Stitching Together Our Lives in a Fractured World

The Power of Knitting by Loretta Napoleoni is a cultural and political history of knitting, written by an economist and lifelong knitter who has carried projects through IMF consultations and commodity markets across the world. The book traces knitting from ancient Egypt and Peru through the spinning bees of the American Revolution, the knitting spies of World War II, and the yarnbombing protests of the climate movement — following the thread of how a practical craft has repeatedly intersected with social and political change.

Alongside the history, Napoleoni draws on recent neuroscience research into the effects of repetitive craft on the brain and body, and on her own experience learning to knit alongside her grandmother. The book includes 10 patterns for simple, historically resonant projects, with complete instructions.