Knitting Practice in Korea: A Geography of Everyday Experiences

Abstract

The recent resurgence of knitting is an ambiguous social phenomenon because it has pre-industrial connotations in late modern society. Knitting is inherently an ambiguous practice which blurs the boundary between production and consumption, the material and the mental and subject and object. This paper explores Korean knitting practice from the angle of social practice. An examination of knitting practice in Korea revealed that the inherent heterogeneity is intricately intertwined with the complex landscape of knitting practice, which is dispersed in a range of different forms of subgroups. Also, the multifaceted aspect of these subgroups which combines consumption, production, education and socialization, refers to the complicated and contrasting aspects of contemporary consumption and consumers. This paper particularly pays attention to the role of practical understanding as a form of skill, know-how and knowledge in the formulation and transformation of knitting practice. It also examines the emotional landscape of knitting practice, which is constructed and mediated in close interconnection with the material dimensions of the practice.

“Grandma never knit like this”: reclaiming older women’s knitting practices from discourses of new craft in Britain

“…Three 90-minute focus groups took place in 2015 in accessible rooms on a university campus or private bookable space. We contrived our own 'knit 'n' natters' rather than accessing pre-established groups to attract participants who were not necessarily predisposed to group knitting and -following methods utilised successfully by previous research -to simulate the openness and relaxed conversational flow of a social scenario (Prigoda & McKenzie, 2007;Shin & Ha, 2011;Kelly, 2014). By adopting this research design we may have excluded knitters who were particularly solitary, immobile or adverse to group knitting.…”

“…Gauntlett (2011) emphasises the social connections that are engendered in twenty-first century craft culture. Group knitting takes place in informal venues such as pubs, cafés, libraries and shopping malls (Dawkins, 2011;Shin & Ha, 2011;Kelly, 2014).…”

“…Within new knitting discourse, knitting groups are represented as contexts of sorority. Research has emphasised the benefits to be gained from participation including female company and friendship (Shin & Ha, 2011;Kelly, 2014;Stannard & Sanders, 2015;Burke, 2018). However, for some of our participants, 'knit 'n' natter' groups were hierarchical: Jane (44, Chester): my friend always went to the Tuesday group and she said "come along" and that was fine until it got over-subscribed and then there was a hierarchy, then there was a decision as to who would get a place next week!…”

Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Too): Complicating the Study of Femininity and Women's Leisure

“…Scholars examine how women choose traditionally feminine pursuits, understanding that women are cultural actors, the creators in these feminine leisure activities. Such work covers both sedentary and active leisure, including cooking family meals (DeVault 1991), romance novel reading (Radway 1991), quilting (Stalp 2007(Stalp , 2006a(Stalp , 2006b(Stalp , 2006cStalp and Conti 2011), handcrafting (Stalp and Winge 2008;Winge and Stalp 2013), knitting (Minahan and Cox 2007;Myzelev 2009;Shin and Ha 2011;Turney 2009), and roller derby (Breeze 2010;Carlson 2010;Finley 2010;Pavlidis 2012). These examples fit the criteria of focusing solely on women engaged in feminine (or female-only) leisure activities, including sedentary and active leisure pursuits.…”

Consumption of Raw Materials by Crafters

“…Crafting is a type of “production but also a form of consumption, which generates a demand for mass-produced materials” (Shinn & Ha, 2011, p. 105). Therefore, in order to create craft projects, crafters consume materials that are often mass-produced (Leslie, 2002; Turney, 2004).…”