A lovingly stitched scarf for Rex became the start of a mother-daughter learning adventure in knitting.
The scarf was tiny, maroon and made with more love than any store-bought gift could hold.
My 11-year-old daughter knit it for our Westie, Rex, who has had a rough year after surviving a coyote attack last fall. He pulled through with courage and resilience, and thankfully, he is now back to his spunky self.
When his birthday came around in February, we wanted to make it extra special. For weeks, my 11-year-old daughter poured her heart into knitting a scarf to keep him warm during the long winter months. On Rex’s big day, she was so proud to give him the finished gift. Rex rewarded her with plenty of slobbery kisses. He seemed to genuinely enjoy strutting around the house in his new hand-knit scarf.
Seeing the joy my daughter felt after knitting something beautiful for someone she loves made me want to learn, too. Once school let out for summer break, I asked her to teach me.
One of the things I love most about knitting is how quickly it allows you to begin creating. You can learn the basics in a weekend and start making gifts and cozy keepsakes right away.
A Mother-Daughter Knitting Journey
We are learning to knit through the Great Courses Knitting 101 class. The video series includes 36 lessons covering the basics of needles, yarn, pattern reading, stitching techniques and shapes. Among the beautiful practice projects are a waffle stitch cowl, cable knit hat and headband. We are currently working on the first project, a pair of hand warmers that incorporates basic skills such as casting on, stockinette stitch, ribbing and binding off.
Although it is possible to learn the techniques from a video, there is nothing quite like having a more experienced knitter beside you to talk you through the tricky parts.
And I have given my daughter plenty of tricky parts to talk me through. I chose the wrong yarn weight for our hand warmers, and they are ending up big enough to be leg warmers. I dropped stitches. I knit with the wrong end of the yarn. I made my tension so tight I could barely insert the needle. Through it all, my daughter has been there to guide me, help me problem-solve and, more often than not, rescue the project.
Teaching me to knit has been an exercise in patience for her. One minute, she would have me knitting a row with smooth, steady stitches. Then I would take a snack break, come back to the project and completely forget the technique.
Other times, learning a new skill interfered with skills I had just learned. After learning the purl stitch, for instance, I suddenly forgot how to make the knit stitch, and my daughter had to walk me through it again. She has watched me move through the full cycle of learning a new skill with a mix of exasperation, amusement, bafflement and pride.
Slowly, though, my stitches are starting to look more uniform. I am beginning to notice and fix some mistakes on my own. The movements that once felt awkward are starting to feel more natural.
And while learning to knit comes with the inevitable frustrations of being a beginner, I am loving this new hobby. The rhythm of the needles, the fuzzy feel of the yarn and the focus required to create something stitch by stitch make it easy to lose yourself in a knitting project and, for a little while, forget all about the pressures of life.
Watch: Worldwide Knit In Public Day
Why Knit?
While I am still very early in my knitting journey, I have already discovered some wonderful benefits of the hobby.
It promotes relaxation and mindfulness.
The repetitive movement of the needles, combined with the focus needed to build fabric stitch by stitch, has a meditative quality. Knitting gives your hands something to do and your mind something steady to focus on. It is easy to fall into a flow state as you work through each row. Research also suggests that needlecrafts such as knitting can support emotional well-being, reduce stress and provide a sense of calm, purpose and accomplishment.
One of the best parts is that knitting is portable. You can bring it along to a coffee shop, a park bench, a waiting room or the sidelines of a child’s activity and carry a bit of joy and comfort with you.
It connects you with others.
Knitting has given my daughter and me something new to share, but it has also helped me connect with colleagues and friends. Who knew so many people knit?
There is a built-in sense of kinship among knitters. You can take a class at a local yarn shop, ask a more experienced knitter for help or join an online community to share patterns, project updates, advice and encouragement.
Knitting also offers meaningful ways to give back. Organizations such as Knots of Love collect handmade hats and blankets for people undergoing chemotherapy and babies in the NICU. Project Linus provides handmade blankets to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need. My daughter and I are excited to start knitting hats for children at our local hospital as a service project.
It builds a sense of accomplishment.
It’s incredibly satisfying to turn a skein of yarn into something useful and beautiful. Whether you are making a hat, bag, blanket or pair of hand warmers, you are using creativity, skill and perseverance to bring your vision into being.
As a beginner, every completed row brings a small sense of progress. The first time your stitches look more even, the first time you catch a mistake on your own or the first time someone says, “Wow, you made that?” you feel a spark of pride.
Knitting also helps you make the most of small pockets of downtime. While sitting on hold during a phone call, watching TV or waiting for kids to finish an activity, you can pick up a project and finish a row or two. Those in-between moments suddenly feel less like waiting and more like an opportunity to create.
It lets you create a one-of-a-kind piece.
Even when you follow a pattern, every knitted piece becomes your own. You choose the yarn, color, texture and embellishments. You get to experiment, make creative decisions and watch something completely original take shape in your hands.
That’s what made Rex’s scarf so special. It is my daughter’s unique expression of love for one very special dog.
Project: Dabble 
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