the above image was used during World War II, and is from The Red Cross’ museum page.

part of the reason why i’m so fascinated with the current upswing in knitting is based on past resurgences, which were all war-based. some of my elder female relatives have told me stories about how they knitted for soldiers in WWI, WWII and Korea and how it was seen as a patriotic act and ‘the right thing to do.’ in fact, one of my grandmothers only attempted to knit one thing, a garment for the war effort and then quit because it looked funny.

during my current holiday retail stint, i’ve seen woman after woman wearing a handknit scarf, usually faux fur bought at the local craft-chain shop, of which there are numerous. each time they show up at my register, i ask, ‘did you knit that?’ and more often the response is something along the lines of ‘isn’t everything doing it these days?’ or ‘it’s all the rage!’ which tends to get my heckles up a bit.

maybe it’s the knitting nerd in me that wants to scream, ‘what is so fascinating about a bandwagon that you’re not especially stoked about?’ i pick activities and causes because it’s something i generally want to do, not because it seems cool or hip. (although i do remember a spate of ribbon barrettes i made in elementary school because, well, everyone else was doing it…)

don’t get me wrong, i think it’s great that so many people are picking up crochet hooks and knitting needles and learning to create garments themselves. but the travesty i see is that often times knitting’s past is overlooked. awhile ago i was doing some research on knitting and someone made the comment about how great it was that there was a resurgence in knitting, but that it was a shame that we were being ironic about it.

if there’s one thing i’m not, it’s ironic about crafts. i may put my own spin on designs, but i see my craft making as a way of honoring, not mocking, my elders. enjoying how i can create something with my own two hands rather than buy it from some mass-produced outlet.

and when i see posters like the one above, i start getting all nerdy about knitting and wanting to write and research more and excited about the *past* of knitting and the path that leads from the beginning of time until now. how something as simple and lovely as knitting wound its way in and out of public consciousness, been used to show support for and against war, kept people warm and idle hands busy, how individuals are embracing the domestic with open arms.

it’s exciting.

i just wish i could tell all of that to the women that tell me how ‘knitting’s all the rage.’