so much."

Not surprisingly, the field of young knitters is dominated by women, but as the craft becomes more popular, men, too, are entering the fold.

Mona Rummel, owner of Soft Horizons Fibre, has been seeing more young faces in her handcrafts store, which is located on 13th Avenue in the heart of University housing.

"I think people are looking for something tangible to do in this fast-paced world," Rummel says.

"People are longing for something relaxing, a way to bond with people."

Hazard says he doesn't find knitting to be relaxing at all - he believes it magnifies his own perfectionist tendencies - but he does enjoy it, and he plans to take an intermediate knitting class at the Erb Memorial Union Craft Center, where he works.

"(Knitting) is just undergoing a huge resurgence," says Laura Gerards, assistant coordinator at the Craft Center. "We've been offering knitting in the past and the classes didn't fill up. (Now) within the first day of registration, it's full."

To accommodate the growing demand, the center recently added a Continuing Knitting class. Lyn Gates, who teaches both knitting classes, says she isn't surprised that more young people are discovering the craft.

"Our days have become so mechanized," Gates says. "In my opinion, there's a real loss of stuff that nourishes the spirit - those things that bring you back to yourself. ... The other thing is, it's so fun to do."

Gates has seen men and women, both young and old, in her classes. She has instructed a mother-daughter duo and even taught two blind students how to knit.

The craft requires just two basic stitches and a few dollars worth of material - thrifty knitters can even make their own sticks with wooden dowels.

Beginners can be knitting on their own within an hour, and the sense of accomplishment is immediate.

"It isn't like woodworking or metal-smithing where it takes a long time," says Sara Asher Morris, a 19-year-old UO sophomore. "It is empowering because you can make what you want."

Morris is the co-founder of the University of Oregon Student Fibers guild, a group that meets once a week to talk knitting, spinning (making yarn) and weaving.

There is at least one other campus knitting group, Stitch 'N Bitch, that meets each week, and other informal knitting circles have cropped up in the dorms. The guild hosts Spinning/Knitting Bees each quarter and often teaches beginners how to knit.

"People seem really interested," says Yvonne Ellsworth, 20, the guild's other co-founder. "They'll come up and say, `That's so cool. What are you making?' " In (the past), I just would have gotten weird looks."

Ellsworth, who's been knitting since she was 13, is happy to see more people her age embracing knitting because, she says, more people equals more creativity.

At stores such as Soft Horizons, there's evidence of new blood and new creativity. Traditional yarns sell alongside expensive Italian threads and iridescent yarns with names such as "No Smoking," "Wild Stuff" and "Glitz." The ugly yellows and atrocious oranges that used to be a hallmark of knitting have been supplanted by fluorescent microfibers and bright metallic yarns that knit up into shimmering scarves worthy of boutique store windows.

"It's bringing new life, new energy, to an old craft," Rummel says.

There's a celebrity component to knitting that's helped fuel interest in the craft. Famous knitters such as actress Daryl Hannah grace the cover of knitting magazines, and new monthlies, including one published by Vogue, have appeared.

A book called "Celebrity Scarves" features a chapter on actress Julianna Margulies and another on jazz singer Eartha Kitt, among others. "Stitch 'N Bitch, The Knitter's Handbook," a title by feminist author and Bust magazine publisher Debbie Stoller, offers instructions on making a skull-and-crossbones sweater and a punk-rock backpack.

Punk-rock knitting hasn't quite taken over Eugene, but Morris has seen crafters knitting with metal and other unconventional threads. Also, she's seen the movement embraced by those looking to avoid the corporate fashion industry.

"In Eugene, there's been a rising interest in handcrafts among people who think they shouldn't just buy things pre-made," Morris says. "The neo-hippies, they're sort of like the original hippies, they want to be able to do this on their own."

Morris, who maintains the Web site for the guild she helped found, is a part of the online knitting community. She subscribes to mailing lists and communicates with knitters in other parts of the world.

"It's not just one yarn shop in town anymore," she says. "You can chat with people in Hong Kong."

It's unclear whether knitting is just a passing trend like the macrame craze that hit during the 1960s or whether crafting really is, as one New York knitter told Newsweek magazine, "the new rock and roll."

Gilhooly, who knits daily with her friends in the UO dorms, doesn't see any end in sight.

"I think people are gonna stick with it," she says. "I think it will last long enough to get passed on to another generation."

KNITTING 101

The following local outlets offer knitting instruction:

Erb Memorial Union Craft Center, 1222 E. 13th Ave., offers classes for beginners and intermediates, open to students and residents, 346-4361

Soft Horizons Fibre, 412 E. 13th Ave., offers beginning knitting and a seminar and workshop, 343-0651

The Knit Shop, 2821 Oak St., offers one-on-one instruction and drop-in hours, 434-0430

University Student Fibers Guild, meets every Sunday when school is in session from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Umpqua Room of the EMU, 1222 E. 13th Ave., offers instruction for beginners and resources for experienced handcrafters, www.oocities.org/uohandweavers/

dyelots!, 676 Polk, drop-in instruction every Wednesday, 485-1880

Madame Defarge Knit Club, meets 7 p.m. Mondays, Perugino, 767 Willamette St., instruction for beginners and resources for experienced handcrafters, 485-1880

Lewis Taylor can be reached at 338-2512 or ltaylor@guardnet.com.