Celebrate the process

Reasons to pursue hand knitting, CraftDoodling Designs News, etc.

Thank you for the spot in your inbox and a few minutes of your attention every week. It means a lot to me. I enjoy talking about knitting and other life observations through this weekly letter to you. 💌 I hope you do too!

Product vs Process knitting is a topic that comes up often in knitting circles. The general idea is that product knitters are focussed on finishing the projects while process knitters are those who knit for the love of knitting itself! 🧶

I find it difficult to categorically declare myself as one or the other. Knitting is a practice that keeps on giving in so many different ways and I find myself enjoying one aspect or the other depending on what else is going on in my life. 💜

Process Vs Product Knitting

I definitely started off as a process knitter. Years ago, I saw this image of a pregnant woman calmly knitting something for her baby 👶🏻, and I thought that was the most wonderful thing in the world.

Thinking back to those times, I realize that I did not worry too much then about whether I will end up with the scarf or baby booties I intended to make, but rather was much pleased to watch the stitches form and fabric flow out of my needles.🪡

However, knitting is also a utilitarian pursuit, meant for making clothing. Many knitters focus on finishing items for themselves, for a commission, for gifting, or for charity. This product-oriented approach gives a knitter some accountability as well as a wonderful sense of accomplishment when they have challenged themselves and completed things. ✅

I too find myself becoming product-oriented when necessary and set myself timelines to finish knitting items, ⏰ whether for a design or for my personal use or for my family. Years of knitting practice can give us the skill and confidence to chase deadlines and get things done. 

However, it is impossible to be a product knitter without embracing the process first.

Embracing process instead of chasing results

At my LYS, I get to teach beginner lessons to a lot of aspiring knitters. It makes me sad when some beginner knitters find it impossible to move past a couple rows on their needles because the very first stitches they made are not perfect already! 😕

For most adults, it is difficult to decide to learn something new. Not only is there time commitment involved, but also there is a lot of vulnerability in being a beginner at something. 

But this is where it makes sense to embrace what the process has to offer: in this case, the maneuvering of the needles, tensioning of yarn, formation of stitches and even the softness and color of the yarn. It is when you let go of unrealistic expectations and lose yourself in the process that things can start to happen.

On the other hand, I have also seen that when people who simply commit to do at least 20-30 rows of knitting in a week, without worrying too much about perfect results, invariably start producing even stitches and move on to learning new skills. 💗

There are also people who decide to take up knitting as a result of their therapist's recommendation 🧑🏻‍⚕️ to have a hobby or learn a new skill for managing stress and anxiety.  Clearly, the focus is on the process of knitting here, rather than churning out finished projects. 

Celebrating process while working towards a product

Oftentimes within the context of a knitting project, there are other parts - like seaming, grafting, weaving in ends, making swatches, and complex bind-off techniques. Sometimes you have to learn a new skill or learn to fix mistakes in order to complete a project. 

These bits of processes get a lot of bad reputation because they are not 'real knitting' and seem to delay the finishing of the product. But in reality, beauty and fulfillment can be found even when engaging in these small bits, and a brilliant ✨finished product✨ is unattainable without them. 

Video: Weaving in ends into a brioche fabric.

Along the entire process, from pattern selection, yarn selection, knitting the item and all the way until binding off, hand-knitting offers a number of mental health benefits like

• Engaging multiple senses.

• Staying mindful and fully present.

• Remaining in state of flow.

• Mild challenges to the brain and reduced risk of memory loss.

• Reduced anxiety.

• Be mindless and let our thoughts wander.

• Enjoy something else like a TV show or audiobooks or music, while knitting. 

It is a craft that keeps on giving! 💝

Knitting with my own hands, learning to embrace imperfections and finding beauty in simple stitches - all of this feels human to me. Letting myself experience and cling to the process of knitting is a refreshing respite from the constant drive towards finishing things.

Do you consider yourself a process or a product knitter? What aspects of process knitting do you enjoy/avoid? Please leave a comment below to let me know! ♥️

---

CRAFTDOODLING DESIGNS UPDATES

1. Nasha 2.0 is currently being tested. Thank you to everyone who offered to test-knit. 💜

2. My new sample for the original Nasha Shawl pattern is coming along well.

   

   Nasha Shawl - New Sample in the making

3. I am working on a new design, but I haven’t made enough progress to share details here, yet.

4. Speaking of knitting processes, do you think row trackers are helpful as part of a pattern?

---

FEATURED PATTERN

Matte Hood, has a lovely slip stitch pattern for the hood with a simple stockinette cowl attached to it. But the pattern uses a few finishing techniques that really elevates the piece.

Matte Hood

Matte Hood is available on Ravelry and Payhip.

---

OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE

1. I loved this post by

   Everyday Knitter
   on being a beginner.

2. Fruity Knitting has an episode on Craft Psychology where Dr. Anne Kirketerp explains the mental health benefits of crafting.

3. Austin Kleon’s blogpost on Quantity leads to quality is an interesting one and relevant to our today’s topic. I had loved the ceramic teacher parable from the Art and Fear book and it was interesting to know it its origin through this post.

4. Currently Reading 📖

   1. Show your work - Austin Kleon

   2. The 4-hour work week - Timothy Ferriss

Until next time,

Kavitha. ♡

---

Currently, this newsletter is free to subscribe. If you like my work, please consider these other ways to support:

• Click the ❤️ at the bottom of this post. If you are reading from your email inbox, this will open substack in web browser. Please allow it to open and make sure you see the red heart. 

• Share your thoughts in comments. I am here for the conversations. I hope you are too!

• Introduce this newsletter to a friend!

• Buy my patterns. I hope you find something you like.

  https://www.ravelry.com/designers/kavitha-raman

I accept any of these with immense gratitude. Thank you!