A cosy community

Designs by Gabrielle Malone

The sight of Tom Daley casting on during the Tokyo Olympics this summer made knitting cool (yet again). Marie Kelly meets some fellow stitchers who find inspiration, and even meditation, in the plain and purl.

‘When I’m choosing colours for my knitwear, I think, ‘What does the little girl in me like’,” explains knitwear designer Liadain Aiken, “because being playful with colour is a form of mindfulness. It can bring out the inner child in each of us.”

Raised in Co Louth but now based in west Cork, the 39-year-old has cleverly gifted this method of mindfulness to her customers by allowing them to select their own preferred colours for each component of her gorgeous colour-block Merino raglan-sleeve jumpers. There are no fewer than 40 shades of yarn to choose from on Aiken’s website (liadainaiken. com), and each cuff and sleeve, neck and bottom rib, as well as the body itself, can be made in any one of them. Her advice is, “Don’t overthink it, just have fun.”

Knitting is my peace and quiet. I’m not good at meditating because my mind always wanders, but when I’m knitting, I stay focused on the stitches

While the designer’s raglan sweaters are machine-knit, the qualified interior designer and graduate of the Grafton Academy is also a passionate hand-knitter, and she’s currently working on a collaboration with Moy Hill Farm in Co Clare — the wool is spun from their sheep. “You can create beautiful things for yourself and for others by knitting, but it’s also a great tool for slowing yourself down. I love the rhythm of handknitting and the repetitive movements. I stop thinking about anything other than the stitches in front of me. There’s a Zen-ness to it.”

While there’s been plenty of research over the years that strongly suggests knitting can ease anxiety and act as a mood enhancer, one social media post from a young Olympian diver earlier this year has done more to promote the craft as a legitimate form of self-care than any set of statistics ever could.

Knitwear by Liadain Aiken

On a Facebook video he posted after winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, Tom Daley explained, “The one thing that has kept me sane throughout this whole process is my love for knitting and crocheting and all things stitching.” Instead of thinking and worrying about his next dive, Daly knits to distract himself.

Galway-based designer Colin Burke (colinburke.ie) who creates contemporary, sculptural knitwear that is coveted by Ireland’s fashion elite, can empathise. “It’s therapeutic,” he says simply. “When I’m knitting, I forget about pressures.” These pressures include a waiting list as long as both his arms, as Burke has attracted a global clientele of customers who appreciate the heritage of the traditional stitches he reimagines as well as the value of a hand-made item of clothing.

Burke employs a handful of mature knitters in Donegal to create the more straightforward parts of his designs, but the architectural elements such as the sleeves are hand-knit either by him or by one colleague whom he taught to knit from scratch. “All of these knitters, whatever their age, love how knitting makes them feel.”

Knitwear by Galway’s Colin Burke

For Karen Birney, founder of fledgling label Miss She’s Got Knits (missshesgotknits.com) knitting is like running. “They both involve putting down the phone, getting away from screens and forgetting, temporarily at least, about whatever is bothering you.” Birney likes to knit outside and absorb her natural surroundings, and she recently completed a chunky jumper which she made in its entirety in the War Memorial Gardens in Dublin’s Islandbridge. “Knitting is my peace and quiet,” she explains. “I’m not good at meditating because my mind always wanders, but when I’m knitting, I stay focused on the stitches.”

Like Aiken, Birney creates pieces in bold colours for their mood-boosting effects. The Big Pink, an oversized fuchsia knit which has become Birney’s signature, looks like as much of a joy to make as it is to wear. Birney began knitting in lockdown to stop herself from “freaking out about the future” after being furloughed from her job. While it calmed and distracted her, it also introduced her to a new community of craft and fashion lovers on social media. “I could never have imagined the outpouring of support I received.”

It seems that finding a community is another big advantage of knitting. For NCAD graduate Gabrielle Malone (gabriellemalonedeisgn.com), whose first commercial collection was showcased in Brown Thomas this summer as part of the CREATE showcase, knitting is very much about connecting. “It’s a way to interact with others, from visiting local wool shops to finding people with similar interests on the other side of the world via Instagram.”

Like most of us, Malone learned to knit in primary school, but it was in her second year of college that she began to explore the craft fully, producing a graduate collection that was almost entirely hand-knit. The New York-born, Kildare-bred designer says that knitting is more than just her business. “It’s meditation, in a sense. It relaxes me, but I have achieved something tangible at the end of it.”

For 20-year-old Aimee Faller, who describes herself as “a very fidgety person”, crochet has given her this same winning formula of relaxation and productivity. What was a beloved hobby in school became a start-up business in lockdown as, with the help of her partner’s mother, she expanded her crochet skills to create fun, flirty clothes, including mini skirts and halterneck tops, and launched Its Peachy on Instagram (@itspeachy_crochet). The Cork woman says crocheting has helped put her at ease. But more than this, Faller explains that the craft “has given me a sense of direction”. “It’s had a huge impact on my life. I wasn’t someone who left school knowing exactly what I wanted to do. Since rediscovering crochet, I have a sense of security and purpose that I didn’t have before.”

Crafting has given former accountant Marina Hand a new purpose, too. After many years working as the finance director of a large company, in 2010 she opened the Winnie’s Craft Café in Booterstown with the intention to provide a knitting hub in the Dublin suburb, as well as support and supplies for knitters all over the country via its online shop (winniethewoolwagon.com). She’s noticed a significant increase in the popularity of knitting and crochet since Covid-19 entered our lives. “The day before we went into our second lockdown last year, we had a lengthy queue of crafters lined up outside the shop buying wool to sustain them through lockdown,” she laughs. “They were all chatting with each other, exchanging ideas and explaining projects. Knitting seems to promote a genuine community spirit.”

Teaching and sharing does appear to be a common theme among knitters. Since fourth class, Faller has taught crochet to several friends and family members. Birney and her mum regularly knit together, while Hand ensured there was always someone at the end of the Winnie’s Craft Café phone line during shop closures to answer queries and help customers along with their projects. “I want to spread the enjoyment of knitting as much as I can,” she explains. Knitting can provide purpose and comfort in solitude, certainly, but it’s also a great way to build relationships, as in-person and virtual knitting groups thrive.

Lisa Sisk, owner of Powerscourt Townhouse Centre yarn shop This Is Knit (thisisknit.ie) agrees. “Knitting is an ideal way to connect with like-minded people. For many it’s an unexpected bonus of picking up the craft.” The family-run business has offered virtual team-building activities around knitting over the past 18 months, helping to reconnect co-workers, families and friends. The store also began holding weekly Instagram lives and ‘knitalongs’ in an effort to gather people together to share skills and support one another. “The feedback we’ve received has almost brought tears to my eyes,” Sisk says. “There has been so much isolation and loneliness over the past year, and the live tutorials were a bright spot in many people’s week.”

The current knit-along, which invites knitters to take on the same project and see it through together over a number of weeks, has 120 members and will end with a Zoom party in December at which crafters can show off their finished work. Sisk describes these initiatives as “cheerleading” events, because they’re as much about support, encouragement and connection as they are the finished product.

Knitter or not, who couldn’t do with a bit of cheerleading right now? Sign me up.

This article originally appeared in the Sunday Independent Life magazine, November 2021