Slow Knitting: A Journey from Sheep to Skein to Stitch

by Hannah Thiessen

Like the “slow food” movement, Slow Knitting encourages knitters to step back, pare down, and celebrate the craftsmanship of their work. In five chapters centered around the tenets of slow knit­ting—sourcing carefully, making thoughtfully, thinking environmentally, experimenting fearlessly, and exploring openly—Hannah Thiessen challenges knitters of all skill levels to view their practice in a new way. Each chapter contains explorations of fiber types; profiles of well-known yarn types, makers, and yarn suppliers; and garment patterns inspired by the featured fibers. With contributions from knitting superstars Norah Gaughan, Bristol Ivy, and many others, Slow Knitting proposes an approach to knitting that is both minimalist and all-encompassing, and emphasizes what makes knitting a meditation, a passion, and a unique necessity.

Genres: Knitting, Nonfiction, Crafts, Reference

176 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2017

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn about this one. I love the premise that we can support an amazing array of more sustainable brands with our knitting practice. I love the interesting yarns and brands that Theissen profiles. I've always been vaguely confused that people with the means to do otherwise buy cheap yarn for projects that they will then put hours (and hours) of their lives into.

But, oh my goodness, this is a very long advertisement with extremely expensive projects. Some of these sweaters would be over $400 in yarn even in the smaller sizes. I'm the target demographic for this book, and I still would balk at that. The smaller projects are done in the least expensive yarns, which I found incredibly odd. Wouldn't it make more sense to, say, knit a sweater in Quince and Co and a cowl in Woolfolk than vice versa? I know that slow knitting as a movement is shifting toward sweater knitting, and that's lovely, but not every yarn is really logical for a sweater.

[D.J. Blackmore · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I saw this book online, both the photography and snatches of beautifully hand-skeined wool were too captivating a temptation. After all, how many books are there on taking a natural fibre and creating a product that is formed out of persistence and love? How many can thoughtfully give back some knowledge regarding a cottage industry left behind with the thatch of distant cultural memory?

As a self-taught hand spinner of more than 30 years, it resonated within me that someone else’s wheel also turned on the grass roots of creating yarn from the ground up.

What I got was disappointing.

Yes, the sumptuous skeins were there, the niddy-noddy and antiquated scissors - it certainly looked good - but there was nothing on creating yarn from sheep to skein. No tips for anyone who is interested in this dare I say it - way of life - that would help a body to choose this path, nor any tips that people with a passion to begin from the fleece, could garner.

The skeins? Not even remotely hand-spun. They are simply the products of woollen mills, expensively sourced for you and I - on the whim of people with enough money to create a business out of fibre yet probably not the skill to spin the wool half so well themselves. Having long since earned my trade in this cottage industry, I found this book farcical.

Bugger the boutique balls.

What I did glean is that Hannah Thiessen advertises yuppie yarn which is not handspun, which is not hand washed and which is produced in just the same manner as your run-of-the-mill hank of natural yarn at twice the price.

With education, determination and given all the wondrous pointers along the way, we can all who hanker, take that fleece and nurture it into something of achievement to wear and share. A product produced from the passion to create.

And while the idea of Slow Knitting it is certainly meritorious, and one I agree with heartily, it was the #SlowLiving that was sadly left at the farm gate.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a relatively short, informative, and accessible book for anyone who knits. The author discusses what knitting is and should be - and why we should pay attention to not only what we are making and/or whom we are making it for, but where the yarn came from, who produced it, and how the animals were raised.

Each section has a different theme - for instance, ethical sourcing or environmental impacts. The language is both engaging and informative, and several designers and yarn company entrepreneurs are profiled. Each section is followed by a knitting pattern using the yarns or type of yarn discussed.

I enjoyed this book. It suggests that you should pay attention to your knitting as an extension of yourself, and related to the seasons. Without being touchy-feely, suggestions to help the knitter be mindful of what they are doing are presented.

The last paragraph of the book is one of the more striking things I've ever read about knitting and/or making:

"Knitting is a small thing, but it is not simple - each time that we draw wool back from the wheel, bring yarn around the needles to make a stitch, or pin down the corner of a finished garment, we are touching thousands of lives. The lives of knitters who have come before us: family, friends, and craftspeople. The lives of those who have moved herds of fiber animals across the land, who have woken up in the middle of a February evening to tend to a lambing, who have expertly sheared a sheep. The lives of those animals themselves. This craft is not a lonely one, but one as warm and alive as the garments we make. It is meant to be worn, meant to be shared, and meant to be gifted. It is a meditation, a passion, and a necessity."

I highly recommend this book.

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently slow means "boring" and "unoriginal." Most of the book is filled with yarn reviews and the patterns included are nothing special (with the exception of Veronik Avery's sweater, of course--everything she does is magic).

[Faith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. With a title like this I was hoping for an exposé on the slow fashion movement and how it can apply to home knitting. Instead I got 178 pages of yarn advertisements interspersed with the occasional pattern and a few philosophical ramblings that did little to explore the topic at hand. If that’s your thing, it’s fine, I guess.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was hoping for more essays, less patterns. The essays read more like tiny promos or ads. I get that it's focusing on a selection of yarn producers using "slow" methods and tries to link some of these to sustainability or eco-friendly practices but it often read like a who's who of fiber world celebrities.

The patterns are nice! Lots of texture and gorgeous yarns.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is chock full of ideas to slow down your craft while pushing yourself to the next level. That said, it seems very heavy on reviews of specific yarn makers and also sweater patterns, many of which are sort of uninteresting and probably really expensive to make with the recommended yarns. I borrowed this from the library and plan to copy the Luma and Russian Sage sweaters to keep.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely reminder to slow down and remember what drew me to knitting; the connections between me, my projects, and everyone involved before I even started knitting; and the simple joy that comes from making something out of nothing but two sticks and one string.

[Shannon A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once we learn to knit, gain skill and speed, we forget the crafting of knitting and start working toward finishing our projects, working through our yarn collection. This lovely book invites you to slow down, re-visit and re-discover the joy sparked by working three simple materials: needles, fiber & hands. A simply beautiful meditation on knitting and fiber.

[Rachel Cunningham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just OK. It was like a really long advert with barely any commentary. Pass.

[Anya Toomre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of musings on fiber, sheep, knitting, process, being present and deliberate. I like her philosophy as well as the introduction to yarns and their makers that follow these kinds of thoughts. I believe there will be several knitting projects on my needles this winter!

[Cmfremin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and so very informative about the different breeds and those that work closer with the sheep and yarn than anyone...

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I especially liked the patterns.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely, and these projects are great, but this felt a little wordy and abstract to me.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book read like one advertisement after another. I found the projects uninspiring and the photography too dark.

[Donna Ancypa Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, with some lovely patterns. It was nice to learn about small-batch makers, and read a philosophy of making that didn’t focus on “more, better, faster.” But I found myself thinking that I won’t return to this book over and over because I have other books that better address “less is more” philosophy and other books that have high quality knitting patterns. This is a really nice area of Knitlandia to visit, but I don’t need to live there.

[Emily Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to hear Hannah Thiessen speak about her concept known as "slow knitting." While her talk was interesting enough for me to buy the book, the uniqueness stops here.

This book is so pretentious. So. Pretentious.

What the author does is THE RIGHT AND ONLY way to do things. SHE is particular about her knitting. SHE goes slow and reflects on life as she knits. SHE doesn't do the rush and speed work of knitting. SHE only buys vegan and eco friendly yarn. SHE has a TINY yarn stash that she always uses FIRST.
Yawn. Yawn. Yawn. She showed us her stash during the meeting and it wasn't "that small." (She actually refused to show some of her yarn because it was "disorganized," GASP.) Finally, there were profiles after profiles about yarn companies that she recommends. (Some are actually good yarn companies.)

I would have liked real life approaches to how mindful and slow knitting would work for somebody who's life isn't slow and doesn't have endless funds to buy all this yarn. I would have liked to have seen how to use the stash that I have, figure out what kind of yarns I have and how to incorporate different yarns together to make things. Instead, we have a pretentious author trying to pass as a helpful new age guru.

[Daphne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am interested in the slow fashion movement and love to knit. In theory, this book should be right up my alley but I didn't like it. The author did a good job of listing yarn companies that are sustainable. However, she never mentions the price of these yarns and many of these yarns she recommends are expensive. One sweater in the would cost about 150 dollars to make in my size. Another sweater in the book would cost over 400 dollars to make and those prices are for one of the smaller sizes. I would have liked to see an acknowledgement of the cost of some of some of these sustainable yarns. The book mainly listed yarn companies and then listed patterns that used one of the yarns mentioned. I would have liked to see an emphasis on using knitting to make items for your wardrobe you can use instead of listing all these lovely but expensive yarns many people can't afford. I felt like the book was mainly selling yarns. She also recommends people learn to spin but does not give any advice on how to learn and never mentions of how much fibers and a spinning wheel would cost and that annoyed me.

[Snorki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift for Christmas, which turned out to be an enjoyable and interesting read. The title seems a bit self-indulgent, craft-as-designer-lifestyle, but the content of the book is more down to earth and interesting. The author takes us through the different stages of a knitting project, introducing new yarns in each chapter, and explaining the history of each yarn and the individual behind its creation. These generally small producers, driven by someone who wanted to do something more with yarn from whatever source. It is an interesting book, has some good patterns and introduces a wide variety of yarns, some of which I’d come across, and some of which were new to me. Most are at the pricey end of the yarn spectrum, but part of the point of the book is that we plan and enjoy our projects, take our time in selecting the right yarn, and this type of approach lends itself to careful selection of yarn with history and provenance versus churning out cheap projects.

[Jillian Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and thorough book that explores the Slow Knitting and Farm to Needles movements. Be prepared to be inspired to knit.

[B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given the title, I was expecting to learn about different types of wool, where they're from, how they're spun, the import/export of yarns around the world, supporting local yarns....something of that variety.

This book is primarily an extensive advertisement for different yarn makers who - it's true! - make gorgeous yarns, but without passing on much knowledge to the reader beyond buy this company's product. Up side, the photography and layout is excellent and there are some nice patterns in here.

[Lucky Christi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book completely missed the mark. It tried to relate the slow food movement to slow knitting. While this is a nice idea you better have some DEEP pockets if you want to use the recommended yarns with the patterns. The projects are a big miss for me as well, i wouldnt knit a single one there are way better and more practical timeless patterns on ravelry. A whole sweater out of yak - would not get use unless you live in alaska.

[Susanne Gulde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book in every way. The book itself is stunning, with gorgeous photography and a cover with embossed print. There is a lot of information beautifully and thoughtfully presented, along with several patterns. Everyone who enjoys yarn and knitting would do well to add this to their library.

[Rachael Lauritzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely book and not only for knitters, though non-knitters will probably skim a lot. It borrows from the idea of Slow Food and Slow Fashion to talk about how knitting can be a very intentional way of consuming less overall, seeking out high quality fibers and businesses, and, really, simplifying both your wardrobe (Slow Wardrobe) and your knitting habits.

She touches on how knitters often get caught up in a production cycle, clearly influenced by our consumerist culture, and how the knitting itself can be more personally satisfying if there's not a rush to make lots of items (I'm guilty of this, for sure). She then outlines 5 tenets of Slow Knitting (which would equally apply to other modes of obtaining and maintaining one's wardrobe):

- Source Carefully
- Make Thoughtfully
- Think Environmentally
- Experiment Fearlessly
- Explore Openly

The rest (most) of the book is organized by these tenets, which reinforce each other, including yarn and business profiles, patterns (it's a book for knitters, okay?), and essays.

My favorite parts were the introductions and the essays and musings on the practices mentioned. It was also fun to learn about brands I already knew and discover some I didn't, but what I really liked was the exploration into fibers, business models & motivations, and, especially the gentle perspective of slowing down both one's consumption of textiles (made or bought), including buying supplies (i.e., yarn) and really being mindful both about the practice of knitting and the sourcing of ones textiles/yarns/etc.

Part of that is a focus on quality materials, which I've found are generally more enjoyable to work with and wear, and which also means that the yarns promoted are not priced or produced for big box, craft store businesses. Some are straight up luxury yarns. But that speaks to the idea of investing in your clothes and other textiles, making or obtaining clothes that will last a lifetime and beyond, with thoughtful choices in materials, mending, and use. However, nowhere is there a call to only use expensive materials. There are affordable, thoughtfully-produced materials that can meet the same goals, especially those that are used--such as with upcycling or finding supplies someone else no longer has a use for (which is not covered in the book, but it's part if the idea).

The book is thoughtful and enjoyable, and a nice reminder to slow down life in general, in one's maker practices, and to really experience and connect with the story of your textiles.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book — it's a wonderful look into the process of not just knitting itself, but how important it is to think about the materials (fiber, etc.) High quality, sustainable products equal a more durable, beautiful garment or accessory.

Slow Knitting is akin to the Norwegian practice of Hygge: slow down, enjoy the moment, and relish the quiet clicking needles, high quality fiber and yarn, to feel the history of generations of knitters, spinners, and shepherds between your fingers. I learned a lot about sustainability and shepherding in this book and it did make me appreciate the smaller batch yarns as the end product of care and stewardship to the land and animals and the farmers who care for them.

This book presents one pattern to go with each of the different yarn designers featured. This is not a pattern book, so don't go into it expecting one.

If cheap, acrylic yarn is your thing, turn an open mind to this book. It will, hopefully, help you grow as a knitter, a fiber lover, and appreciate more the way yarn and design comes into our lives.

[Johanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A meditative book on slow knitting and local small scale production. Apart from presenting American small scale yarn companies, their stories and yarns, it is mainly a selection of poetical musings or meditations over themes such as the changing seasons, the feeling of wool in your hands, the value of keeping local farming traditions alive, etc. While a pleasant read, it’s not very useful for people outside the USA, and the reading flow is frequently interrupted by knitting patterns (which in my opinion could have been collected in the back of the book to be less distracting) — there is a lot of riffling through pages to get to the next few pages of text. All in all; I don’t really know if I learned much, as I don’t live in the USA and will never cross paths with the featured producers or their yarns — but it’s a soothing and relaxing book and an inspiration to slow down and enjoy the craft even more.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I got for Christmas a couple years ago, and read in bits and pieces since then. It's a lovely pretty book full of gorgeous photos and interesting writing, with lots about fiber and yarn development that I found interesting. The projects are nice and the patterns appear well written, though as another reviewer pointed out the yarn requirements for some of them would be well into the mid hundreds of dollars, which is quite an investment. Also at least one of the yarns reviewed has been discontinued as of today, which was a bit of a bummer.

A nice read that's pretty, calming, and restful with interesting content and beautiful photos.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable flip-through, but not exactly what I was hoping for. I like the philosophy of slow and thoughtful creation, but I thought this would delve into the sheep to skein journey. Instead, it was more geared towards advertising small retailers, mostly US-based and very pricey.

Of the 10 patterns, two appealed to me - the Grow Cabled Pullover (as pictured on the front cover), and Russian Sage (another cabled pullover) - but I don't think I will be making any of the patterns at this point in time.

A good book to borrow from the library, but I wouldn't get enough use out of it to buy it. It will be more relevant to American readers who want to discover local small retailers.

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Agree with the premise. Disappointed in the execution. It felt like a long advertisement for specific brands rather than a sincere exploration of what specifically lends itself to better or more suitable quality of materials, what processes specifically are more sustainable, with more of an emphasis on the functional history and nature of this art and craft, rather than the consumerist tone conveyed. A couple of beautiful projects within the pages, all well photographed, but overall antithetical to its stated purpose.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are a knitter/craftsman that does not indulge regularly in other knitting or craft magazines nor get on Ravelry, this book will be very exciting to you. It has info about farm to fiber processes, sustainability, knitting superstars and their work, mindfulness, etc. But as a knitting pattern book it is lacking. I found the patterns lovely with not a great deal of variety or construction innovation and the photographs seemed dimly lit! Arg.