Teacher Appreciation: How We Learned to Knit and Crochet

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While the staff at Interweave have all been out of school for quite some time now, we still really love and appreciate teachers. Our fiber arts teachers especially! In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we are reflecting on how we learned to knit and crochet, as well as other yarn-y crafts.  

Image above: Source – Getty Images.

How We Learned to Knit and Crochet

Grade School Clubs

Tammy Honaman, Director of Content, Interweave 

In 7^th grade, I chose “Learn How to Knit” as my club of choice, which ran for one quarter of the school year. Knitting was actually, most likely, my 2^nd or 3^rd choice with “Learn Disco Dancing” as my 1^st choice; Disco Dancing was everyone’s first choice and limited to “the first 20 people” out of a school of over 600. In the end, knitting was a great club and, looking back, I’m so proud of myself for not defaulting to study hall and seeing the lessons through. Plus, I have the memory of showing my Nana all I was learning and even spent time knitting with her. She was so proud of me and that still means the world. 

I picked knitting back up about 15 years ago, with my mother helping me regain some muscle memory and teaching me even more than was covered, oh so, long ago. Mom and I, along with many of her friends, embark on knitalongs together and we share what we’re making with each other. All of this as well as the shared love of fiber we have “at the office” makes me even more thankful for that 7^th grade experience and the teacher who volunteered her time to share her passion with us. 

Family Connections

Toni Rexroat, Crochet Contributor 

Fiber is in my blood. My grandma and great grandma wrapped me in knit and crochet baby blankets from birth. And my mother dragged me to help the neighbors shear and grade fleeces from flock after flock of Rambouillet sheep. She also taught me to knit, crochet, and spin with some of those same fleeces. I’ll pass that love of anything fiber to the next generation because there is nothing like a warm hat, sweater, or shawl made with love.

Book Smarts

Allison Korleski, Video Producer 

I needed to learn to knit for work. This was before my time at Interweave. And I worked at a place where no one I knew knitted or crocheted. In fact, I didn’t know anyone who knitted or crocheted. I bought a copy of Stitch ‘n Bitch by Debbie Stoller and knit at lunch and on the train to and from work.

I got into it, and then got other people at work to start doing it. In a few months, we had a regular knitting group that met every week at lunch.

Related: Learning to Knit as an Adult

Prompted by a Project

Katie Hacker, Content Manager, Bead and Jewelry 

I grew up doing macramé and making friendship bracelets, but I didn’t learn how to knit until I was in my 20s. I signed up for a felted bag making class at my local yarn shop. It was so hard! But my instructor was very patient. She talked me through all my fears, from gripping my circular needles too tightly to successfully felting all my hard work. Like all great teachers, she pushed me to believe that I could do it. So, I did.

Peer Pressure

Andrea Lotz, Social Media Strategist, Interweave

In high school, a friend announced to me and another friend that she was going to teach us to knit. She was one of those “administratively gifted” friends, and there didn’t seem to be any point in arguing. Plus, I really wanted a Harry Potter scarf. My friend’s mom was and is an incredibly skilled fiber artist, an expert in crafts from knitting to handspinning to quilting—and any other yarn, fiber, or fabric craft you can think of—and my friend was already knitting and sewing and felt confident that she was ready to teach. The one hang up? She’s a leftie!

If you’ve never tried to teach or learn knitting or crochet from someone of opposite handed-ness, I have to recommend that you don’t try it. Her two right-handed pupils simply couldn’t map her movements onto our hands. Soon we were hopelessly tangled in Ravenclaw-colored yarn, frustration, and snark. But between her mom and my mom, we all got on track and ended up with some very ugly scarves and a serious knitting addiction.

In the last few years, I’ve been so excited to expand the circle by teaching two knitters myself: my husband, and a friend I taught how to knit long-distance during the pandemic. Through a mix of Zoom lessons and long emails packed with helpful blogs, videos, and pattern recommendations. Every time I see something she created, my heart absolutely swells with pride, and I feel so grateful to the friend who taught me . . . and to both of our very patient moms.

Co-workers Make Co-crafters

Gabby Axner, Editorial Coordinator, Interweave 

I have always loved crafting. As a child, I was in awe of my mom’s overflowing stash of yarn and colorful knitting needles. I always enjoyed car rides where I would sit in the backseat, watching her knit a hat or a scarf, or recently a blanket. She taught me how to sew when I was 11. However, as much as I appreciated people who could knit, I was not so lucky as to join them until just a couple of weeks ago. I am fortunate to say that I learned to knit from Kerry Bogert at Yarn Fest this year, and what a place to learn!

I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it at first but after a little practice, and thanks to my patient teacher, I was able to complete a few rows on the Interweave Community Scarf. While I am still far from becoming an expert knitter, it is certainly something that I enjoy before bed or while watching TV. I look forward to the day that I can read patterns so I can start on a sweater.

A Dear Friend

Kerry Bogert, Content Manager, Yarn 

I’ve known how to crochet for as long as I can remember. If I try really hard to think of an exact age, I’d have to say I was around 5 years old. My mom taught my cousin and me to make long crochet chains that we would use as garland. Then, from chains, we graduated to granny squares. We were taught to make blankets for our dolls by adding round after round to a basic square. I have strong memories of a pink square that my cousin made that was big enough for her!  

Knitting was much harder for me to learn. With crochet as my foundation knowledge, I struggled to let go of the right needle to throw the yarn. After several failed attempts to learn in my 20s, I finally overcame the “I can’t knit” hurdle with the help of my dear friend Lindsey. It was about 15 years ago. A professor by trade, she had the patience needed to explain things in a way that clicked. I still call on her when I don’t understand something in a pattern. And I’m pretty sure I’ve sent her a photo of every single skein in my stash at one point or another!  

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Now it’s your turn! We want to hear how you learned to yarn! Please share your experience in the comments below and give a shout out to your teacher. Don’t forget to send them a link to read this article too so they can see your glowing thanks.

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Resources to teach or learn to knit and crochet from Interweave’s extensive library!