Linda Urquhart, owner of Rumpelstiltskin, a
needle-arts store in Sacramento, remembers when
young women wouldn't knit in public. "It was old-ladyish,"
she said. "Now it's cool to do."
In the 32 years Urquhart has been in business,
sales have never been better.
Janice DeCarlo, owner of Filati Fine Yarns
in Rocklin, agrees. "I've owned Filati for eight
years, and the last two years have been the
hottest," she said. "Last year was the best year
ever."
Knitting and crocheting, along with scrapbooking,
drive the $29 billion crafts industry, said Don
Meyer, director of marketing and public relations
for the Hobby Industry Association. Sales of
needlecraft supplies went from $7.4 billion in 2001
to $8.5 billion in 2002.
"There was some concern on the part of the craft
industry that the knitter was getting older," Meyer
said. "But there's evidence that 20-somethings,
30-somethings and even teens are picking up knitting
as a hobby and for relaxation."
Knitting's rising popularity among young people
bodes well for small businesses that sell crafts,
Meyer said.
Unlike some office-supply and hardware stores,
small craft stores aren't being run out by large
retailers, Meyer said. There are an estimated 12,000
independent craft retailers in the United States,
Meyer said, and just a few big chains, most notably
Jo-Ann Stores and Michaels Stores Inc.
"It's amazing how many outlets there are in the
craft business to make money," he said.
That is exactly what Sacramento resident Joan
McGowen-Michael has found out. She has developed a
knitted fashion line under the name White Lies
Designs, drawing on her expertise in lingerie
design. In the 1980s, McGowen-Michael worked for a
company that designed lingerie for Frederick's of
Hollywood.
Focusing on three areas - plus-size patterns,
vintage redesigns and sexy garments -
McGowen-Michael grossed "in the five figures" with
her knitting business last year. Two years earlier,
she didn't break $10,000, she said.
Patterns sell for $3 to $10 depending on
complexity. Her designs include bustiers, thongs,
thigh-high stockings and lacy tank tops.
McGowen-Michael also sells kits, at $50 to $100,
that contain all the necessary materials.
To supplement her income, McGowen-Michael teaches
at workshops for knitting groups, which can pay her
$1,000 plus expenses for a weekend.
She has noticed an upsurge in younger customers
in the past two years. "The generation coming up is
looking for connections," she said. "They love that
they can sit there with two sticks and some yarn and
make clothing."
Sacramento's "knit wits," as they describe
themselves, agree.
"I'm not very artistic, so it's a nice way for me
to do something creative," said Jessie Maxfield, 26,
of Vacaville. Christy Curtis, 28, of Sacramento has
found that she's got a knack for knitting. She made
a sweater - a real feat among the mostly shawl and
scarf crowd.
Things weren't as easy for Laura Sharpe, 28. "I
came over a mountain of struggle," she said, but
since has knitted several gifts. "When you give
someone something you've made, it's really cool."
The women started getting together to knit after
Marin Lemieux took up the hobby six months ago and
was inundated with instruction requests. "Everyone
was asking if I could teach them. I held kind of a
fun tea party at my house, invited a bunch of girls
who didn't know how (to knit), and that's how it
started," said Lemieux, 24.
Gena Estep, 27, has her own theories of why
knitting has following among young women.
First of all, "it's a cool way to be
anti-corporate," she said. But more than that, it
allows women to reclaim and redefine feminism, she
said, explaining that young women in the 1970s and
'80s had to reject stereotypes in order to prove
themselves in a man's world.
Mary Colucci, executive director of the Craft
Yarn Council of America, said she thinks Estep is on
to something.
"Women in my generation wouldn't learn to knit
because it was categorized as something women would
do," Colucci said. "These (young) women are using it
as a way to distinguish themselves. They don't want
to buy their best friend a baby gift from (a store).
They would rather spend the time to make something
themselves."
In 1994, an estimated 34 million women in the
United States knew how to knit or crochet, Colucci
said. When the survey was conducted in 2000, the
number had grown to 38 million.
An even more intriguing trend emerged when
researchers looked at the numbers by age, Colucci
said. In 1994, 8 million women under age 45 knew how
to knit or crochet. In 2002, that number had grown
to 17.2 million.
"Clearly, something is happening out there," she
said.
About the Writer
---------------------------
The Bee's Melanie Payne can be reached at (916)
321-1962 or
mpayne@sacbee.com.
