In this week’s post I am delighted to discuss the joys of wearing our hand knits! Before I begin, I have a quick message to the knitters still working on their KAL projects: 

Knitting takes time. We are all in the midst of our own KAL experience. Some of us knit fast, some of us have more time to knit, and some of us opt to just work on one project at a time. Many of us are still in the process of knitting their KAL project. I am opting to finish my express yourself sweater over the holidays while I have a bit more time to focus and relax into the process. This blog post is about celebrating our knits, wearing them, and allowing ourselves to embrace joy. You will finish your projects, and you will get to wear them (and we will be cheering you on, whenever that happens to be!!).

Now let’s get into week 7… 

I’ll start with a question: Do you wear your finished object (FOs)? 

I really hope you do. 

If you don’t, I encourage you to think about why not. Is there hesitation because of the project, or are there other factors getting in your way? Are there thoughts (or judgements) about who is allowed to wear hand-knits, or certain types of hand-knits? Maybe you can try to practice some practice metacognition, which put simply, is thinking about what you are thinking. We can observe our thoughts, and use them as clues to help us achieve our individual goals (whether that’s wearing our knits, or finishing that stubborn WIP!).

If you do, I am so excited for you! I encourage you to reflect on the thoughts, emotions, and actions that show up in your life when you do with a hand-knit. Is there excitement, or pride? Perhaps it helps you start conversations, or gives you an extra boost of confidence.

This blog post is not about shaming you into wearing your knits all day every day. Rather, this blog post is about encouraging you to experiment, to dabble, to consider, what it would be like to wear your hand-knits a little more often. 

A few years back, a friend of mine introduced me to the concept of dopamine dressing. It’s quite a simple concept: wear what makes you feel good. Wear something that sparks dopamine (aka our main happy/reward/excitement brain chemical). It’s about what you want to wear, and what will make your day even slightly better. 

We’ve all had periods in our life that are challenging and complicated and hard and overwhelming. Wearing a hand-knit sweater certainly won’t solve all your problems, AND at the same time, it might just make your day a little bit more joyful. In the therapy world we call this: accumulating positive experiences. What a positive experience is depends highly on the individual. Though, I’ll have to say if you are in the Knit Collage KAL, I bet knitting and hand-knits most definitely bring you some joy :)

So perhaps, at this point, I’ve convinced you to give wearing your knits a try. Or maybe I have just reinforced your love of wearing your delightful sweaters. Either way, I think we all could use some style inspiration. We have such a special community of makers within the KAL, and so many of you are absolute geniuses when it comes to styling the epic Knit Collage sweaters. And that’s why my first style inspiration comes directly from this community – it’s our semi-annual KAL celebration videos! 

Spring 2021 Knit Collage celebration video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUzrRSlKQNs

If you are looking for more specific inspiration, check out these lovely makers below: 

Maci of @LittleMissKnitss: https://www.instagram.com/littlemissknitss/

Kenzie of @KenzieKnits: https://www.instagram.com/kenzieknits/

Christine of @YoungHeartCollective: https://www.instagram.com/youngheartcollective/

GG of @GGMadeIt: https://www.instagram.com/ggmadeit/

Vanessa of @VanReyKnits: https://www.instagram.com/vanreyknits/

The list above is jus the beginning. Log onto Instagram, Facebook or hop onto a Zoom and you will see so many stunning outfits. While the knits are always stunning, I must admit my favorite part is seeing the joyful and prideful faces of the Knitter. 

So here’s my question for you: How do YOU feel when you wear a hand-knit? 

Take care and happy knitting, 

Emma of Bloom and Create, Amy and the Knit Collage Team