Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucy Beattie, a junior chemistry and secondary education double major, took up knitting as a way to relax and refocus.
“I was looking for something to do with my hands while also learning how to make stuff in that dark time,” Beattie said. “I started learning how to knit, and it ended up being very calming and cathartic. It became a really good way for me to get my anxiety and worries out without being destructive.”
Now as a favorite hobby of theirs, Beattie can be seen working on their projects just about anywhere on campus.
“I’ll do 10 minutes here and there as a way to take a study break and get my mind focused on something else or just to let my mind drift,” Beattie said. “Right now, I’ve been making a lot of scarves. I’ve made scarves for all of my hometown friends, and now I’m working through making them for my college friends.”
Although knitting may seem complicated to beginners, Beattie asserts that the best way to learn is to practice.
“I definitely did not understand how knitting worked at all before, but the important part is to figure out generally how the knitting works together and then figure out the motions,” they said. “People will learn how to knit very quickly because the motion itself is very fast, but you don’t have to be very quick at first. It’s better to take your time to learn the motions and do them correctly.”
Beattie has been knitting for almost three years and first learned through watching tutorials online. Unlike other craft-based hobbies, they explained that knitting is affordable.
“It’s not very expensive because once you find knitting needles in a size you like and find some yarn that you like, you’ll only spend between $5 and $10 every now and then,” they said. “You’re not buying stuff every week unless you’re really hardcore at it. I’ll shop about once a month for supplies.”
Currently, knitting is only a hobby to Beattie, but in the future they hope to cross over different mediums like crochet and possibly even sell their work.
“Right now, I’ve mainly been making gifts for people,” Beattie said. “I think eventually, one day, I would like to knit and sell sweaters and stuff.”
