Knitting changed the way I shop (and think about clothes altogether)

My attitude to sustainability, in terms of both my knitting and clothing in general, snuck up on me to be honest. One minute I was happily casting on a ribbed beanie with a half-price acrylic blend. The next, I was squinting at care labels in the fitting room like some kind of wool detective. These days, every shop-bought knit gets mentally deconstructed: could I make it? Would I want to? Is the yarn ethical, or is it secretly 90% plastic and empty promises?

What started with my handknits has spilled into the rest of my wardrobe too – jeans, t-shirts, socks (yes, even the underwear drawer isn’t safe). If I’m not making it, I want to know who did, how and why. It’s developed into a practice of curiosity and care. Like knitting itself, really.

It’s got me thinking about the ways in which we can extend our sustainability to all the different elements of knitting as a hobby – the sourcing of yarn (both in terms of fibre and the purveyor), the making of the garment, all the way through to the long-term care and potential recycling. And here’s what I came up with…

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A Knitter’s Diary: 04

July 2025 – cake crumbs, combine harvesters & the sweater that finally behaved

July’s been a whirlwind of mini cupcakes and combine harvesters. Because our little one is a summer baby, almost every weekend has involved another child-size birthday bash – balloons, bouncy castle mayhem and enough cake icing to grout a patio. Regular swimming lessons, weekly climbing sessions, getting back into a routine post holiday and busy days at work have meant this month has absolutely flown by.

Meanwhile, harvest season has fully kicked off in our surrounding fields. For a toddler who worships tractors, balers and anything vaguely mechanical, it’s basically Glastonbury. We’ve spent hazy evenings watching the combine roll past our front door and even managed to catch one at work behind my parents’ garden – pure magic seen through wide little eyes and, if I’m honest, mine too.

So what’s been happening knitwise this month? Let’s see shall we?

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My favourite places to knit (or: how to find time to knit more)

How many times have you said to yourself “I’d love to knit more, but I just don’t have the time.” If I had a skein for every time I’ve said that…

The sad truth is most of us don’t have big, uninterrupted stretches of time just lying around, waiting to be filled with colourwork and cables. But what we do have is “dead time” – the in-between bits. The waiting rooms, the traffic jams (as a passenger, naturally), the no-man’s land between ‘coffee ordered’ and ‘coffee arrived’. And that’s exactly where the knitting magic can happen.

Turns out the secret to knitting more isn’t finding time, it’s noticing it. So rather than sitting there like a lemon (or more likely staring at your phone) get in the habit of carrying a project bag like it’s an essential limb – and fill your “dead time” with some knitting!

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A Knitter’s Diary: 03

June 2025 – trains, tans & tiny stripes

Work came at me like a runaway skein this month, so we did the only sensible thing you can do when you’re stressed and legged it to the south of France for ten days. Travelling by train with a two-year-old might sound like a stress-sweat nightmare, but it actually turned out to be the loveliest exercise in seeing the world through tiny eyes. Crawling down the map from home ➜ London ➜ Paris ➜ Avignon, felt gloriously old-school, and every croissant was treated as culinary high art by the toddler. A win.

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Taming the WIP pile and how to actually finish your knitting projects

WIPs – why we start (and subsequently stall)

A seasoned knitter will know this scene very well. A basket brimming full with beautiful beginnings. A neckline here, half a sock there, that mohair number you swore you’d finish last spring. But somehow, the call of a new cast-on always wins you over. You are not alone. In fact, I’d wager most knitters have a WIP or six eyeing them from the corner of the room like mildly disappointed (and neglected) pets.

I’m not a monogamous knitter. I like a little variety: a stockinette-for-TV project, something challenging enough to keep my brain firing, a bit of selfish knitting, and something for someone else (when I’m feeling generous or guilty. Sometimes both.) But I find when I’m juggling more than four or five projects, I stop making meaningful progress on any of them and suddenly my lovely relaxing hobby that is knitting turns into a pit-of-the-stomach dread-fest. My sweet spot is to have two or three projects on my needles. Enough to feel like I have options, but not so many I descend into knitting paralysis.

I’ve been thinking about how we get from “Oh no, not another cast-on” to “Look! I finished a thing!” and actually finish your knitting projects. Maybe together we can whittle down that pile of discarded WIPs into an orderly stack of beautiful finished objects.

So let’s talk strategies.

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How I track my knitting projects: tools, yarn notes and my planning system

Some knitters fly by the seat of their handmade shorts, casting on with nothing more than blind faith. Others build systems. Glorious, glorious systems. I’m firmly in the latter camp with my spreadsheets, Ravelry pages, sensitive skin yarn libraries and all. Because nothing curdles the joy of a new WIP quite like realising you’ve knitted this exact sleeve before. Twice. And you still didn’t write down what modifications you made. (I’ve been burned before as you can tell.)

Here’s a peek inside how I keep my projects, knitting wish list and yarn stash in working order, and why it makes my knitting life infinitely easier (and, dare I say, more satisfying).

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A knitter’s diary: 02

May 2025 – birthdays, wedding fun and wobbles

May was a real patchwork of moments. Some gentle, some absolutely gutting, some that still feel rather raw. Quite frankly I’m glad the month is over, so I can make a fresh start, but as I’m writing this blog it’s bringing all of the lovely highlights back into focus, which over the last few weeks had been overshadowed – thank goodness for the therapy of writing!

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Finding time to knit when life is throwing everything at you

Oh, this is one I’m all too familiar with. I did so much knitting when I was pregnant with my son. Endless hours of calm(ish) clicking needles, daydreaming about tiny cardigans and booties. And then life delivered a squishy newborn into my arms and I’ve been chasing that glorious knitting downtime ever since. Newborn stage, baby stage, toddler stage. Each phase brings its own delightful set of problems to navigate.

And outside of motherhood? Well, we’re also somehow supposed to juggle work, life admin, relationships, other hobbies… not to mention the occasional attempt at sitting still for five minutes without someone asking for a snack.

So, how do we find the space to keep knitting when real life is elbowing us in the ribs?

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Knitting terms explained

Or…the surprising origins of the words knitters use

I’ve been knitting for more years than I care to count, let alone commit to writing where someone might quote me on it. Over the years, I’ve adopted the knitter’s vernacular so wholeheartedly that I sometimes forget that normies have absolutely no idea what I’m on about. Friends stare at me like I’ve sprouted dpns from my forehead when I say I had to frog my latest cardigan back eight inches, or when I breezily announce, “I’ve only got to block it and then it’s done.”

But every now and again, the English Literature student in me stirs and I start questioning the curious language we knitters toss around without a second thought. When did we start saying “purl” or “notions” or “frogging”… and why, exactly?

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The Summer Edit: my top 10 summer knitting patterns

When I first got into knitting, I assumed it was strictly a winter sport. Best enjoyed under six layers of soft, squishy merino, ideally with a biscuit. But no! Summer knitting is a whole different game. The summer knitting pattern scene has exploded in the last few years: there’s a whole host of lightweight yarns, breezy silhouettes and sharp, modern shapes. All this means you can have a (slightly smug) handmade wardrobe staple for each season of the year. And quite frankly, I’m here for it.

Here’s my handpicked list of 10 stunning summer knitting patterns that have me reaching for my needles.

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