Meditation Knitting – Set Up

Dear Readers,
As promised today I am going to be telling you a little bit about how I do my meditation knitting in a little step by step guide. (As with last week’s post this also applies to crochet)

Meditation Series
Meditation Knitting Introduction
Meditation Knitting Set-up
Meditation Knitting What to meditate on

Space

For me space is very important. I can’t get calm if I am not in a tidy space, so I either move to a tidy space or I spend a little time sorting out my space to make it calming for me. You can also do this outside although I have particularly loud children in my neighbourhood so it is not very conducive to meditation for me to be outside.
Also make sure that wherever you are going to be seated is comfortable.

Sounds

If you feel like you don’t want absolute silence then try and find some music or sound playlists that will help you. I really like this Youtube channel by Jonnie Lawson. There are also meditation playlists on services such as Amazon Music. My preference is either light chimes, bird song, or running water. But there are also many other soothing calming sounds out there that you can incorporate into your practice.

Smells

I am particularly affected by smells and I like to burn incense but you can also burn a scented candle, spray a room spray, get a bunch of flowers. Anything that would enhance your experience. These smells also give you something to focus on and explore if you find your mind running away with you.

Light

I like to sit by a Sunny window or light a candle in winter. If open flames make you anxious you could use a battery-powered (fake) candle instead. I have a few from when we used to rent a flat and were not allowed to have real candles.

All of these things help to create an intentional space for you to practise being mindful or meditative. Our brains are things of habit and ritual and the more you utilise these things the quicker your brain will fall into your calm space as you set these things up. My brain remembers all the things that I do for my calm space and so as I set them up my brain takes it as a cue to start getting to that meditative space. Repetition is key.

The final thing I want to talk about today is the Project which you choose.
It is important that this project is chosen in relation to your skills. For example, I am an avid sock knitter, I have knit over 53 pairs of socks, and i have been knitting socks for 5 years. This means that I can knit socks as part of my meditation knitting because they really don’t take any thought for me. But I would never suggest socks as a meditation project for a beginner. As an advanced knitter it is up to you to choose your project but I will give some suggestions for beginners – Garter stitch (plain knit every row) is the best for a very new beginner but stockinette (plain on one side and purl on the other) is suitable for a beginner with a bit of experience. Scarves, washcloths, and shawls are all good projects for beginners.

Considerations for choosing a project:

Select something simple. You don’t want to be constantly referring back to a pattern as this will interrupt your calm. This practice is much more about the act of knitting rather than the finished product.
While you may want to focus on what your hands are doing and on the movement of the stitches, you want this to be in a calm introspective way, not in a stressed way. So choosing an overly complicated stitch will not help you.
Repetition is good, so either a plain garter stitch or stockinette is good. Or a simple pattern like 2×2 rib or seed stitch will work nicely if you are comfortable with using knit and purl stitches in the same row.
Slow and steady not speedy! This is about being calm, it is not a race, don’t try and zoom through the knitting. Just work at a steady pace that is comfortable for you. I am usually a fast knitter and I like to slow right down for my practice.
Choose a suitable wool/yarn. I try to avoid anything that is too fuzzy or loosely spun, I don’t want to spend my time worrying about splitting stitches or catching fuzz. It’s about the moment not the project.

I hope that you enjoyed today’s post and that you feel suitably set up for starting your practice. In the next post I will share with you few steps on what to do with your mind during your practice if you want some tips.

Keep Craft,
Peace and Love
Ellie

17 thoughts on “Meditation Knitting – Set Up”

Thank you very much ❤

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This is so great,<3 thank you for sharing

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I have crochet dishcloths before although I found that they became stiffer after washing where as the knitted ones did not. But this may also have been because I used bamboo for the crochet ones and cotton for the knitted ones. I really should experiment again. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your meditation practice 😀

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If only I could knit or crochet! Can one crochet a dishcloth? Anyway, your post here is excellent! When I meditate, usually every morning, certain things must be “just so”, like an open window. Early morning is always best for me, as the human world is still quiet. I shall look into what you call ‘washcloths’. 😊🙏

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Reblogged this on Morag Noffke and commented:
The pandemic is on the lips of many and is spoken about in many ways. Why ever not? It is something that has created a huge challenge for most of us. It is an extremely painful and difficult time. This description could refer to what many people refer to as “The Dark night of the soul.” We might ask why the pandemic is happening: and there are as many answers as there are people but we could rather be asking ourselves: how do I live at such a time as this. What is this dark painful time asking or summoning from me? How does this calamity change the way I live my life, not superficially but what might I change so that I live the authentic life I long to live or the meaningful life I long to live. How do I summons up the courage to answer the call that is personally springing up within me?

We can only answer these questions for ourselves but there needs to be pause for such thoughts: A resting space where we can discern the answer. Or maybe it is an energized space that digs deep within. There are many ways to practice discernment: prayer, meditation, reflection, contemplation, singing, walking, breathing, dancing, exercise, creativity etc. Today I want to share Ellie’s advice on creating an environment that is conducive to meditation, reflection or mindfulness. It simply discusses how we can use space, sound, smell and light and, although her suggestions are for knitting, it can be used for many ways of quietening the heart for reflection and discernment.

Have a good week. xx

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