Knitting’s not just for tea-sipping grandmas and that’s something Winnipeggers in their 20s and 30s are proving as they work on sweaters, shawls and blankets - sometimes even while they’re hanging out in bars. 

“I was honestly expecting most of our customers to be my age or older, but there’s been a lot of younger people coming into the store,” 45-year-old Mona Zaharia, the co-owner of Wolseley Wool, located at 162 Lipton St, says. 

It seems people are drawn to the camaraderie knitting offers and that’s something Wolseley Wool tries to encourage with its classes and even a retreat, which started off with 15 knitters and now includes a 45 plus person waiting list.

Zaharia adds that people are simply interested in making their own garments again, a skill that seems to have skipped a generation.

“In the earlier stages of the feminist movement, women seemed to reject the things they were expected to do so knitting started falling to the wayside,” she says. “My grandma was the one who taught me to knit, while my mother never knitted at all. Now it seems like we’re approaching it differently and reclaiming it as our own.”

The Internet is another factor since beginners can watch knitting tutorials on YouTube or join a site like Ravelry, which is basically described as Facebook for knitters and crocheters. 

Traditional Stitch ‘n Bitch groups have also started organizing online, with Wooly Bullies being one that began in Winnipeg about five years ago.

“We’re a bit more laidback,” April Wozny, a regular Wooly Bullies attendee, says. “We have people show up wanting to talk about yarn or patterns and we want to talk about drinking, sex, roller derby or whatever.”

The group usually knits at the King’s Head Pub every second Wednesday, a venue they settled on after the Lo Pub shut down last year.

“We also went to some cafes to start with and we went to Baked Expectations, but it turns out alcohol is a bigger draw than cheesecake,” Laure Moody, another Wooly Bullies member, says.

Six people showed up to a recent Wooly Bullies meeting, but they say there’s usually a few more, with the most participants being 22.

The Wooly Bullies say its knitting group is mostly comprised of 30-something women, but they’re open to having anyone see what the craft’s all about.

“Some of us are better teachers than others,” Moody says. “I’m not allowed to do that anymore because I’m really grabby and just take things out of people’s hands.”

Men can stitch and bitch, too. Zaharia says her 23-year-old son is an avid knitter and the Wooly Bullies say they’ve seen some guys participate, not just watch like one of their male friends does now.

Overall knitting is a hobby that takes a lot of time and skill, but everyone agrees you can probably pull it off if you’re motivated.

“Even if it’s difficult, just being excited about what you’re knitting is always the most important thing you can do,” Zaharia says.

Published in Volume 68, Number 7 of The Uniter (October 16, 2013)