Yes, This Is Your Grandma’s Knitting

Every now and then I see some newspaper headline describing a knitter’s fun, funky aesthetic as “not your grandma’s knitting!” And every time, it grinds my gears a bit.

Because the truth is, all of our knitting is our grandma’s knitting, in some way. Today, let’s talk just a bit about why this is a topic that matters so much to me and how we can all do our part to cherish the unique spark in each of our fellow knitters.

All Knitting Is Built Upon the Knowledge of Prior Knitters

Knitting is an iterative process. We try one thing, see if it works, keep going if it does, try something else if it doesn’t. Then we share that information with other knitters, who pass it along to other knitters, in a chain of knowledge that spans time and geography.

Which is why “not your grandma’s knitting” is so silly when you think about it. Maybe a modern knitter is using old techniques in new ways or has even developed a new technique, but it was done on the shoulders of the many experimenting knitters who came before us.

None of us knits in a vacuum, many of us learned from a grandma or two either directly or indirectly, and all of us have at least some grandmas to thank for the skills we use. If you feel the urge to separate yourself from that by describing your own knitting as “not your grandma’s knitting,” I encourage you to spend some time examining why that may be and whether the reason is a good one.

Grandmas are Cool, Too

I think one of the things that bugs me most about the “not your grandma’s knitting” refrain is the way it implies grandma’s knitting is bad because grandmas aren’t cool.

I am probably biased here because my grandma and I were very close, but I hate when people make fun of older women just for being older women. Using “grandma” as shorthand for “uncool and boring and out-of-touch” is lazy and sloppy.

My grandma was pretty cool. She went camping in her own little motorhome, had a great sense of humor, and was a talented photographer who loved tech gadgets. She also had plenty of hobbies that many might have considered uncool, like collecting dolls and doing genealogy.

Because grandmothers are just like the rest of us: human! Multifaceted! Cool and uncool at different times, in different ways!

I think of all the grandmas I know who fly planes, play instruments, and lead community organizations, and I think to myself, “Dang, if that’s uncool, I hope to be that uncool someday.”

P.S. – My grandma wasn’t a knitter, but she did tell me once that when she was in high school, it was fashionable to knit argyle socks for your boyfriend. As she put it, “I never saw the point of putting all that work into something some boy was just going to put on his smelly feet!”

My Designs Are Inspired by Earlier Fashions

I’ve mentioned before that I draw inspiration for my designs from Edwardian fashion and rococo interiors and 19th century novels, but I think it bears repeating.

I, Lauren Rad, a modern woman living in the 21st century, find inspiration for my designs in things people loved hundreds of years ago. In that sense, this isn’t just your grandma’s knitting around here; it’s your great-great-great-great-grandmother’s knitting.

After all, if fashion is cyclical, why not get ideas from people in all sorts of time periods? I love old stuff, and my designs reflect that.

There’s No Need to Make Our Work Seem Cool by Putting Down Others

Have you ever noticed that nobody ever uses “not your grandma’s knitting” to insult a knitter? It’s always used as praise.

But we don’t need to praise one person’s work by making fun of another’s. There’s room for all of us. It’s not like there’s a limited amount of praise to go around and we need to ration it.

In fact, I’ve found the opposite is actually true: the more praise I give, the more I find reasons to praise others. Once you get into the habit of seeing good things in others and telling them about it, you start wanting to do it more and more.

That’s part of why I think it’s much more interesting to praise someone’s work on its own merits or, if we must draw comparisons, by appreciating the elements it shares with other impressive work. Mockery is easy. Thoughtful appreciation takes effort.

But Also, Knitting is for Everyone, Grandmas and Not-Grandmas Alike

Finally, let’s remember that it’s not just grandmas who knit. The flip side of the “not your grandma’s knitting!” trope is the “knitting is a grandma hobby” thing, and that’s equally missing the point. Knitters come in all ages, sizes, backgrounds, genders, religions, professions, and life experiences.

I’ve known knitters who are 7 and knitters who are 70 (and beyond). Many of those knitters are girls and women, but quite a few aren’t. Some of them have kids or grandkids. Some don’t. They live in different places, speak different languages, pass their days in different ways.

And it makes our shared hobby all the stronger.

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