Catching the knitting bug

In the basement of Vibes and Scribes, on Cork City’s Bridge St, is the colourful wool section — which is also the venue for a weekly knitting-and-crochet group.

These are numerous similar groups dotted around the country, earning the nickname ‘stitch ’n’ bitch’.

Tentatively, I descend the steps, having been prodded by my editor, delighted to find that I’m not the only man there. Having hung up my needles in primary school, I was sceptical about my knitting ability.

I had nothing to fear; Siobhan Keane Hopcraft, from Ballincollig, took me under her wing. Within minutes, I’d set myself a deadline of Christmas for my first project — a woolly scarf.

Rosemary O’Shea runs the wool floor and says the group is a welcome addition to the shop. “The people here feel that it’s not really the finished product that matters, it’s how they spend their time. Crochet is huge, at the moment, as people can get a lot more work done quickly. It is way more accessible, just one hook is all you need, and then it’s one stitch at a time.

“It was out of fashion for a while, but you do see a lot more Europeans who are bringing in their own slant on crochet,” says Rosemary.

The social aspect is very important and there are usually about 20 people at the two-hour Thursday evening or Wednesday morning sessions.

They work on their projects and ask for advice.

“We have a good few customers who are members of the group and they teach any newcomers the basics of knitting or crochet,” says Rosemary. “It’s not an exclusive group of friends and anyone is welcome to pop in and get knitting. We get a lot of tourists coming here, too, to experience something different.”

An advert in the shop window intrigued Siobhan and she checked out the group.

“I was trying to give up smoking when I saw the ad. I’ve always been a crocheter, rather than a knitter, and I would make christening blankets for friends and family.

“It’s great fun, meeting different women and sometimes men, too. And we can share ideas and patterns.

“I am working on a winter jumper, at the moment, and, so far, it’s going well. Our task now is to create Christmas decorations for the shop window here, using knitting and crochet,” Siobhan says.

Fernando Martin, from Salamanca, in Spain, wasn’t fazed at being the only man besides me. He comes with his friend, Patricia Cabrero.

“A Japanese friend of mine told me about the weekly group. I had never done it before, so I started off doing crochet and I’m trying to make a scarf. It’s no big deal that I’m the only man here and the other women help me and when I get stuck,” says Fernando. Spain was well represented in the class, as Karen Simpson showed two Spanish students how to knit from scratch.

Karen has been coming to the group for three years and says it keeps her busy and productive. “It’s really making a social activity out of what is normally an isolated craft. People have been converted to crochet who may have only done knitting before. The current group is three times the size of the previous group and I think there has always been a strong element of this craft, but, now, people are coming together to take part in groups like ours,” says Karen.

Bernice Daly from Mayfield is another regular and offers to help out the other members with patterns or stitching.

I may be calling on Bernice between now and Christmas.

*The Vibes and Scribes knitting and crochet group meets on Wednesday mornings at 10.30am, and Thursday evenings at 5.30pm. The Knitting and Stitching Show, Ireland’s largest textile-and-craft event, takes place at the RDS from Oct 31 to Nov 3.

www.theknittingandstitchingshow.com/dublin