Stitch by Stitch: Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Camp : An Institution, An Experience, A Legacy

Abstract

In 1974, Elizabeth Zimmermann taught the first knitting camp/retreat offered in the United States. Zimmermann began her mail-order yarn supply business and knitting newsletters in the mid-1950s. As her popularity among knitters and women grew, Zimmermann went on to write more newsletters, publish knitting books and was eventually asked to teach the UW-Extension Shell Lake knitting camp. At the time, many American women and knitters were isolated and were able to form connections with other knitters through Zimmermann. Evidence gathered from Zimmermann's unpublished scrapbooks, published books and oral history interviews conducted by the author suggest that women found a connection and friend in Zimmermann through the camp and through her writing. Though knitting may not seem an empowering craft; many American women found hope and strength in Zimmermann and the knitting camp as an institution for personal growth and feminism.