Knitting and the City

In this paper, I introduce knitting as a popular and underexplored creative practice. Geographers have begun to take interest in craft, skill, and ‘the power of making’ to transform social and material relations and offer new possibilities for urban life. In this paper, I sketch ways that geographers may begin to engage with collective and interventionist knitting in urban environments - in terms of socialities, interventions, and materialities. From knitting circles, yarnbombing to community projects, knitters have begun to stitch new enthusiasms, temporalities, sensorial possibilities, and enchantments into the urban fabric. I conclude the paper - with future directions for geographical engagement with a variety of craft practices that encourage reflection on the people, places, and economies, of ‘making things’ through the example of knitting.