1Good morning everyone.
2So today we're going to look at an important creative activity
3and that's hand knitting.
4Ancient knitted garments have been found in many different countries,
5showing that knitting is a global activity with a long history.
6When someone says the word 'knitting'
7we might well picture an elderly person -
8a grandmother perhaps -
9sitting by the fire knitting garments for themselves or other members of the family.
10It's a homely image,
11but one that may lead you to feel that knitting is an activity of the past -
12and, indeed, during the previous decade,
13it was one of the skills that was predicted to vanish from everyday life.
14For although humans have sewn and knitted their own clothing for a very long time,
15many of these craft-based skills went into decline
16when industrial machines took over -
17mainly because they were no longer passed down from one generation to another.
18However, that's all changing
19and interest in knitting classes in many countries is actually rising,
20as more and more people are seeking formal instruction in the skill.
21With that trend, we're also seeing an increase in the sales figures for knitting equipment.
22So why do people want to be taught to knit
23at a time when a machine can readily do the job for them?
24The answer is that knitting, as a handicraft,
25has numerous benefits for those doing it.
26Let's consider what some of these might be.
27While many people knitted garments in the past
28because they couldn't afford to buy clothes,
29it's still true today that knitting can be helpful
30if you're experiencing economic hardship.
31If you have several children who all need warm winter clothes,
32knitting may save you a lot of money.
33And the results of knitting your own clothes can be very rewarding,
34even though the skills you need to get going are really quite basic
35and the financial outlay is minimal.
36But the more significant benefits in today's world are to do with well-being.
37In a world where it's estimated that we spend up to nine hours a day online,
38doing something with our hands that is craft-based makes us feel good.
39It releases us from the stress of a technological, fast-paced life.
40Now, let's look back a bit to early knitting activities.
41In fact, no one really knows when knitting first began,
42but archaeological remains have disclosed plenty of information for us to think about.
43One of the interesting things about knitting
44is that the earliest pieces of clothing that have been found
45suggest that most of the items produced were round rather than flat.
46Discoveries from the 3rd and 4th centuries in Egypt
47show that things like socks and gloves,
48that were needed to keep hands and feet warm,
49were knitted in one piece using four or five needles.
50That's very different from most knitting patterns today,
51which only require two.
52What's more, the very first needles people used were hand carved out of wood
53and other natural materials, like bone,
54whereas today's needles are largely made of steel or plastic
55and make that characteristic clicking sound when someone's using them.
56Ancient people knitted using yarns made from linen,
57hemp, cotton and wool,
58and these were often very rough on the skin.
59The spinning wheel, which allowed people to make finer yarns
60and produce much greater quantities of them,
61led to the dominance of wool in the knitting industry -
62often favoured for its warmth.
63Another interesting fact about knitting
64is that because it was practised in so many parts of the world
65for so many purposes,
66regional differences in style developed.
67This visual identity has allowed researchers to match bits of knitted clothing
68that have been unearthed over time to the region from which the wearer came
69or the job that he or she did.
70As I've mentioned,
71knitting offered people from poor communities a way of making extra money
72while doing other tasks.
73For many centuries, it seems,
74men, women and children took every opportunity to knit,
75for example, while watching over sheep,
76walking to market or riding in boats.
77So, let's move on...