Knit is a Four-Letter Word

Abstract

This paper explores the language of knit as a key influence on its status as an artform and craft. The basic nature of the language used in knitting is so commonplace, so entrenched in our language at large, that it leads to distinct associations with everydayness that knit can struggle to overcome, often leading knit to be considered “only” a simple craft. We find that the skills needed for knitting are disassociated with the value of knitting as skill and cultural presence. From dismissive language aimed at the knitter to cultural significance throughout history from metaphor to online neologisms this paper explores the relationship knitting has had with both creating and being shaped by language. Historical linguistics associates a range of “higher” crafts with imported Romance language words, whereas the “lower” craft status of knit is echoed by its use in in the English language (and elsewhere) where simple, domestic words are used. The historical and cultural reckoning of knit, and the language that perpetuated these attitudes today, has influenced perception consciously and subconsciously. With new terminology heralding knit as an evolving, person-centred community that is driving the subject forward. Knit, in its own terms, has many a yarn to tell.