Knitting. What image does that word conjure up for you? If it’s a granny, sitting in her creaky rocker, then Lily Feinberg of @knithappens__ is going to shock you.
This 24-year-old East Hampton “yarn baller,” as she calls herself, is at the forefront of the “knitfluencing” movement, posting videos of herself knitting in fun locations and modeling the garments that she produces for her thousands of followers. We sat down with Lily to learn more.
Why knitting? When did you develop your interest in that?
I learned to knit my junior year of high school when I attended a semester school called “Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki.” Located on the coast of Maine, every semester, about 40 high school juniors would come, live in cabins, work on a farm, and leave their phones at home. It was an incredible community and such a rare opportunity to part from technology during one of the most stressful moments of high school. While at Chewonki, all of the teachers taught us to knit. Not only is knitting incredibly popular in Maine, but it was helpful to give teenagers without phones something to do with their hands. We would knit throughout class, every evening, basically all the time. Knitting was a huge part of my experience at Chewonki. I tried to keep up with it as much as I could when I got home, but I definitely fell off a bit. It was during the Covid lockdown that I picked up my knitting needles again and started my IG account, @knithappens__. I’ve never looked back.
What made you want to take this to the socials? How do you come up with your ideas, and what’s your favorite place or favorite video that you’ve posted?
When I first started my Instagram account, it was really meant to be a place for my close family and friends to see what I was knitting. When I got back into knitting during Covid, I would find myself finishing a hat or a scarf and sending pictures of it out to 30 different people to show them what I had created. I decided it could be fun to create an account for those 30 people to follow and keep up with what I was creating. Very quickly, I realized how many other knitting Instagram accounts were out there, and just by organically following and interacting with them, my account started to grow. When I first started @knithappens__ in August of 2020, it truly never crossed my mind that I would develop a following, but it’s been the greatest gift.
Honestly, most of my videos come naturally as silly things that happen or that I do during my day-to-day. Occasionally, I’ll brainstorm about how I can fit knitting themes into popular Instagram or TikTok trends, but most of my favorite videos have happened so naturally, like a friend recording me talking really quickly and knitting at the same time. Knitting is such a huge part of my everyday life that way more opportunities to create content about knitting naturally arise than you might think.
Favorite video I’ve posted… that’s a hard one. I have a real soft spot for a video I posted a few years ago giving my grandma a beautiful knit blanket for her birthday. Not only was that such a special moment, but it was also my first reel to really go viral, and it was a major catalyst for growing my account. Getting to call my grandma and tell her that almost 4 million people had seen her get her birthday gift that year was an amazing moment.
What are some of your favorite reactions?
Personally, one of my favorite things is seeing how my other knitting friends react to my videos compared to how my non-knitting in-real-life friends respond to things. I recently posted a mistake I had made in a sweater that was pretty subtle, and posted a poll asking people if it was worth the extensive work of ripping the sweater out or if I should just leave it. Every single knitter who swiped up said something along the lines of “Definitely rip it out. That’s extremely noticeable and a big mistake!” And every single one of my friends who doesn’t knit responded and said, “I don’t even see what you’re talking about.” There’s always some hilarious contrast between those two communities and I love it.
Honestly, though, I hear from so many other influencers about the hate and negativity they receive on their platforms, and I couldn’t have had a more different experience. I credit a lot of that to the fact that my following is over 97 percent female and largely in a slightly older age category, but I have truly found nothing but incredible love and support through my Instagram. My community has been there for me during some really hard times and also celebrated me during so many victories. I know that’s not everyone’s experience with social media, but I feel so lucky to have found such a safe and special corner of the internet.
What is your message? What would you like people to take away from seeing your feed?
I try hard to be as authentic as I can with my account. A big reason I turn to knitting is to relieve my anxiety, and I would never want to shy away from sharing that truth with my followers. When I’m having a bad day or struggling with something, I always want that to be part of my message, and I’m really cognizant of not just making my account a highlight reel.
Most importantly, though, I try to get the message across that not only is knitting not just for old ladies, it’s an incredible art form and something that I really hope my followers are encouraged to try and explore. Knitting has been a huge form of creative expression for me, and it’s brought so much joy into my life. If my account has encouraged even one person to learn how to knit, I’ll be happy with that.
And along with that, I hope my account teaches people that if you love something and it brings you joy, embrace it! Knitting may not be traditionally “cool,” but I think that being a knitter is the coolest thing about me. I genuinely love to whip out my knitting at a party or a dinner, and knitting has actually given me the confidence to do that. If someone’s going to judge me for doing what I love, then I don’t want them in my life.
As you’ve said, you’re not just creating content, you’re also creating actual physical items. Do you sell them, and where?
When I was in college and still in quarantine, I sold over 500 orders for custom knit pieces, and I did really love doing that. However, I found it a bit repetitive, and ultimately, what I love about knitting is creating a piece for me or a person I love dearly and embedding personality and character into it. I decided to scale back on taking orders because it wasn’t fulfilling me anymore, but I do take custom orders on occasion. I don’t have an official storefront, but people can always DM me on Instagram about an order. I specifically love selling baby gifts or smaller items that are really fun and quick to knit up.
Tell me a little bit about what you like to do when you are in the Hamptons.
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be able to call East Hampton home. There is truly nowhere in the world I’m happier than sitting on the beach. I grew up in a family where spending the day by the pool was an absolute nonstarter, and any time there was good weather, we were taking off for the beach first thing in the morning. Being by the ocean out in the Hamptons is my favorite thing.
I also have two amazing Cavapoos, and I love taking them for walks in the beautiful dog park in Springs. It’s such an amazing piece of land, and it makes my dogs so happy, which makes me so happy!
Last but certainly not least, my favorite food in the world is a lobster roll from Lunch. I have a July birthday, so that’s been my birthday meal for as long as I can remember. It truly doesn’t get any better than that.
Anything else you’d like to add? Are there any causes or charities that you are committed to or any sort of message you would like to spread?
I haven’t been able to knit for charity nearly as much as I’d like to, but it’s absolutely one of my goals for this year. There are so many wonderful organizations where you can knit for NICU babies or other people in need, and I would love to use knitting for good.
The last message I would really love to get across is my deep gratitude for my community. Say what you want about social media, but my account has connected me to knitters around the world, and they are some of the most genuine, kind, and brilliant people I have ever come across. Four and a half years ago, when I started this account, I never dreamed of what it would become, and I truly am pinching myself every single day.
