Unlikely though it may have seemed a few years ago, it now seems that the ancient pastime of knitting, borne out of necessity through the centuries, has now been given a new lease of life with many, including celebrities, busy clicking their knitting needles at every spare opportunity. It seems that after the 'naughties', the next decade may be the decade of creating ones own wardrobe, with sewing, knitting and crocheting all seeing a great surge in popularity, and it can't all be just down to the credit crunch, with many of the more 'well off' sections of society joining the trend.

Of course, one very important issue is fashion. It appears that as soon as the fleece jackets and jumpers appeared on the scene, the hand-knitted garment was soon thrown out in favor of a machine washable, tumble dry-able, easy wearable piece of clothing which was just as stylish and warm, but more trendy and in keeping with our busy modern lives. Well, they've been around for many years now, and the tables seem to be turning a little, with a definite turn towards the fashion of more traditional hand knitted garments, some big and chunky, some delicate and lacy (not at all like your Grandmother knitted for you as a child).

We were all (well, most of us anyway) taught the basics as a child, knit one, purl one, knit two together, and as soon as you see a pattern it will all come flooding back to you, the language of knit. It really isn't difficult and you'll be amazed at how quickly you learn to make a quite intricate looking pattern if you so desire.

So, get the pictures of Grandmother out of your head, find a stylish pattern, pick up your needles and get at it. You can do it almost anywhere, while you're watching TV (if it's nothing too complicated) or traveling. You'll get such a feeling of satisfaction being able to walk out in style, in something of your own making from start to finish and soon all of your friends will be at it too.