Windy Knitty: Chicago knitting club became a haven for teens
How knitting builds confidence 鈥� and some cash 鈥� in Chicago's west side teenagers.
Balls of yarn rest on top of books about knitting.
Casey Bayer
Students are getting knitty in a gritty urban neighborhood on Chicago's west side, as they are learning to craft skeins of yarn into a blanket of calm that is making them more social 鈥� and fiscally sound.
鈥淭hree years ago, I started teaching kids here to knit and then I thought, 鈥楲et鈥檚 see if we could sell what they make at my church and give the kids some pocket money in the process,鈥� says Dorothea Tobin, a teacher at聽, in a phone interview from her classroom where she is surrounded by clicking needles and chatting teens.
In the "BT Lives in the Stitch" club, according to Ms. Tobin, students price their wares between $10 and $30 per item and reap the rewards of being able to socialize while earning enough profit to pay for prom tickets or sundries they might not otherwise be able to afford.
In North Lawndale, nearly 40 percent of the residents live under the poverty line, and 30 percent do not graduate high school, according to the neighborhood demographics section of a聽.
Tobin says there is another, similar program run in the area at other schools by the聽,聽called the KnitLAB, a fiber arts workshop. Calls to the foundation were not immediately returned.
Of the 40 students in Tobin鈥檚 club a handful are boys.
Asked if there was a difference between what boys and girls prefer to knit she says, 鈥淏oys prefer to knit scarves because those are good sellers. Girls tend more towards baby hats.鈥�
鈥淢y next goal is to get them to knit for themselves and their friends and wear what they make,鈥� says Tobin. 鈥淚 want it to be more about something cultural than just profit, but in this area that鈥檚 a very big motivator.鈥�
The yarn used comes through donations and the teacher buying some high end yarn to boost the value of the products.聽Tobin explains that 鈥渞eally good yarn is expensive for students here.鈥� She accepts donations of used knitting needles (preferably #35 needles and #13 and #16 hat needles) and yarn.
鈥淚 just can鈥檛 tell you how many #35 needles I鈥檝e given away!鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut you know, we鈥檒l take anything and find something to make with it.鈥�
She has observed that the simple act of mastering a traditional skill and producing something has a profound effect on her students.
鈥淚t like when my husband once complained to his mother that he didn鈥檛 know how to do anything at all and she taught him how to bake a cherry pie,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e mastered it and he felt the confidence that comes with that accomplishment of being able to say, 鈥業 know how to do that.鈥欌��
Tobin adds that what she likes best about the club is that it鈥檚 a social skill-building exercise as well as a crafting session.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e [students are] always making fun of my rules, but I have club rules for a reason,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want them to isolate themselves in the process.鈥�
The first rule of Knitting Club, Tobin says, is no headphones 鈥淭hat鈥檚 because knitting is a social activity. We listen to music but we listen together and we talk.鈥�
The second rule is to dance with her on Fridays.
The third rule, she says is 鈥淕reet each other when new members come to join us in a session.鈥�
聽鈥淚 think what she鈥檚 doing with these kids is fantastic,鈥� says Lucy Sinklet, owner of the 鈥溾�� yarn shop in Evanston, Ill., 聽a shop where Tobin buys her up-scale yarns. 鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to see kids making something with their own hands and feeling that accomplishment.鈥�
Tobin also frequents her local聽聽craft store where she gets a teacher discount and a shop called聽.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a tough neighborhood where her school is located,鈥� Ms. Sinklet adds, 鈥淪he does this out-of-pocket so we try and help where we can. We often have people who have needles they don鈥檛 need any more or leftover yarn. I collect it up and give it to her the next time she comes in.鈥�