🧶 Feminist movements and knitting: an intertwined history

What if our needles told a story that was much more subversive than we thought?

Hello, Lenny & Louise here 👋

We wanted to talk to you about a topic that has long fascinated us: the powerful (and under-discussed) link between knitting and feminist struggles. Because no, knitting isn't just a gentle, quiet activity that we imagine is reserved for grandmothers—it has also been (and still is!) a form of resistance, of protest, of expression.

So we decided to retrace this beautiful and rebellious story. And of course, to show you how to continue knitting it today 💪💖

🧷 Knitting and feminism: what you will discover in this article

▪️ How knitting went from a domestic symbol to a political tool 🔥

▪️ Movements that used thread and needles to make demands ✊

▪️ Why even today, knitting is (also) an activism

▪️ How to perpetuate this commitment with our own projects (and bosses ❤️)

🧶 Knitting, a tool of feminine power throughout history

🎯 Why has knitting been invisible for a long time?

For centuries, knitting was relegated to the status of “female domestic work,” and therefore considered less noble or valued than masculine arts. Yet, it has always been a source of transmission, economic autonomy , and… quiet rebellion 🧤

“Knitting is taking time for yourself in a world that takes it away from women.” — anonymous (but so true 💥)

At home, in workshops, in working-class or aristocratic circles, women have always knitted - to dress themselves, to dress their loved ones, or simply to create in a world that often forbade them from existing otherwise .

🎀 Knitting and feminist struggles: committed balls of yarn

✊ Militant knitting from the 60s and 70s

In the 1960s and 1970s, with the emergence of the second feminist movement , women reinvested knitting to reclaim their creative power . This is called “craftivism” (a contraction of craft and activism). Some made performances out of it, others turned it into protest works of art, denouncing the patriarchal vision of needlework.

Knitting circles become spaces of sisterhood, resistance, and reappropriation of the feminine.

🧣 Pussyhat Project: Knitting to protest

In 2017, the Pussyhat Project went global: these knitted pink hats were worn by thousands of women during the Women's March. It's a powerful symbol: each hat was handmade, with love, by committed people , often for others than themselves.

📌 What if you too knitted a project with meaning?

💥 Knitting today: a feminist act?

💡 Yes, and here's why

▪️ You take time for yourself: it’s active self-care ✨

▪️ You learn, you create, you share: it's empowerment

▪️ You refuse fast fashion: it’s a political decision

▪️ You pass on knowledge that is often feminine: it is a living heritage

And if you learn to knit today, you join a line of women who have never stopped creating despite the prohibitions . Respect ✊

🧵 And now, how can we join this powerful tradition?

❤️ Choose a pattern that tells your story

Here are our suggestions for creating a feminine, strong and expressive piece 👇

🎁 Do you want to join our community of committed knitters?
📩 Subscribe to our newsletter 💌

🙌 To go further: sharing and discussions

👉 What if you started a feminist knitting circle in your city?
👉 Or that you were treating yourself to a moment of your own, a real one, with a boss full of meaning?

Knitting isn't old-fashioned, it's revolutionary. And at Knit-sis, we want to keep weaving this web with you ❤️

🎯 In summary:

▪️ Knitting has been a tool of feminine expression for centuries

▪️ Feminist movements have taken it up to campaign and transmit

▪️ Even today, knitting means getting involved, reconnecting, and existing differently.

💬 Did you like this article? Tell us in the comments which knitting project best represents your voice, your story, your fight .

🧡 And remember: every stitch counts.

👉 Discover our collection of colorful and cheerful patterns:
See all models 🧶