TRADITIONAL SKILLS INCLUDE …

> cooking

> housework

> preserving foods (including canning and fermenting)

> gardening and seed saving

> foraging

> fibre arts (knitting, sewing, quilting, crocheting, visible mending)

> hand dyeing

> tanning hides

> carpentry/shop

> soap making

> outdoor survival skills

> wine and beer making

> beekeeping

Many of these skills were taught in schools as “home economics,” and indeed some still are. However, this has become less common and less extensive over time, as home economics can carry a stigma of being sexist, out of date, and regressive.

Yet, many believe we can reframe a lot of these “old-fashioned” skills as valuable for the 21st century. They’re certainly not just for girls and women, either! Conversely, many skills stereotypically associated with men (think carpentry or automotive maintenance/ repair) are important for all genders.

Jill Slind is a computational biologist at Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, where she spends her days analyzing DNA. But in her free time, she’s an avid knitter and the current president of West Coast Knitters’ Guild (WCKG). This BC member-led group connects those interested in knitting and regularly contributes to charitable causes.

According to Slind, knitting is still typically seen as a “grandmotherly” activity, although this perception is changing. “We don’t necessarily see ourselves, young people, portrayed as knitters in TV and movies.” She credits online content such as social media with helping to normalize knitting as a creative and relaxing—and even trendy—hobby for younger generations.

It’s not just knitting. A lot of “granny skills” are making a comeback. Turns out we have a lot to learn.

Benefits of skill building Increased self-sufficiency

When we build our skills, we can rely less on those of others. It’s an empowering thought that if your favourite pants get ripped, you can mend them, or if your car has a flat tire, you can change it.

“We don’t need to buy as many commercial cleaning products if we know how to make DIY cleaners with baking soda and vinegar,” agrees Ontario-based writer, Zero Waste consultant, environmentalist, and mother Sarah Robertson-Barnes.

Tania Larsson is a Gwich’in artist based in the Northwest Territories who makes fine jewellery with land-based materials, including hides that she tans herself. She describes the empowering feeling of selfsufficiency that she has developed from learning these skills: “I can now make something from seemingly nothing. I can make hide … The beauty of learning a traditional skill is learning how to position yourself in the world, in community, on the land, as part of nature.”

Relaxation

Slind learned to knit as an adult after an offhand comment by her partner. “I’ve always fidgeted a lot, which can make it difficult to concentrate. One night we were watching TV and I was fidgeting, and he suggested that I take up knitting. So I did!”

Not only does knitting help her concentrate, but she also finds it relaxing. “Skills like knitting can be gratifying hobbies—they can be a way for people to unplug and do something meditative,” she explains.

“The act of making something can be therapeutic or gratifying. Humans in general, we’re made to learn things and make things. Practising these skills allows us to do what our minds naturally want us to do.”

Sustainability

Many old-fashioned skills, such as mending clothes or making DIYs, happen to be low waste and sustainable. It just makes sense: generations ago, there was no “throwaway culture” or “convenience culture.”

Robertson-Barnes agrees that granny skills are inherently tied to sustainability. “As I got more into sustainability, I became more interested in old-fashioned skills. For example, fermentation is a millennia-old skill that helps preserve food. I can’t believe that I have a biology degree and I had never tried it out! I took a course—and it’s been really fun.”