By JoAnn Conroy
Green Right Now
Does knitting make you yawn, think of your grandmother or the smell of snow-soggy wool mittens drying on the kitchen radiator? Newsflash: Knitting’s gone organic, political, subversive, has even entered the realm of “High Art”. There’s knitting on buses. No, not people in buses knitting; buses that are covered with knitting. We’ll get to that.
Going organic with your knitting does take commitment
Want to go organic with your knitting? Read Ann Budd’s newest book Knitting Green: Conversations and Earth Friendly Projects, due out in April from Interweave Press. The book proved to be quite an eye-opener for me, a long-time knitter and fiber artist. I’ve always regarded knitting, along with quilting as one of the original “green” pursuits because it’s done primarily with natural fibers which for the most part come from the earth, in the case of cotton, and from life in the case of wool and silk.
Since one of the book’s essays reminds us of “the sense of continuity inherent in practicing such an ancient art”, it’s easy to regard this ancient art, not to mention oneself, as pure and virtuous using these natural elements to create warm, functional, pretty things.
But other essays in the book, such as “The Gray of Green” and “The Meaning of Organic” really pulled this writer’s head out of the sand in terms of what the term “organic” actually means. It seems that in order to process cotton there are quite a few non-earth-friendly things that must go on. The same goes for wool and silk. I never imagined how many silk worms give their lives to produce one pound of fine silk – about 2,600! PETA alert! For more on wool production, sheep farmer and knitwear designer Kristin Nicholas’ essay “Ode to Sheep”, is not to be missed.
Like so many things worth doing in this life, going organic takes a certain level of commitment (and maybe a little whining) and yet its collective and cumulative benefits are irrefutable. It really does take a village Hillary, and this book clearly embraces the concepts of our interdependence and oneness. Since timing is everything it seems important to note that going organic costs more too, which makes sense once one understands the rigor involved in rendering yarn organic, but it’s a tough sell in this economy. And don’t forget about all the tempting value-priced synthetics at the big box craft stores, and natural yarns dyed in jaw-dropping-but-not-eco-friendly colorways found in those upscale fiber shops which can entice even the most virtuous of yarn divas.
The book includes a variety of patterns for items knitted using earth-friendly fibers, such as a drop-in-the washer bag knit from hemp designed to hold “soap nuts”, a substitute for phosphate-laden laundry detergent. Don’t miss the lovely lace tunic pattern knitted up in a yarn named “Allegoro”, after Mr. Global Warming himself, and a Kimono knitted with a silk yarn made from the ever-versatile soy, which the editors tell us is as soft as cashmere. Sign me up.
Knitting Green also suggests that those who are looking, and not finding, organic knitwear in the stores, should consider homemade. “More and more yarn companies are rolling out 100% organic yarns…. Fashionistas who aren’t happy with the choices for organic knitwear available in stores should pick up the needles and walk into a yarn shop,” writes Budd.
Knitting as political activism
Anyone familiar with the crafts movement knows that knitting has enjoyed a colossal renaissance over the past several years among fiber aficionados, with creative souls discovering community, functionality, meditation, and even political activism. Would you like to see that bus covered in knitting, or vividly-colored scarves wrapped around the necks of Presidential statues as a way to raise money for the homeless? Then check out Yarn Bombing: Improving the urban landscape one stitch at a time by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain to learn about the “Graffiti Knitting” phenomenon, a not-so-traditional, downright in-your-face kind of knitting practice.
Or Google Betsy Greer, who coined the term “Craftivism” and wrote her master’s thesis on knitting (why didn’t I think of that?) According to Faythe Levine, coauthor of the book, Handmade Nation (and director of the documentary by the same name), Greer’s 2008 book Knitting for Good!: A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change Stitch by Stitch “provides a platform for progressive, forward-thinking knitters and non-knitters alike who are interested in the idea that creativity can be a positive way to change the world we live in. It is chock-full of motivation, ideas, and inspiration to get you going or to keep you on the path you are already on.”
Suffice it to say, knitting: you’ve come a long way, baby!
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