Knitters throughout the world unite to work on their craft in public, including in Monterey.

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about what I’m going to wear tomorrow, June 14 and what kind of thread I’ll bring with me to Colton Hall in Monterey. 

While bringing threads to Colton Hall sounds a little strange, it has a purpose: to participate in the local Worldwide Knit in Public Day event. 

The idea to put on this type of event on Saturday, June 14, sparked during a meet-up of the knitting group I’m part of.

“We got excited about doing something, but also trying to spread the word to the broader community, outside of our specific knitting group,” says Colleen Durkin, organizer of the event and founder of Monterey Knitting Social Group.

WWKIPDAY, described as the world's largest knitter-run event, happens on the second Saturday of June. It began in 2005 thanks to Missouri knitter Danielle Landes, and has since spread to more than 1,000 events across 57 countries, aiming to showcase knitting and other fiber crafts as fun hobbies for everyone. 

“There's a lot of overlap in those communities, so we just wanted to be inclusive,” Durkin says.

Durkin, who mainly does knitting wear, says she may wear one of her pieces to the event. Anyone who works with threads is welcome to join.

WWKIPDAY is outside of Colton Hall, 570 Pacific St., Monterey, from noon-4pm. Any fiber crafter is welcome to attend. Bring your latest project, snacks and a chair or blanket, and work on your project and meet other fellow crafters. 

I’ll bring my latest crochet project, and perhaps wear a garment my fellow club members haven’t seen before. It’s a fun opportunity to take an activity that is often solitary and instead do it in community.