Softness: A Meditation on Knitting

by Jean Oberlander

Unravelling the semantics of the ugly jumper, the ratty cardigan and the squishy mittens.

Softness is a poetic reflection on hand-knitting and the neglected objects that give us nourishment. A straggly jumper, shrunken in a hot wash. A frayed sleeve, mended with different wool. A garish sweater, coffee-stained but decidedly unwashed, sent by a loved one to withstand the cold winters.

Punctuated by short key texts from textile studies and feminist theory, Softness tugs at the loose threads of this corner of craft history. This is an ode to the disrepaired, a plea to stem the tide of unloved, mass-produced clothing by rethinking the power of soft things.

Thread-sewn with illustrations interleaved throughout the text, printed in spot colour across three beautiful paper stocks.

Genres: Crafts, Knitting

32 pages, Paperback

Published April 17, 2025

Reviews

[Paul Raud · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lovely feather-soft meditation on knitting and textiles

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes…. Yes!!!!!!

[Beautiful Darling Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in the park one day. Made me rethink elements of knitwear - being a knitwear designer it was very inspiring.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

:)

[Eilidh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written and comforting zine that makes you stop and think about the garments in your own wardrobe that you hold so dear

[zo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very pretty little zine, which I was expecting a bit more story from, the references seem interesting -need to look them up a bit.

[Phoebe Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 4
lovely essay but tbh I'm not sure it offered me anything especially new in my thinking on textile creation - but then I have already thought and read quite a bit about care and womanhood in connection to textile crafts so maybe it was new for others.

beautifully written through and a nice combo of research and anecdote and so nicely bound

[Anna Tibbetts · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was way more academic than I would have expected of a meditation.