The Top 5 Knitting Superstitions
I’m not a superstitious person, so when my husband and I were planning our wedding a few years ago, we decided to get married on Friday, Sept. 13, and planned an outdoor reception. Then, in the days before the wedding, we had historic rains in northern Colorado that resulted in major flooding—and wreaked havoc on our wedding plans. We still got married that day, but it was touch and go for a while! Since then, in the words of Michael Scott, “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.”
So when I started working at Interweave and heard about the curse of the love sweater, I immediately needed to know more. Would my husband and I really split up if I knit him a sweater?! I decided not to risk knitting one for him, just in case. The love sweater curse recently got me thinking, though: what if there are other knitting superstitions out there that I don’t know about? I don’t want to take any chances. So I searched the internets and lo and behold, there are plenty of them! Apparently, we knitters are a superstitious lot.
Here are 5 of my favorites.
1. The curse of the love sweater
The most well-known knitting superstition is the curse of the love sweater, which is the belief that if you knit a sweater for your significant other, you will break up (if you’re not familiar with this one, check out our post on it!). I know a couple of knitters who have made a handknitted item for their SO and then their relationship ended, so . . . I dunno. Then again, I know plenty of people who have happily been knitting for their SO for years with no ill consequences! I guess the jury’s still out on this one.
2. Don’t cast on for a new project on a Friday
This knitting superstition says that if you begin a new project on a Friday, you’re doomed never to finish it. You guys, is this why I never seem to make any progress on my sweater?! I’m pretty sure I started it on a Friday. . .
3. Don’t knit for a baby before it’s born
This one turned up in several places around the web. Apparently a lot of knitters believe that knitting for a baby before it’s born is bad luck! I know plenty of people who have knitted for their little ones before they were born and everything turned out fine, but it seems like a lot of people don’t want to take the risk with this one!
4. Don’t hand needles to a friend
According to this superstition, handing knitting needles to a friend “stabs” the relationship. There are also versions that say you shouldn’t hand over scissors or other cutting tools—basically, anything that could “cut” the friendship—instead, you should set these items down and let your friend pick them up. I’m skeptical about this one. I’ve handed sharp, pointy things to plenty of loved ones, and we still love each other!
5. Knitting on stage is bad luck
There are so many superstitions around the theater that I’m not surprised there’s one about knitting! I think this superstition only applies to the stage, not television or movies, because there are quite a few successful actors who knit on set (Audrey Hepburn, Sarah Jessica Parker, Krysten Ritter, and Katherine Heigl, to name a few). It also only seems to apply to the actors, not the audience, so feel free to bring your knitting to a performance without fear of cursing the production!
There are plenty of other superstitions and beliefs around knitting: second sock syndrome, including one mistake in every project to hide it from the fairies, knitting your hair into a project (either on purpose or accidentally) to bind the recipient to you, mittens knitted in summer will be warm and strong . . . the list goes on.
Did I miss your favorite? Do you believe in any of these superstitions? Let me know in the comments!
Good luck!
Rachel
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