People have been saying that knitting is ‘not your grandmother’s craft’ for so long that it is safe to assume that knitting has broken free of any sort of stigma and has entered the mainstream. Though most think knitting originated with sweet elderly ladies and housewives, men were the first to knit commercially and did so during the Elizabethan period. They even had knitting guilds.

Nowadays, the most common knitters are young women. “Ten years ago I would have said our median age was about 40, but that keeps dropping due to the growing numbers of kids and high school and college age women — and a few men — who have found knitting in growing numbers,” said Lindy Ward of Tricoter, a local knitting supply store that has been around since 1984.

Learning to knit has become remarkably easy with the explosion in availability of knitting books, Web sites and even television programs. If you are interested in learning, it is as easy as walking into a yarn store. Many, including Bad Woman Yarns in Wallingford, offer a free knitting lesson with your purchase. There is also a good chance that you know someone who knows how to knit, and most knitters are happy to pass the skills along.

Knitting has even produced its own celebrities in recent years. Debbie Stoller, author of the popular Stitch ‘n Bitch books, is greeted by crowds on her book tours. Vickie Howell hosts Knitty Gritty on the DIY network and has written several books, and Debbie Bliss is well known in the knitting world for her patterns and yarns.

“The patterns have really improved,” said Jennifer Hill, owner of Hilltop Yarns on Queen Anne. “They try to stay current without being too trendy.”

Free patterns abound on the Internet. Knitty, a popular quarterly knitting magazine, can be found at http://knitty.com and includes diverse patterns, tutorials and articles. Many knitting shops have their own Web sites and some, like the Purl Bee in New York City, offer free patterns.

“I love the creativity of [knitting],” Hill said. “Who doesn’t love playing with really pretty things?” She pointed out that knitting is both visual and tactile and even engages our sense of smell. “The colors are like candy,” she said.

More abstract feelings of security and home also attract people to knitting. “It is the desire to ‘cocoon’ or turn to a safer and more comforting and nurturing lifestyle,” Ward said. “With the uncertainty in so many aspects of our world today, knitting is a daily respite — a form of meditation for many. We cannot control our universe, but it is comforting to turn to the quiet process of knitting.”

Knitting need not be a solitary pursuit, as there are knitting groups all over Seattle. Many meet at coffee shops or at members’ homes, and a quick Internet search will yield online groups as well.

Knit for Life is a cancer support knitting program in local hospitals founded and run by Tanya Parieaux, a former employee of Tricoter.

“I’m sure I’m not the first to note that knitting has become ‘the new yoga’ but the parallels are hard to avoid,” Ward said. “It is calming, centering, rhythmically repetitive and certainly productive. It has become a process around which many social groups have been formed over the past few years.”

Though most knitters are women, Hill commented that men tend to pick up the skill fairly easily, though she regrets teaching her husband. “I taught my husband and he picked it up really fast,” she said. “I didn’t want him to be better than me!”