Not even a global pandemic can stop Knithub 24 from crafting a movement close to their heart: helping more men learn how to knit.
Asif Dhanani and Farah Govani, the co-founders of Knithub 24, have run men-only hand knitting classes since the start of the year, in a bid to make knitting a more gender-neutral activity.
Knitting is a “source of relaxation as well as a form of mental health,” Asif says, before adding that the men’s classes are his favourite because “for a very long time, knitting has been regarded by many people as a craft which is feminine”.
“I think that it’s about time that we broke some glass ceilings and we made it more gender-neutral. The more I see the men’s classes fill up, and the more I see men interested, it makes me smile because I realise that we’re moving towards that goal.”
The Islington-based knitwear design studio, which launched in December 2019, was forced to move online following the national lockdown in March 2020 but hopes to get back to the studio.
Despite the challenges of bringing everything online, Asif and Farah have been driven to put words into action and encourage more men to take up knitting classes.
The men’s class, which is pitched at a beginner’s level, teaches how to knit a beanie hat, alongside a crash-course on the basic stitches: cast on/off, knit, purl, stocking and rib.
The course has two classes running over two consecutive weeks, with each class lasting for an hour and a half.
Farah describes the class as a “nice group” where men can talk to one another.
She adds: “It has been quite popular too, because I think right now, because we’re in lockdown, a lot of guys are suffering from poor mental health and they may not want to talk about it and might find it more difficult to talk about it.”
But like all new skills, Farah says that knitting requires “perseverance and practice”.
And regarding remote learning, Farah, who teaches some of the hand knitting and machine knitting classes, adds that Zoom classes mean “sometimes you may have to repeat things more than once, twice, three times, and making sure they’re grasping the technique”.
The company has also supported the NHS by providing discounted classes for healthcare workers.
While Asif says Knithub 24 wants to provide free classes for NHS workers in the future, participants have said that “their anxiety levels have come down” through knitting.
“I can’t imagine what it must be like to be on the frontline of a COVID ward right now. But if our classes and our support has helped them even a little bit, and they’ve gone away with their anxiety levels coming down a little bit of relaxation, they’ve managed to unwind. I think that’s great.”
Knithub 24 is currently crowdfunding to help position their business to “address the fallout of Covid”.
It comes as the business has engaged in the “mammoth task” of delivering packages to people’s homes to ensure they have the right equipment for the classes.
While the future remains unknown, Asif and Farah are committed to “positioning the business to be the number one knitting school in London”.
For the men who may want to try something different before lockdown ends, Asif encourages them to “just dip your toe in the water and try”.
“We are pushing as hard as we can to make sure that people don’t look at it as something that’s just for ladies or something not to try. We are trying to make it for everybody.”
