A stunt slated for Saturday will keep straphangers in stitches.
Don’t be surprised when dozens of knitters pack themselves onto a downtown 1 train at Times Square at 8:45 a.m. and get to work on crafting sweaters, scarves, socks, you name it.
Called a “knitting storm” and lasting about half an hour, it’s one of several activities at the ninth annual Vogue Knitting Live event based at the New York Marriott Marquis that will unspool from Friday until Sunday.
“Fashion, fibers and education” are the names of the game at this three-day knit-a-thon that includes hands-on classes for all skills levels, a marketplace, a gallery and fashion shows.
Some 8,000 happy hobbyists are expected to attend.
“That’s up from 3,000 people the first year,” Trisha Malcolm, editor-in-chief of Vogue Knitting magazine, sponsor of the event, told amNew York. “We’ll have people from all over the world.”
Among them is two-time Tony Award winner and “Younger” star Sutton Foster, who’s crazy for crocheting.
“It’s a wonderful hobby,” she told amNew York. “One that has helped me get through breakups, deaths, deal with anxiety and even being a new mom.
“Being able to create and make something with my hands,” she added, “has become something incredibly therapeutic and healing.”
Foster, who’ll be at Cafe Carlyle in June, is part of the Vogue Knitting Live gala dinner celebrating Lion Brand Yarn, a go-to craft company for 140 years. The actress noted that she’s been crocheting “for 20 years.”
That’s roughly when Malcolm saw an uptick in knitting in NYC.
“People hunkered down for the comfort factor after 9/11,” she said, adding that the internet has been instrumental in bringing far-flung craftspeople with a fervor for fibers together.
It’s not just grannies in rockers, it’s hipsters hanging out and downing vodka and tonics on the rocks.
Ask passionate knitter and crocheter Alanna Okun, author of “The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater: Essays on Crafting,” whose upcoming book is “How to Knit a Hat.” (The perfect beginner’s project, she says.)
“I’ve been knitting since I was six years old, taught by my grandmother and reinforced with years of messing around with yarn and YouTube,” she told amNY. “Now, it’s the act of knitting that I like even more than the finished products. I find it incredibly soothing and meditative, especially when I’m on the subway or waiting for a friend at a bar or something.”
Her nickname for Vogue Knitting Live: “It’s like knitter prom.”
Prices vary for events. A one-day marketplace ticket is $20; three-hour classes are $120.
CELEBRITIES WHO KNIT
Ryan Gosling
In 2013, Gosling admitted to GQ Australia that a day spent knitting on the set of "Lars and the Real Girl" was "one of the most relaxing days of my life … If I had to design my perfect day, that would be it."
Julia Roberts
In an interview with People Magazine in 2013, "August: Osage County" director John Wells said Roberts knitted away between takes. "Julia would be sitting with other people on these foldout chairs in the front yard, knitting sweaters."
Sarah Jessica Parker
"Sex and the City" icon Sarah Jessica Parker also is no stranger to a stitch. In a 2006 interview with Good Housekeeping, when asked how she likes to relax, Parker replied, "I read, watch TV, or knit. But I try to knit and watch TV at the same time, which means I end up with many dropped stitches."
David Arquette
Arquette made knit-story by gracing the cover of "Celebrity Scarves 2: Hollywood Knits for Breast Cancer," and offered some insight into patterns he loved most.
Christina Hendricks
The "Mad Men" star was asked by CNN in 2010 what her favorite relaxation ritual was. Her answer? "I knit. I find that very soothing. I actually learned from Laurie Metcalf, you know that actress? She’s very crafty."
