The act of knitting might conjure up an image out of an old children’s storybook — that of a grandma crocheting a shawl on a rocking chair with a cat playing with her yarn ball on the floor.
According to Prilia Herdianty, this geriatric portrayal of the labor-intensive craft is not entirely inaccurate. While looking for a knitting class in Jakarta that she could participate in, she found out that “most members of the class are either grandmothers or young moms,” she says, laughing.
Her interest in knitting was started when she was still a Dutch literature student at the University of Indonesia three years ago.
“I wanted to make my own beanie hat that no one else could have,” she says. “The craft shop in town was really pricey, and at the time, I could only afford a set of small knitting needles and a ball of yarn. I learned to knit by myself by following tutorial videos on YouTube.”
Prilia wore that first creation almost every day and made a name for herself as a knitter on her campus. Subsequently, she garnered various personal orders for handmade hats and scarves from her friends.
Inspired to spread her love of this art, she initiated her first knitting class, which was only attended by two beginners. A friend, Agnes Christina, took notice and decided to set up a knitting community called Happyarn with her in 2014.
“We are fascinated with good fabric and yarn, and we want Happyarn to become a place where people can get creative with these materials,” Prilia says.
In their monthly class that is usually organized inside a coffee shop, Prilia will teach introductory knitting techniques — cast-on, purl stitch, bind-off — to novice participants. Their first project involves making the easiest shapes, such as shawl and pouch. After a participant has mastered the basic, they can continue to knit more complicated designs, including the beanie.
Unlike many other craft workshops easily encountered in Jakarta nowadays, Happyarn offers their knitting classes for free, as long as the participants bring their own tools.
“I generally will give inputs about the type of tools they can use, in accordance with the knitting project they will do. If they don’t have it yet, we provide a beginner’s kit that we call the Newlyknit,” says Prilia, who mostly sources her knitting supply from local stores.
There are generally around five to eight participants in one Happyarn class. Prilia prefers this small arrangement, saying, “Knitting requires us to give extra attention to every participant. Knitting is personal, and each knitter has a different experience.”
Although most of her students are female, Prilia emphasizes that knitting is not an activity exclusive to one gender only.
“During the first and second World Wars, many men would knit their own sweaters, socks and even the inner layers of helms for the armed troops,” she enthuses. “So far, I have taught several men to knit. Even in my office now, some of my male colleagues become interested. They even plan to use knitting for an unusual project, like making a mask.”
Prilia notes that, in order to make people understand the value of this craft, knitting is an activity that must be demonstrated in front of them.
“Many people around me started knitting after looking at what I did. I’m also happy with the fact that social media these days also provides a platform for these knitters to proudly show off their creations, and in turn, attract more people to join our class,” she notes.
One of her friends once likened knitting to yoga, citing its unexpected virtue in training one’s physical and emotional strengths. “I do agree with this. I knit because I need to control some of my dynamic emotions, and it works,” Prilia says.
She also adds that a co-worker happened upon a good philosophy behind the craft: “Even when you think everything is going well, you will always find a mistake while knitting. And when it happens, there are only two options: keep knitting with those mistakes hanging around, or go back several steps and fix it.”
Amid myriad brand clamoring for attention in an increasingly saturated local fashion market right now, Happyarn endeavors to make young fashion consumers more responsible by teaching them to make their own wares DIY style.
As she concludes, “We try to convey a message of awareness for them to reduce consumption of mass-made products and instead wear things they make by their own hands. We want Happyarn to not only fulfill their creative needs, but also become a learning ground for those who have a certain principle about what they are wearing.”
For more information, check out @happyarn_ on Instagram.
The post Knit Your Own Fashion Statement With Happyarn appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.