My own knitting journey
A few years back I was listening to the radio in the car on a long journey and was glued to a programme about women in the Shetland Islands, Scotland and the North of England knitting fishing ganseys. When I arrived home I went straight online and read everything I could find about the subject. I wasn’t a knitter; I’d never picked up needles in my life, but these women and their stories really captured my imagination.
I turned to a knitter on YouTube and after watching their videos I taught myself to knit, or rather, they taught me how to knit. After some very holey attempts I had my first hand-knitted jumper and I also had my new obsession!
The knitters and knitwear designers on YouTube are a fabulous bunch of people who share their ideas, techniques, yarn choices and knitting advice with such passion and it’s hard not to be motivated by them.
My character in The Last Laugh Club, Norman George – NormanKnits on his YouTube channel – also inspired so many of his followers to knit their own garments. He was passionate about his craft, loved to knit colourful fair isle sweaters for his friends and to share his expertise. He was inspired and drawn from all the YouTubers who I watch regularly.
If I was to share one piece of knitting advice that I have picked up along the way it would be this:
Learn to read your knitting! If you understand how your stitches are constructed, you can easily know if you’ve gone wrong and how to correct mistakes. It’s worth spending some time on small sample pieces before you tackle a bigger project.
I now regularly knit jumpers, cardigans, hats and scarves and still manage to make some mistakes! I have yet to attempt an epic fisherman’s gansey.
One day soon, I will.