What Knitting Has Taught Me About Business and Marketing
I’ve been knitting for many years. It started all the way back before my daughter was born, when I was determined to make her a blanket before she arrived. That was also probably my first lesson in good intentions not always leading to results (or maybe in biting off more than you can chew!). Despite buying all the supplies, picking out the perfect pattern, and envisioning how beautiful the finished product would be, I never actually made that blanket.
But I did learn something: starting is easy, but following through is the real challenge.
Almost two decades and hundreds of successful knitting projects later, I’ve found my place in the knitting world. It has become one of my favorite hobbies and my go-to way to reduce chaos in my mind and relieve stress. And along the way, I’ve realized that knitting isn’t just about making something with my hands. It also taught me a lot about business, marketing (especially marketing for creatives) and life.
Here are five business lessons I’ve learned from knitting.
1. Start with a Plan (But Be Ready to Pivot)
There’s a delicate balance between having a plan and allowing yourself the flexibility to pivot when needed. This is something that applies to so many areas of life and business, knitting included!
In knitting, you start with a pattern, choose your yarn, and get to knitting. But sometimes, things don’t go as planned. Maybe the yarn doesn’t drape the way you expected, or you miscounted stitches and have to adjust. You can either stubbornly stick to the plan and end up frustrated. Or, stay flexible, embrace the changes and create something just as beautiful (if not better).
The same is true in business and marketing. You can come up with the perfect marketing strategy, map out every step, and feel confident in your direction. Then, the market shifts, customer needs change, or a campaign isn’t resonating the way you expected. The most successful businesses and marketers aren’t the ones who rigidly stick to the original plan no matter what but the ones who recognize when it’s time to tweak, adapt, and pivot.
2. Consistency Can Lead to Big Results
In an ideal world, there would be 48 hours in a day, and I could spend half of them just knitting. Or just creating a new marketing strategy for a client. Or writing endless articles. But it doesn’t work that way, so we have to prioritize and then make the most of the time we have.
Knitting is a slow craft. You don’t sit down and create a finished piece in one session (unless you’re some kind of speed-knitting wizard, in which case, teach me your ways). Instead, it’s about picking up the needles, stitch by stitch, row by row, until one day, you look down and realize you’ve created something incredible.
Business and marketing work the same way. A strong brand isn’t built overnight. A great content strategy doesn’t explode in a day. Success comes from consistent effort. It’s the small actions that, over time, add up to big results. Whether it’s posting valuable content, fine-tuning your messaging, or refining a campaign, the key is showing up and making progress, even if it’s just one row (or one step) at a time.
3. Mistakes Are Inevitable
If you’re a recovering perfectionist like I am, even the word mistake might make you cringe a little. But life happens, and so do mistakes, whether you’re knitting, running a business, or launching a marketing campaign.
In knitting, you may drop a stitch, misread a pattern, or realize five rows later that something is definitely not right. At that moment, you have two choices: painstakingly unravel your work and fix it or get creative and incorporate the mistake into the design. Some of my best pieces have been the result of “happy accidents.” (Oh, and by the way, if you’re also a knitter, learning about knitting lifelines was literally a lifesaver for me!)
The same principle applies in business and marketing. Sometimes a campaign flops, a strategy doesn’t land the way you expected, or a big decision turns out to be the wrong one. The key isn’t avoiding mistakes; it’s knowing how to assess them, fix what needs fixing, and, when possible, turn them into an opportunity.
4. Creativity Thrives Within Constraints
It’s easy to think that unlimited time, resources, and options would make creativity flow effortlessly. But in reality, constraints are often what push us to be the most innovative.
In knitting, you’re always working within certain limitations. Maybe you only have a few skeins of yarn, a specific stitch pattern to follow, or a deadline (because that baby blanket isn’t going to knit itself before the baby arrives). But instead of holding you back, these limitations force you to get creative. You might modify the pattern, combine colors in a new way, or experiment with stitches you wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
The perfect example of this is a new knitting pattern I’ve been messing around with trying to get perfect for several months. I never set a firm deadline for when I needed to have it finished. So it just sits there staring at me. I pick it up and work on it here and there and I’m making progress, but I still haven’t finished. It’s because I didn’t set the intention to get it done by a certain date. There is no time constraint pushing me. (Don’t worry… I’m going to set the SMART goal on this one right now!)
Marketing works the same way. Budget constraints, tight deadlines, and competitive markets might seem like obstacles, but they often lead to the most creative solutions. When you can’t throw unlimited money at ads or content, you have to think strategically. How can you make the biggest impact with what you have? Some of the most effective campaigns and ideas come from working within limitations, not in spite of them.
5. Community Makes the Process More Rewarding
Knitting may seem like a solo activity, but anyone who’s ever joined a knitting group (or fallen down a rabbit hole of a knitting FB page or endless YouTube tutorials) knows that it’s so much more than that. There’s something special about sharing tips, troubleshooting tricky patterns together, and celebrating each other’s finished projects. Joining in with a community makes the process more enjoyable… and honestly, a lot easier.
The same is true in business and marketing. Sticking close to the right people (mentors, colleagues, or a professional network) can make all the difference. Collaboration is an amazing thing; it leads to better ideas and can help make a plan even better. Not to mention, having a support system makes challenges feel less overwhelming.
When you take a step back and really think about it, the parallels between knitting (or literally anything we are committed to doing well) and business/marketing are pretty incredible. Both rely on having a passion for something. Whether it’s creating a beautifully knit piece that someone will cherish or building a successful brand, we put in the effort, adapt when things go wrong, and keep pushing forward because we care about the outcome. It all feels meaningful because we’re invested in it. And, really, that’s what makes all the difference.
