Knitting Workshop🧶

Our workshop last week was based around knitting! I was looking forward to this as soon as I heard the word as I remember doing this a little while ago and loving it. Our aim was to learn the process of knitting and then experiment with this and explore the technique. 

I started off with making my own yarn - I used a bed sheet. This was really interesting as I had never thought of using a bed sheet this way! 

Thinking about my project, my OCD relates a lot to having routines and that repetition to make myself feel that relief in the moment. The stitch and that knit, I feel, relates quite well to this. You have got to keep that movement, that stitch, in a routine to make the actual piece and complete it.

From there, I then started to experiment with materials. Plastic, different types of thread, sizing, etc. 

 

Knitting plastic is definitely a challenge! It broke so many times, so this one was very time consuming. I wanted to try and add in another thread too as I haven't done this before. Doing this with normal thread I think would have been easier to start with, but I decided to start with plastic! After practicing, I started to get the hang of it, see the sections where the knit is quite good! I then ironed the plastic, to melt it and merge the two materials together. I think this was a really interesting idea, and can be linked to OCD, in the sense of having two visions of life: the reality, when you are handling your OCD, everything seems good and stable, this would be the white string. The plastic then resembling the other vision, when your OCD is all you can think about and those intrusive thoughts are 'intruding' your thinking, your mind, your life, etc, hence the challenge with the material, it being very unpredictable, breaking constantly.

I then went back to a larger material, a huge roll of thick yarn I had found. I used a smaller yarn with this to create a contrast.

I found knitting a larger thread easier - this yarn is quite chaotic so the white thread was to kind of resemble 'getting yourself back together', the recovery stage after a panic attack, I would maybe even go far enough to say it resembles a person, someone who has helped me get through my OCD.

These were some leftover material from two pieces I tried to make. The plastic is very difficult to knit, very temperamental. I found this with thinner thread as well. I want to practice with a smaller thread to overcome this.

My last outcome was this piece below.

I started off with a white base and added lots of other threads into this, tying and knotting. I love the different textures and thickness between all the yarn. I like the shadows here and the continuous line the string has - see the page from my sketchbook below.

I found the process itself a lot more beneficial than the actual outcomes. I am still learning about my OCD and finding ways to help overcome it; I feel knitting could be a way to relax as it's a very calming and therapeutic thing to spend your time doing.