Knitting Meditation Series – Complete Series
If you’re new to knitting you may not find knitting to be therapeutic or relaxing.
Maybe even quite the opposite, I know I did.
In the beginning knitting was confusing and frustrating.
For some reason I pushed through that, I just had to conquer it.
I’m glad I did. It’s helped me in so many ways. It helped me quit smoking, which is another discussion for another day.
Knitting helped me find patience, peace and has given me purpose.
I’m so thankful for knitting and all the ways it’s enriched my life.
What does “meditation” look like to me?
-It’s slowing my thoughts by focusing on taking deep breaths
-I feel my muscles relax, especially in my shoulders and the stress melting away.
Before you get started on your knitting meditation journey you’ll want to grab a few things to prepare, which I talk about here:
Initially I was going to release these a week apart, however I decided to release them all at once. Maybe someone wants or needs to watch them all back to back, or someone wants to do one each morning and evening. They’re all available to use in a way that best fits your schedule.
These videos are simple. It’s just me, knitting in silence.
I recorded these a couple of months ago.
I wasn’t going to release them… who would want to watch me knit in silence?
However, I rewatched them last week.
It seems silly, but I felt so relaxed and calm after watching just one.
If it made me feel good, maybe it’ll make someone else feel good too.
I really feel that these are something that I’m meant to share, so I hope you enjoy them.
May you find whatever it is that you’re needing at this moment. -Jennifer
Side note: In these videos I’m knitting the Trust Cowl/Scarf knitting pattern, which you can grab for free here.
Day 1: Create your space.
Try using different props each time.
They might evoke different emotions and you’ll have a different experience.
I like to incorporate multiple senses.
Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
Smell: Candle, flowers, incense, have a pie baking in the oven…
Sight: Flowers, pictures, fire place, magazine, vision board…
Hearing: The clicking of needles, rain, ocean, birds, soft instrumental music…
Touch: yarn & needles, wear your favorite clothing or wrap up in a blanket…
Taste: A hot cup of tea, coffee or cocoa, piece of hard candy… {I don’t usually incorporate this in my practice, but I’ll have a cup of tea or coffee right before to help me mentally prepare.}
Day 2: Patience
Start slow… very slow.
Be patient and forgiving with yourSELF {and pat yourself on the back for trying something new}
It’s helpful to be comfortable with knit stitches, but there’s no way to get comfortable without lots of practice :)
There’s nothin’ to it but to do it!
Day 3: Breath deeply.
From here on out I decided not to talk at the beginning and end as not to throw off your Feng Shui.
I personally alternate between full chest/lung breaths and stomach/diaphragm breaths.
However, I believe this practice should be unique to you.
I recommend doing some research on different breathing practices and techniques to find one that works for you.
Day 4: Relax
Give yourSELF permission to be stress free.
Feel your muscles relax with each breath out.
Day 5: Create consistent stitches.
Tension is the key to consistency.
I’ve found it helpful to use a large container to hold my ball of super bulky yarn.
My favorite container is my vintage glass battery container.
My 2nd favorite is an 18 gallon plastic tub.
My 3rd favorite is my large mixing bowl, it doesn’t work as well as the other 2, but it’s handy if you don’t have anything else large enough.
The container is helpful because it allows you to focus on getting slack without worrying about your yarn rolling off the table or couch, or the cat or dog getting it, etc.
Anything that causes you to lose focus.
The littlest things count.
Day 6: Set your pace.
The amount of slack I have sets my pace.
What I like to do is pull a couple of arm lengths of yarn loose from the ball and put them back in the container, or my lap.
{Trust me, you don’t want to pull out too much yarn or you’ll end up with a ball of knots… that’s not relaxing now is it?}
As I’m knitting I count my stitches until I’ve ran out of slack.
I try to get about the same amount of slack each time and start my count over.
This way I can anticipate when I’m about to run out of yarn versus “worrying” about running out of yarn or opening my eyes to check to see how much slack is left with minimal interruptions.
Day 7: Find your rhythm.
Remember, this is not a race… unless you’re the turtle where slow and steady wins the race.
I’d like to encourage you to knit to the rhythm of your breath.
Once you’ve knitted about a million stitches at this pace and mastered your tension, then you can think about picking up your pace… if you so desire. No pressure, really.
I knit fast a lot, so it feels really good to slow down.
Day 8: Close your eyes.
You’ll want to start really feeling the stitches with your fingers and how they’re created.
Close your eyes and feel the first stitch with your fingers and try to knit it… of course, peeking with one eye.
Try not looking at your fingers while you’re knitting, like you do when typing on a keyboard.
This will help train your brain to think with your fingertips instead of your eyes relaying the messages.
It gets easier with practice and before you know it you can knit with your eyes closed.
Day 9:
Incorporate all the previous days techniques and tweak them to find your own style of knitting meditation.
I hope you enjoyed this spin on knitting + meditation and found it helpful and relaxing.
I’d love to know about your journey.
What have you learned in your practice that makes it easier or more enjoyable?
Which part do or did you struggle with?
FREE Knitting Patterns:
Grab the FREE Blanket knitting pattern here
Grab the FREE Hat knitting pattern here
Grab the FREE Leg Warmers knitting pattern here
Grab the FREE XL Project Bag knitting pattern here
Grab the FREE Cocoon Blanket Sweater knitting pattern here