Monday, September 14, 2026
Needling for change article in the media
I’m thrilled to have some of my Ordinary knitters research picked up by the media.
Needling for change: the surprisingly political history of knitting appeared in The Conversation on Friday. As of Sunday evening, it had been
Needling for change: the surprisingly political history of knitting, the same piece, appeared in The Spinoff on Saturday.
I am booked to appear on the Radio New Zealand Panel on Monday (I’ll put up a link as details emerge).
The backstory to the Needling for change media pickup is that I posted a few bluesky comments about the history of knitting in Parliament in response to the online comments outraged about Deborah Russell knitting in parliament. My bluesky posts generated reposts and likes, including, most importantly for me, a like from Deborah Russell.
Given the interest, in my role as a Research Affiliate, Centre for Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago, I pitched to The Conversation. The Conversation Australia and New Zealand is a unique collaboration between academics and journalists that is the world’s leading publisher of research-based news and analysis. Academics and journalists work together to turn knowledge and insights from academics into easy-to-read articles.
They said yes and over 4 working days I wrote an 800 word article and responded to several rounds of editorial feedback.
The much longer backstory is that I became curious about knitting as a force for social change in around 2018, when I became aware of people yarnbombing knitted Christmas Angels in the North of England to bring “glad tidings” of joy to their local communities. So during 2019, I researched how people responded to being found by a knitted angel, analysing social media. This resulted in a journal article and a book chapter.
Next during 2022-2025, I researched knitters to understand their motivations. Initially Christmas angels, then Climate Scarves, strawberries and a peace loom. This resulted in a journal article in 2025 and several conference presentations (one in Rwanda, another in South Africa). Currently I am working on a book-length project and have around 45,000 words analysing the results. I am remain curious about why people knit for change and why some people seem to get so needled!
As I write, the media interest and public feedback (currently 108 comments and 234 shares on The Conversation facebook page. Plus 14 shares to the Ravelry Facebook page!) are so helpful.
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