For the ‘sew bros’ who took up needlework during lockdown, casting on means chilling out
The first time Brendan Girak knitted in public, he took a friend for support. “Lara and I went to a big park and that put my mind at ease,” the 28-year-old from Perth, Australia, says. “There weren’t that many people around and Lara’s a very confident person.” Knitting makes him calm. “It keeps my hands busy and stops me from being anxious. In the park, I was concentrating on what I was doing. I was being really mindful and in the moment.”
Soon he was taking his yarn out in cafes, during college lectures, at the beach and down the pub. “An older guy came up to me yesterday in the park and said it was unusual to see a young man knitting. He reckoned I was using it to pick up girls. I don’t see a lot of guys knitting, either – just on Instagram.”
