UNIT 3 Primary Research 

Introduction

    In ancient world, everything was produced uniquely by craftsmen. Ancient people produced essential things for living and created arts by their own hands. At that time, “hands” is a form of knowledge or known as skills. “Hands” is the best source of personal knowledge as it is the most sensitive and closely connected to human’s mind. In craft field, “hands” is an important element.

    As for the common meaning of craft, it is an opposite of high technology process. In the 18^th century, Industrial Revolution rose in Europe and brought with the increasing mechanization of production processes. During that period of time, objects were in mass production and had to be functional. The rose of mechanism led to the decline of craftsmanship. During industrialization, Art and craft became separated into two categories, and crafts changed to be a hobby of human.

    Eras passed, after the Art and Craft movement, which emphasized the combination of art and crafts again in the late 19^th century. Recently, people are turning their back to the mass produced items and can be found in department store. People look for unique and personal things, which led to a trend of ‘do it yourself’ (DIY). Artist and designers also started to use traditional craft techniques with contemporary elements. Artists working with traditional craft materials and techniques change the perception of people towards craft.

    The thrust of my primary research is going to look at the strong revival though craft and design. Today’s craft is no longer about old-fashion and dull; it could be chic and modern. Among several traditional crafts, I have chosen ‘Knitting’ to be the target for me to investigate.

    ‘Knitting can be defined as the formation of a fabric consisting of vertical columns through the looping of continuous yarns.’ (Turney, 2009 p.4) It is a textile-based crafting and has been seen as a domestic or female-dominated craft for a long time. ‘Today’s knitting is not only a domestic craft, but also a creature of fine art, craft, design, film performance and fashion, as well as a leisure pursuit.’  (Turney, 2009 p.3).

    I am interested in knitting mostly due to an article about ‘Knit the City’ in a magazine. I am really inspirited by the aims of ‘Knit the City’, which is to change and making the world to be a better place .This street art movement tried to take a woolly hold on forgotten public spaces and gives them soul and treats the whole world as an art gallery. Knitting is no more the activity about a group of old ladies sitting indoors and knitting. It becomes an outdoor and interactive activity launch out in several cities.


     In order to distinguish more in knitting, I carried out my primary research by searching for several yarn-selling shops and knitting shops. I am going to visit some of the shops and talk to the owners. Different from other materials suppliers, they are usually knitter. I will try to interview them in order to understand more on how to run the knitting business. What is more, I will try to connect some knitting manufacturers, which are using knitting machines in production. I believe through interviews with the knitter and the knitting manufactures would be helpful for me to compare the differences in between hand knitting and using machines to knit. It is also a good opportunity for me to understand more about the process of using knitting machines. Furthermore, I will launch a knitting questionnaire within my age group. It has been a great revival over years in knitting, I would like to know as if the revival knitted my age group or not.