# How many people knit in America?



## hennalady (Nov 12, 2011)

Came across this tidbit and thought it was quite interesting... I wonder how they get the number??? Did anyone come knocking on your door to ask? They must have missed mine 

How many people knit in america?
According to the Craft Yarn Council of America, 53 million American women know how to knit or crochet. Statistics for men aren't published.
report this answer
Answered by kgb agent Leslie B on Wednesday, March 07 2012 at 02:19PM EST
Source: www.vitalstatistics.info/...
Read more http://www.kgbanswers.com/how-many-people-knit-in-america/22092745#ixzz1tNxV5GV4
Information found at: http://www.kgbanswers.com/how-many-people-knit-in-america/22092745 :wink:


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## daralene (Feb 27, 2012)

Whoa, and I know they didn't count me in that so it is more.


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## hennalady (Nov 12, 2011)

See! We should write them and ask for another head count! How many more of you didn't get counted????


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## quiltnqueen (Jul 14, 2011)

I wonder how they got this number? They can't just count anyone buying yarn as yarn is used for lots of other things.... ??? Just wondering?


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## czechmate (Jun 17, 2011)

Impressive !!!


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## cbjlinda (May 25, 2011)

hmmmmmmm wonder if they go by knitting groups on the net.


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## yarnboi (Nov 14, 2011)

yarnboi chiming in as a male knitter and crocheter


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## patocenizo (Jun 24, 2011)

Well that is comforting!


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## grandmatimestwo (Mar 30, 2011)

They forgot to count me, too!


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## ptspraker (Apr 13, 2012)

Ive always wondered how they get the numbers. How do they know how many watch certain programs on tv and when there is an election, how do they project the winner when there is only a certain percentage of votes in?


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## impatient knitter (Oct 5, 2011)

hennalady said:


> Came across this tidbit and thought it was quite interesting... I wonder how they get the number??? Did anyone come knocking on your door to ask? They must have missed mine
> 
> How many people knit in america?
> According to the Craft Yarn Council of America, 53 million American women know how to knit or crochet. Statistics for men aren't published.
> ...


Hmmmmm, am I the only one who thought the KGB had been discontinued???


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## lvchocl8nknitting (Mar 3, 2011)

Didn't you see it on the last census? There was a box right under age and race for "knitter" or "non-knitter"? Just kidding!! One does wonder how they generate these numbers. As I'm back to knitting after what was probably a 30-year hiatus, I think they missed me, too. So, knitters, are we guessing this number is too low?


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## robmac (Apr 23, 2011)

They missed this male knitter and crocheter also


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## freckles (May 21, 2011)

Must have missed me, too..... and my daughters, and DIL's.... etc. etc. etc.

Who's doing the counting?


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## hennalady (Nov 12, 2011)

I think we should write a letter to the yarn council!


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## lvchocl8nknitting (Mar 3, 2011)

cbjlinda said:


> hmmmmmmm wonder if they go by knitting groups on the net.


but so many people belong to more than one...the counts would not be accurate at all this way..?


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## hennalady (Nov 12, 2011)

I have no idea where the numbers came from. As I said, I may just pop off a letter and ask them. I do not know anyone that was asked in this survey....


lvchocl8nknitting said:


> cbjlinda said:
> 
> 
> > hmmmmmmm wonder if they go by knitting groups on the net.
> ...


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## hennalady (Nov 12, 2011)

I have no idea where the numbers came from. As I said, I may just pop off a letter and ask them. I do not know anyone that was asked in this survey....


lvchocl8nknitting said:


> cbjlinda said:
> 
> 
> > hmmmmmmm wonder if they go by knitting groups on the net.
> ...


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## SAMkewel (Mar 5, 2011)

I'm with you, Glory Gee. The only KGB (kgb) I've ever heard was the former USSR Secret Service.....


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## hennalady (Nov 12, 2011)

O.K. I sent them a message at the website http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/?q=contact.html and referred them to this posting. Lets see what happens.....


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## scotslass (Mar 18, 2011)

I know I didn't get counted .. be interesting to know how they came up with that number unless they are tracking yarn sales and averaging it out but that wouldn't really give an accurate number


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## robmac (Apr 23, 2011)

Bet they say something, like based on yarn sales, and it is only an estimate. But will be interesting to see what they do say, if anything.


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## Annielourn (Sep 21, 2011)

Didn't ask me!


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## ChocPieMom (Feb 8, 2011)

When following the links provided in the posting, according to the web site: http://www.vitalstatistics.info/sub-category2.asp?cid=20&scid=989
36% is the Percentage of American women who know how to knit or crochet

According to the Craft Yarn Council of America, 53 million American women know how to knit or crochet, a 51 percent increase over the past 10 years. 
Source: Dallas Morning News, 5/11/2005

So this info is outdated by 7 years!


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## BobnDejasMom (Jun 2, 2011)

I always laugh and say not everything is writing is true. If it were, I would write a book/bio about my life as the queen.


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## Ciyona (Jan 17, 2011)

When you find the answer let us know Kim, I wasn't asked either. Maybe it has to do with how many magazines or books that are purchased and they are guessing on an average.


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## ptspraker (Apr 13, 2012)

BobnDejasMom said:


> I always laugh and say not everything is writing is true. If it were, I would write a book/bio about my life as the queen.


MY husband tells me, "A paper will hold still and let you write anything on it.


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## hennalady (Nov 12, 2011)

ptspraker said:


> BobnDejasMom said:
> 
> 
> > I always laugh and say not everything is writing is true. If it were, I would write a book/bio about my life as the queen.
> ...


You have a funny husband!! Give him a big hug for me


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## KnitLightToLace (Aug 5, 2014)

I know it's been a while, but I wanted to respond to this anyway.

They don't individually ask every person in America if they knit. That would be rediculous. It would take too much time, cost too much money, etc. Which means you shouldn't assume you weren't part of the 53 million estimate. 

It's all basic statistics. They probably had a poll via telephone or Internet (either have their own problems and are susceptible to bias but we can assume they limited the bias as much as naturally possible), asking people if they knit, and likely related questions (age, gender, knit or crochet, etc). That would have given them a sample (the sample being everyone who took the poll), and within that sample, a group of people who identified as knitter/crocheter. Let's say that they interviewed 100,000 people and 53,000 said they knit/crochet. If that sample of 100,000 people can be considered normal (no extreme outliers), then that result they got can be used to estimate the total number of knitters/crocheters in America using a basic proportion with the toal US population. We're talking middle school math here. 

The *estimate* (because something like that can only ever be an estimate), therefore, would include every knitter or crocheter in the US. Just because they did not personally ask you, your family, or a friend, doesn't mean you weren't factored into that number.


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