I’ve got six days before I fly to Burbank to film an episode of Knitty Gritty. The subject? Math for knitters (!!) On the show, I’ll talk about the calculations used in creating a custom-fit top-down cardigan. My own version is knit in the Blue Sky Bulky shown above. It’s the yummiest bulky yarn I’ve ever used–the resulting garment is a cute fitted jacket–cozy and very warm.
Knitters love math even if they don’t know it. I’ve noticed a frequent intersection between geeky (myself included) types and fiber types. Boing Boing loves crafty stuff, crocheters love to figure out how to crochet a hyperbolic plane, or knitters, a mobius. With the kids I teach, knitting is often a way to quietly insert mathmatical concepts without stressing about it. Girls who say they “hate math” will happily calculate sleeve shaping or design a workable pattern repeat. Even the youngest knitter gets practice counting, adding and subtracting.
I never “hated” math in school, but when I got beyond trig (which I loved because it was visual, I think), I got lost. Math was no longer required in school, so I didn’t take it any more. I did keep with the science classes–I loved chemistry (it’s like cooking), and physics (we had a great teacher who would lie on a bed of nails and let us drop things out of windows–if only he taught calculus, I’m sure I would have understood it).
At any rate–I know I haven’t posted much over the holiday, but this will probably be my last post until I get back from Burbank, next week. I hope to run into some of the amazing designers who are filming at the same time I am–Michael Del Vecchio, Stephanie Pearl McPhee, Stefanie Japel, and many more I’m sure. I’m staying with my friend Cecily (whee!) who is so nice to put me up and help me get around.
I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about the experience when I get back…
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I hope you have a blast!
Have fun!
Have a great time on Knitty Gritty. I always say “there’s no such thing as Knitters’ Math”…. it’s only ‘rithmetic, of the three-Rs we learned in grade school. If you can balance your checkbook or double a recipe, you have the skills you need for knitting to fit!
You’ll be great! Can’t wait to hear about your adventures in Burbank!
Have fun!!!
OH Amy, have fun! Such a great experience, can’t wait to hear about it!
Awesome! I think knitting is a great way to pick up math concepts. I recall a discussion we had about trig recently. One word of caution, however: please don’t give out my phone number over the air.
One of the things I like about knitting is that so many of my fellow geeks do it. Knitting makes sense of math. Instead of being a mysterious, out-there thing, it’s integral to the knitting.