University news

The art of hand knitting has enjoyed a global resurgence in recent years - with this most traditional of craft helped by the modern means of the internet. Twitter is alive with chatter on knitting, and some knitting blogs attract tens of thousands of followers

In the second in a series of events, knitting enthusiasts and academics will gather at the University of Glasgow on Friday 1 June.  Scotland has a long history of celebrating its distinctive knitwear, but the economic and cultural circumstances in which hand knitting has occurred have changed radically over the history of the nation. The seminar will examine the evolution of hand knitting from labour, often undertaken by women in a domestic context, to leisure activity and creative craft.

 Professor Lynn Abrams, Professor of gender history at the University of Glasgow said: “Hand knitting is enjoying huge popularity – witness the growth of online knitting forums, yarn shops, stich n’bitch groups and the inclusion of knitwear in major fashion lines. Hand knitted textiles have a prominent place in Scotland’s economy and culture – from the ganseys knitted in coastal communities linking Eyemouth to Shetland and the distinctive patterns of Fair Isle. And today this traditional craft has a new lease of life in fashion, in Scotland’s creative and textile economy and online.”

Those taking part in the event include Sarah Laurenson from Jamieson and Smith, Shetland wool brokers, Roslyn Chapman a historian of lace knitting, and participants from the Moray Firth Gansey Project

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Editorial Notes

The workshop, “Economies and Culture of Knitting” will take place on Friday 1 June at the Wolfson Medical Building on University Avenue in Glasgow. For more information contact Peter Aitchison in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 7350 or email peter.aitchison@glasgow.ac.uk

First published: 29 May 2012