Allow me to throw a few statistics at you about knitting:
- According to the Craft Yarn Council, 53 million Americans (more than 15 % of the U.S. population) know how to knit. Another 7.3 million knitters live in the UK.
- Since 2002, participation in the knitting community has increased by more than 150%.
- Research shows that young women aged 25-34 are showing renewed interest in the craft and are driving sales of indie yarns up.
- Health Benefits. Memory, self-esteem, increased social interactions, meditation…
Now how about some statistics about wool?:
- According to the AGMRC, in 2017, the U.S. produced 26 million pounds of wool commercially. That was $36.4 million dollars worth of fleece.
- Small family farms averaging 230 acres make up 88% of farms in the U.S
- According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, there are 101,387 sheep farms in the United States with 5.21 million sheep. There are more than 1.2 billion sheep worldwide.
- With more than 1000 distinct species, it is believed there are more breeds of sheep than any other livestock species, except poultry.
What do you think that tells you about the state of the spinning cottage industry?
