Gift Knitting

Do you enjoy knitting for others?  Or do you knit only for yourself?  There’s definitely no shame in being a selfish knitter.  In fact, if you are, you’ll probably save yourself some disappointment…  Because knitting for others is not always as rewarding as it seems.  

Let me explain….

Decisions

Sometimes, when I start a project, I don’t know if it will be a gift or not.  I started this cowl, loving the yarn so much that I couldn’t imagine giving it away.  But the more I knit on it, the more I realized it made me think of a dear friend – so I gifted it to her.  Many projects start out with the recipient in mind, like socks or baby garments.  

I have no qualms about giving away a project, even if it’s knit in my favorite yarn ever.  The process of knitting with that yarn is enough to make me happy.

Gifting

Gifting a knitting item is so rewarding.  There’s nothing like it.  I’ve received only a few knitted items and I’m always so taken aback by how much time someone spent knitting something for me!  Sometimes it takes months!  If you get a pair of socks from me, know that it took a month!  (Actually, most projects take at least a month.)  

Sometimes I’m a bit unsure of color or sizing, so I may be a bit nervous when giving something.  But usually it’s okay.  Usually people are delighted to receive knitted gifts.  

Reception

But sometimes it’s not okay.  Sometimes a gift doesn’t fit or the color is way off the mark.  I usually only knit for the people closest to me – parents, best friends – but it’s harder when you knit for acquaintances. 

Case and point.  A lady who offices next door to me was having her first baby – a girl.  She and I are from the same small town so I’ve felt a bit more friendly towards her than others in the office.  I knit her a baby dress in the most decadent yarn I’d found in a long time.  That yarn retailed at or above $30, making this a very pricey baby dress.  But I had absolutely no issues with giving this away.  When I gave the gift to her, the lady was nice.  Not quite as appropriately enthusiastic as I would have liked, but she seemed appreciative.  And not another word was said.  I waited until she had the baby and kept an eye on her Facebook photos occasionally. No photos ever appeared of the baby in her very expensive baby dress.  Now, the kid can’t fit into it.  The lady came back to work from maternity leave – and nothing was said. 

This is not an appropriate way to show gratitude for a knitted object.  Take a picture. Of the baby. In the garment.  That’s all we knitters want.  We want to see the object being worn once.  That’s it.  Show us that you’re appreciative.  Because that knitted object took many, many, many hours to complete.

I’m stepping off the soap box now.  Cheerio!