A well-knit relation

Manika Ahuja

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Though 2016 began on a warm note bidding adieu to the “warmest ever” year since records started being maintained some 135 years ago, winters still bring forth the memories of hand-knit sweaters which are in vogue with a bang.

The motherly love in the form of hand knit sweaters which had become dormant, with the technology providing us with easy and cheap alternatives is back. One can find many youngsters these days wearing hand knit sweaters and walking with swag. Women can be seen knitting sweaters, caps and other winter wear sitting under the winter sun in parks, at homes and during their leisure time while travelling.

Ronit Suri, an engineer with Samsung, Noida, who was presented a hand knit sweater by his mother Shabnam Suri during a visit to his parents house in Chandigarh says, “This hand knit sweater is the most precious present that I received from my mother, because it brings to me the feeling of warmth and being loved by my mother”.

Says Shabnam Suri, “We have recently shifted from Shimla to Chandigarh and I find that the trend of knitting is more common in hills. These are warmer than machine knit sweaters and look beautiful being customised.” The good news is that there is resurgence of knitting everywhere now. She says that in Himachali women from local communities are involved in commercial sale of hand knit sweaters, vests, caps, mufflers, neck warmers, gloves, socks, toys, hot-water bottle covers and tea-cosies.

Rita Chaudhary, a government school teacher Chandigarh says, “The demand for hand-knit patterns and yarns had slumped in the past as the craft was seen increasingly as old-fashioned and rarely were new generations taught to knit. The easy availability and low cost of machine-knit woollen items meant that people could have a sweater for the cost of the wool”. She adds, “Now my son Shubham, a student of plus two at Guru Gobind Singh Collegiate Public School, Sector 26, sports a hand-knit sweater with great elan.”

Harleen Kaur, a student of English Literature at Department of English and Cultural Studies, Panjab University said, “You actually fall in love with hand-knit sweaters because they weave love and affection. I have preserved the sweater my mother knit for me when I was in school as a token of love from her”. It is a great feeling when your mother or elder women in the family knit sweaters for you and women in the locality stop you on your way to see its pattern and design.

So, this winter, if you want to tell the world how much your mom loves you, all you need is a hand-knit sweater. Besides, there is nothing better than receiving compliments for a woolly made with love by your mommy dear!