The new way to kill time at the airport is a very old-school one

My mother was a wonderful knitter. In fact, I’m named after a pattern from one of the books she regularly followed when knitting up a storm of jumpers and cardigans for the family.

I was never much good at it myself. I was taught well, but it was a matter of patience. I mostly stuck to knitting long scarves because they gave me the quickest results.

Knitting while in the airport or on a plane is a new trend.Credit: Getty Images

Patience is a skill. And where these days do you need patience the most? Travelling, of course.

I’ve noticed an increase in people bringing their knitting along on their travels. It’s not uncommon to see someone quietly working on a jumper during a flight or crocheting a blanket square while sitting at a departure gate.

And sometimes that person is a man.

It’s also as likely to be a young person these days as it is a nana knitting lovely baby clothes.

During the pandemic, there was a surge in people learning to make practical things such as bread and blankets, as a way to occupy idle hands. My Instagram feed was full of acquaintances showing off their daily hand-made sourdough or the intricate cable stitching on a beanie they’d just finished.

Some put the crafts away as soon as the pandemic was over, but many emerged with a hobby so addictive that it’s likely to last a lifetime. I have a male friend in the United States who started knitting truly spectacular beanies – and is keeping it up five years later.

There are few things more gorgeous than a beautifully hand-knitted jumper, but because it’s erroneously considered women’s work (or old white women’s work), few men have dared to bring out the knitting needles in the pub.

Not now. There’s a hashtag on Instagram, #menwhoknitinpublic, where out and proud male knitters show off their handiwork. There are knitting clubs for men, pub gatherings and Facebook pages such as Real Men Knit. They’re doing beautiful work, not just crocheting beer-can cosies, although there are those, too.

Men have knitted throughout the ages. On the tiny Peruvian island of Taquile, famed for its textiles and weaving, a man’s knitting skills to create the brightly coloured hats or chullos are part of the courtship ritual.

Where knitting is men’s work ... Taquile, Peru.Credit: Getty Images

Because knitting and crocheting are both creative and methodical, the crafts are appealing to a younger generation who want to break away from the hold that smartphone screens have on their lives. Research from the Association for Creative Industries, an international trade association, shows 34 per cent of crocheters in the US are now aged 18-34.

You can knit while reading or watching TV, of course, but doomscrolling is impossible while your hands are occupied elsewhere. And you eventually emerge with a finished garment, not just a jumbled mess of emotions.

During lockdown, Melbourne friends Cat Bloxsom and Morgan Collins started Cardigang, an online store stocked with bright, kooky and stylish knits that customers could make at home. They sell kits and beginners’ kits for beanies, blankets and cardigans.

“It’s not just a hobby. It’s a full-blown emotional support system with needles,” they claim.

Nervous flyers agree. They say knitting and embroidering calms their nerves. Other crafty travelling people say they like to have something to occupy themselves during long flights, train trips and the interminable waits for immigration and boarding.

Over on TikTok, the knitters and crocheters are out in force, posting videos of the work they finish on a flight and offering some sensible tips for novice Knitting Nomads.

I’m surprised that crochet tools and knitting needles are allowed on flights, but this is generally the case, though it does vary from airline to airline, airport to airport. For instance, Emirates does not allow knitting needles in the cabin; Australian airlines do.

Needles should be plastic or wooden, not metal. Short, rounded scissors to cut yarn are sometimes confiscated, so TikTok knitters recommend using nail clippers or the little cutters on dental floss to cut yarn. And pack everything in clear bags, so security personnel can see it’s all above board.

If you don’t have a mum (or dad) to teach you, ClassBento and Morris and Sons hold knitting, embroidery and crocheting classes in Sydney and Melbourne. A quick internet search will bring up dozens of other classes, including those held by Skein Sisters in Sydney and the Melbourne Knitting Club.

I’m convinced this is something I need to do, despite my lacklustre knitting history. I could probably kit out my whole family with the number of hours I spend in transit, plus coats for my friends’ dogs.

If Qantas really wanted to get on a hot thing with their new uniforms, they should have them crocheted.