Don’t sweat the sweaters
By Cameron Murray
Edited by Anna Kate Mereness
“Thanks, I made it!”
Anyone who makes clothing or accessories knows the immense pleasure of giving that response to someone who complimented your outfit. This is often followed by the reply:
“Wow, I could never do that.”
That is simply not true. Nobody is born with the innate knowledge of how to knit a sweater like a spider is born knowing how to spin a web. Does talent have something to do with it? Maybe. Some people will pick up certain skills faster than others. But you still have to put effort into learning and practicing the skill.
I started knitting when I was around seven years old. My grandmother taught me how to make a simple dishcloth, which required me to learn a few basic knitting skills: casting on, binding off, knit stitch, increases and decreases. After a few dishcloths that were decidedly more pentagonal than square, I got the hang of it. I could apply the same basic skills to knitting hats and scarves, but I didn’t even attempt a sweater until I was 22.
This wasn’t because I tried and couldn’t figure it out, rather, I had decided that sweaters would be too hard. I had assumed that making a sweater required an advanced skill set that could only be acquired by sage old women, who in turn had gained the ability to make sweaters by divine intervention. Well, you know what they say about when you assume.
When I was 22, I started working a real grown-up job in a new state. I felt out of my depth, like I wasn’t as smart or special as I’d always been told I was. I needed to conquer a challenge in order to get my confidence back: I would finally knit a sweater.
I sat down with my YouTube tutorials, Walmart brand cotton yarn and the knitting needles my grandmother had given me all those years ago. I practiced the notoriously hated (but actually not that hard) purl stitch, quickly realizing that it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I’d expected. I found a free sweater pattern aimed at beginners and bought the required circular needles and chunky wool blend yarn from the local yarn store. I would soon become a regular customer at Knitty Gritty Yarns and find community and support with more experienced fiber artists.
As I waited for midnight on New Year’s Eve two years ago, I tried on my first ever sweater. I was full of confidence and pride with the promise of the new year. If I could make a sweater, what else could I accomplish?
Not everyone wants to make a sweater, but I know there’s something you’ve put off trying because it looks hard. Birds are born knowing how to build a nest and fish are born knowing how to swim. Whatever your challenge, you were born with the ability to learn. If you fail, you can always try again.
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