Worldwide Knit in Public Day (also known as WWKIP Day or WWKIPDAY) takes place on the second Saturday in June each year. June 13, 2020 will be the next annual WWKIP Day! Started in 2005 by Danielle Landes, WWKIP Day is a way for knitters to connect. Local events (called KIPs) are held worldwide on the same day! All KIPs are arranged by volunteer hosts who have an interest in WWKIP Day’s mission.
Worldwide Knit in Public Day is not the same as I Love Yarn Day, a yarnie holiday celebrated in June.
“Better living through stitching together!”
Other needle crafts have historically been communal events (thinking quilting bees), but knitting can easily be solitary. KIPs are a way to find other knitters in your community and connect with them.
For some knitters, the group provides the permission needed to knit in public. Knitters frequently ask when and where it is “okay to knit.” While there’s rarely disagreement about knitting in a waiting room or at a bus stop, there is almost never a consensus for other spaces, times, or events.
As a result, many knitters avoid knitting in public altogether. KIPs are a way to gain confidence, testing the waters of knitting in a new place or in front of others.
Find a KIP
Since its inception, it has been a steadily growing event. There have been hundreds to thousands of KIPs around the world each year!
This year, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the ability for many of us to gather. As a result, many organizations have decided to host virtual KIPs.
No KIP? No Problem!
Even though there have been KIPs in dozens of countries, they still aren’t held everywhere.
If there isn’t one near you and you aren’t quite ready to host a KIP, you can still go it alone! Grab your needles and some yarn and plop down on a park bench for an hour. You never know who you’ll meet or what interest your knitting might spark.
I use #waykt (short for Where Are You Knitting Today?) for my knitting-in-public pics. I love that knitting is a portable hobby, but the benefits of KIPs are still valid when there’s only one knitter.
I’ve had many interesting conversations over my knitting: crocheters who want to understand how it works, strangers whose mothers knit, friends who want to learn, and friends I never knew were able to knit!
So get out there, start a KIP of one, and share it with us!
