Starting a Knitting Circle

For every project there is a beginning. The beginning for a knitting circle is the desire of two or more people to gather together to share their love of knitting. To accomplish this you will need a comfortable place to meet, a date and time for your meeting and a general focus for your group’s activities.

First things first

Find a suitable location for your knitting circle’s meeting. The Meeting Place article goes into great detail on this topic. We wanted a friendly environment where we could put chairs in a circle or gather around a table. We chose a local meeting hall, the Odd Fellows Hall, in a central location that had flexible seating and a kitchen available. Remember that some popular locations are booked a year in advance.

Detective work

Before you decide on the date and time of your first meeting, check the local newspaper’s Community Events section for events that could conflict with yours. You will be amazed at how many groups there are that meet on a regular basis. Do not be discouraged. Sift through the ones you feel might have potential members and jot down their meeting times. Do not discount local high school and amateur sports events, as many parents show up to support their children. We decided on a time that would accommodate working individuals and students.

Be flexible

If you did your research you have to have faith that the date and time you chose will draw enough people to get you started. Do not be surprised if at your first meeting individuals suggest that another time or day of the week would be better for them. Have an open discussion with everyone and choose a date and time that will accommodate those you feel are really interested and will attend regularly.

Time to focus

It is important to have a focus to make your promotional material work. Ask yourself what would interest you enough about knitting to leave your home in the evening and travel to a place you might not have been before and be with people you have never met. We started with a focus of sharing, learning new techniques and chatting which we used on our promotional posters and advertising. After our first meeting we added the charity project to our promotions as our members were keen on knitting for the less fortunate.

Now it’s time to get started. Click here and it will take you directly to the Circle Basics page. There we will walk you step by step through the entire process of making your knitting circle a reality.