More often than not, when people think of knitting they visualise their grandmothers sitting on a sofa.....
winter
More often than not, when people think of knitting they visualise their grandmothers sitting on a sofa sipping on a cup of hot tea and knitting scarves. My childhood was different. In our home we knew winter is here or just about to arrive when my mother would start knitting. Year after year, she would bring out her knit books, needles and wool and knit some beautiful designs. I grew up seeing her knit and wear her beautiful sweaters. She knits unlike anyone else I’ve known or heard off. Embroideries, dots and characters, intricate cable knits - she knows it all.
With mom knitting every winter, I inevitably assumed that knitting is a part of every household. Little did I know that this skill is getting scarce with every passing year... 10 years ago, it was a norm to know someone who knits and find beautiful wool at shops everywhere. Now, it’s a rare sight and one actually has to find wool and people who knit.
The craft of knitting is not that difficult to master. You need to learn the technique, which puts your hands in a particular flow. All you need to do is train your hands to get into a certain rhythm. However, it is time consuming and requires a lot of patience and that is the reason why more and more people are giving up on the practice as opposed to learning it. Another reason why knitting is becoming a dying skill is that the new generation hardly has the patience required to knit.
For Naureen Sarfraz, an educationist by profession, knitting is a way to relax. “I learnt how to knit very early on and I have been doing it since the past thirty years or so. Initially, I used to knit for my baby sister, then for my nieces and nephews, my own children and most recently, I am knitting for my granddaughter,” she tells.
She admits that hand knit goods make the most heartfelt presents. “My sister-in-law abroad would tell me that people would touch and ask where these sweaters were from. I’ve knit many sweaters for my daughter’s friend’s children and all of them are surprised at how it’s done,” she adds.
Naureen understands that knitting is an underrated skill. “Back when I was in school, knitting was an elective and that’s how my interest in knitting began. I’m an educationist and I deal with children of that age group everyday and I know today’s generation doesn’t have interest or the persistence required for this skill. It is sad how some skills and talents will become instinct in the coming years just because no one has the time to devote to them. I would love to pass on this skill to someone else and I feel like people may want to learn but don’t want to put in time and effort,” she laments.
Knitting is a very diverse art that has different styles and patterns. While the word knitting may be small and short, there are many styles including crochets, lace knitting pattern, herringbone stitch, slip stitch, grafting, loop knitting, elongated stitch, Fair Isle, dip stitch, plaited stitch, drop stitch and many others. The most common, however, is the basic knit and crochet.
The best way to learn and to enjoy the process of learning this skill is to find a friend, an aunt or grandmother who knows it; and then spend some time and learn from them. However, sometimes it becomes very difficult to find someone who knows this art, which is when it’s best to look for professional trainings. Fortunately, there are several institutes that offer short-term training courses and diplomas across Pakistan.
National Textile University in Lahore, Sheikhupura - Faisalabad Rd, Manawala Faisalabad and Karachi offer regular knitting courses and diplomas that can help people learn how to knit. AIMMS (Abaseen Institute of Medical & Modern Sciences) in Islamabad also offers regular knitting diplomas where people of all ages can enrol. Fouji Foundation training courses across Pakistan also has the option of knitting trainings. The Pakistan Knitwear Training Institute in Lahore offers specialised knitting courses for different patterns regularly. Their information is available online. The Pakistan Institute of Modern Studies in Peshawar also offers regular diplomas in knitting.
Where to find the perfect wool?
Over the past decade or so, good wool shops have become rare. Nevertheless, those rare shops do have a great variety of specialised and even imported wool made in Turkey and other parts of the world. Some of those are Blue Star Wool House in Aabpara Market Islamabad which has a great variety of different colours and quality. There are some shops in G-9 Markaz Islamabad as well including The Wool Shop that offer a great variety of wool in the city. In Karachi, Saddar has several shops including the ABC Wool House and Famous Wool House that sell a wide variety of wool. In Lahore, great quality and colours of wool can be found at the Haji Brothers Wool House and the Imperial Wool House in the walled city of Lahore. The Singhar House in Gulberg is also a good place to find wool. There is, however, a need for an online store or a website that sells all kinds of wool in a wide array of colours to make it easy for everyone to shop and look for wool in Pakistan.
With chilly winter knocking on the door, why not open the gates and welcome it with some cosy, warm wool and your favourite knitting kit? It may be time consuming but the knit goods will spread love and joy. Happy Winter!
