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“It would be easier for me to list those in my social circle that don’t knit” - A qualitative study of young women knitting in Denmark

Byskov, Nanna LU (2022) SOCK07 20221
Sociology
Abstract
Knitting is a craft that has existed for many years giving it a rich history. The popularity of knitting has never been steady and has risen and fallen throughout the years, albeit now readily associated with older generations. It is safe to say that knitting is currently going through a revival in Denmark, especially young women have picked it up, seemingly taking the popularity of knitting to new levels. This study aims to understand and shed light on, despite its popularity, a highly under-researched phenomenon in Denmark that is young women knitting. It seeks to add to the body of works already done on knitting in other contexts, as well as perhaps trigger further research on knitting in Denmark. To achieve such aims I have conducted... (More)
Knitting is a craft that has existed for many years giving it a rich history. The popularity of knitting has never been steady and has risen and fallen throughout the years, albeit now readily associated with older generations. It is safe to say that knitting is currently going through a revival in Denmark, especially young women have picked it up, seemingly taking the popularity of knitting to new levels. This study aims to understand and shed light on, despite its popularity, a highly under-researched phenomenon in Denmark that is young women knitting. It seeks to add to the body of works already done on knitting in other contexts, as well as perhaps trigger further research on knitting in Denmark. To achieve such aims I have conducted and analysed interviews with young women that knit according to different concepts that will help show how societal structures and identity are embedded in the activity of knitting, which rest on the theories of gender and identity, as well as how knitting fits into general societal trends in Denmark such as social acceleration and ‘præstationssamfund’ (performance society).

I conducted ten semi-structured interviews with young women that knit in which I got
a better understanding of why these young women may have taken up knitting and their experiences as young knitters in 2022. The interviews and analysis was guided by six themes identified based on literature from other contexts, however the themes were applied based on the data produced. The study showed that it is hard to pinpoint one thing as the sole cause of the trend, there are rather several of the six themes and theories that hold explanatory power, despite some even being contradictory in nature. However, what was clear was that consumption concerns were not a reason for any of the interviewed women to take up knitting. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Byskov, Nanna LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOCK07 20221
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
language
English
id
9089949
date added to LUP
2022-06-17 17:09:32
date last changed
2022-06-17 17:09:32
@misc{9089949,
  abstract     = {{Knitting is a craft that has existed for many years giving it a rich history. The popularity of knitting has never been steady and has risen and fallen throughout the years, albeit now readily associated with older generations. It is safe to say that knitting is currently going through a revival in Denmark, especially young women have picked it up, seemingly taking the popularity of knitting to new levels. This study aims to understand and shed light on, despite its popularity, a highly under-researched phenomenon in Denmark that is young women knitting. It seeks to add to the body of works already done on knitting in other contexts, as well as perhaps trigger further research on knitting in Denmark. To achieve such aims I have conducted and analysed interviews with young women that knit according to different concepts that will help show how societal structures and identity are embedded in the activity of knitting, which rest on the theories of gender and identity, as well as how knitting fits into general societal trends in Denmark such as social acceleration and ‘præstationssamfund’ (performance society). 

I conducted ten semi-structured interviews with young women that knit in which I got
a better understanding of why these young women may have taken up knitting and their experiences as young knitters in 2022. The interviews and analysis was guided by six themes identified based on literature from other contexts, however the themes were applied based on the data produced. The study showed that it is hard to pinpoint one thing as the sole cause of the trend, there are rather several of the six themes and theories that hold explanatory power, despite some even being contradictory in nature. However, what was clear was that consumption concerns were not a reason for any of the interviewed women to take up knitting.}},
  author       = {{Byskov, Nanna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“It would be easier for me to list those in my social circle that don’t knit” - A qualitative study of young women knitting in Denmark}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}