Word Out 2013

~submitted by Amanda Sun, author of INK

I learned to knit back when I was in high school. I started with rainbow variegated yarn and I made a terribly misshapen hat, but once I’d learned to control my tension, I moved on to other projects. I was, and still am, a slow knitter, so I made a lot of baby shoes and sweaters to give away, tiny projects that I had a hope of finishing. The patterns got more intricate and I really enjoyed knitting with teeny yarn and teeny needles, making fancy looking outfits.

I don’t have as much time to knit as I used to, but I’ve discovered a new kind of knitting that involves smaller projects that I can actually enjoy instead of give away—geeky knitting.

What’s geeky knitting? Well, it’s a mash-up of craft and fandom.

For example, are you a Super Mario fan? Knit a one-up mushroom hat! Like Legend of Zelda? How about some triforce mitts to wear while you play? What about a pair of TARDIS socks or a My Little Pony scarf in your favourite pony’s colours? I knit a companion cube from Portal once to give Hank Green as a gift (he’s the brother of John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars). And I’m about to start on a pair of pokeball mitts from Pokemon.

There’s a lot of great inspiration out there for geeky knitting. Just do an internet search for the thing you like and add “knit” to the end of the search line. Or come up with your own pattern by taking a simple hat or fingerless mitt pattern and designing your own chart. Take a sheet of graph paper, the kind with 1cm x 1cm squares, and draw your pattern out in the different colours you’ll need.

And if knitting isn’t for you, there are lots of other geeky craft ideas you can make. Amigurumi are cute crochet dolls or characters—make your favourite book character or animal! Or make something geeky out of felt or craft foam—maybe a Mario question mark box or a Minecraft pickaxe.

It’s fun to take a traditional craft and turn it on its head. Make crafting relevant to your interests and it’ll be that much more special and unique. Can’t wait to see what you’ll make!