Everything Old is New Again...

I learned to knit in 2005.  It was the height of the Stitch 'n Bitch era, the scarf knitters, and fun fur.  In a discussion on Reddit that I read recently, someone pointed out that the resurgence of knitting (most specifically in the U.S.) came in those post-9/11 and Afghanistan/Iraq years.  The writer saw it as an attempt to connect to something tangible and creative and maybe a little nostalgic? or domestic? when the wider world felt increasingly scary and unsettled.  I'm sure there were new knitters of all generations at that time, but the Stitch 'n Bitch groups, the blogs, and later the podcasts that popped up were mostly populated by younger Gen X and older Millennials.  (Side note- I really prefer the term Xennial, and my definition has a a simple cut off line.  Xennials had already graduated from High School when 9/11 happened. )   

I didn't notice it at first, perhaps because I'm not on TikTok, but in the last few years there has been another knitting boom.  This time it is people (and most especially Gen-Z 20-somethings) who picked up knitting at some point in the pandemic, perhaps out of the need for a hobby to fill the time, but likely for similar reasons that people did 15-20 years ago.

Now that I've realized this is happening, it is really interesting to observe what's different, what's similar, the trends then versus now.

One thing I am noticing now is the sudden interest in spinning, particularly among prominent YouTubers.  I remember this really picking up in about 2006 or 2007.  Suddenly all the big bloggers were buying wheels and learning to spin.  Of course my interest was piqued too, but other than an ill-fated attempt at spinning on a drop spindle, it didn't go anywhere at that time.

This time I will actually know what they are all talking about though.  I'm really interested to see where the spinning goes this time, what it creates, etc.  Without having actually been involved in the spinning last time I can't speak to it too much, but I do think there was a lot of focus on the dyed fiber at that point.  The indie-dyed yarn had really taken off at that point and so that trend carried over into fiber.  I know there were people talking about spinning breed specific wool back then too, but it seems like the dyed braids were most prominent.  I'm sure they will be just as appealing to new spinners now, but I also wonder if there will be an even greater focus on breed-specific wool and natural color fleece?  Considering the trend of neutrals we've been seeing so much over the last several months in knitting, I wouldn't be surprised if the undyed fibers are just as appealing.  Of course with the  Shave 'Em to Save 'Em program to thank, we also have a head start on shining a spotlight on specific breeds and rare ones in particular.  

I know I'm not the only spinner who learned to spin because or SE2SE.  It is interesting to see that there was a separate spinning boom related to that and I'm curious what might change or come about with a new spinning boom from the knitter to spinner pipeline this time.