History Main / NeedleworkIsForOldPeople

* A subversion appears in some Creator/AgathaChristie novels set post-WW2 where a middle-aged viewpoint character complains about ''young'' women knitting on the subway.

A younger FashionDesigner will often get away with sewing, but knitting, crochet, etc is still associated with the elderly. Often the old person who does needlework is either seen as a [[FriendToAllChildren popular-with-kids]] CoolOldLady or CoolOldGuy or a well-meaning but boring/embarrassing older family member. Both types will generally make clothes for their younger family members, which will either be liked or be seen as too ugly/itchy/boring, and the HomemadeSweaterFromHell is often knitted by an elderly relative (often a grandma, grandpa, or great-aunt).

* In a ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode featuring possessed senior citizens, several balls of yarn can be seen in the old folks' home.

* ''Literature/AdrianMole'' is frequently mentioned as knitting clothes for the family to wear.

Common for a GrannyClassic. Contrast KnittingPregnancyAnnouncement because with that trope, the woman is young enough to be fertile. TruthInTelevision for some, but not others. Compare GamesOfTheElderly.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''. Grandma Thora knits a lot and so does her friend, Mrs. [=MacGrady=], who is also elderly, but in "Arthur Unravels", Arthur takes up knitting too, however, he [[EmbarrassmentPlot is embarrassed to admit it]] because he thinks it's kind of a "girly" hobby. In the end, Arthur discovers that his piano teacher (who's around the same age as Arthur's parents) runs a knitting club and offers Arthur the chance to join, admitting that the club could use more members anyway, because aside from him, the only members are Mrs. [=MacGrady=], Oliver Frensky (who's middle-aged) and Rattles from the Tough Customers (who's only a year older than Arthur).

* ''WesternAnimation/MillyMolly'': Just like in the books, "Aunt" Maude is at least borderline elderly, since although her own hair hasn't turned white yet, her schoolmate Biddy Bid's hair is grey. She doesn't normally do needlework, but she does in "Aunt Maude", however, that was just a way to keep her entertained [[InjuredLimbEpisode while her leg healed]]. However, she still likes knitting even after it heals, but none of the other elders are seen knitting or doing any other needlework.
* In an episode of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', the gang visit a retirement home, where Spinelli is paired up with an old woman knitting. She's really bored by this, until the woman shows Spinelli that she's knitting the inner liner for a boxing glove.

Common for a GrannyClassic. Contrast KnittingPregnancyAnnouncement because with that trope, the woman is young enough to be fertile. TruthInTelevision for some, but not others.

Common for a GrannyClassic. Contrast KnittingPregnancyAnnouncement because with that trope, the woman is young enough to be fertile. TruthInTelevision for some, but not othe

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', an elderly woman is briefly seen knitting in a chair inside the tornado.
[[/folder]]

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[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/LuckyLuke https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ma_dalton.png]]]]

Common for a GrannyClassic. Contrast KnittingPregnancyAnnouncement because with that trope, the woman is young enough to be fertile. TruthInTelevision for some, but not others.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' provides the page image, of Ma Dalton knitting.

* In ''Discworld/TheLastHero'', Vena the Raven-Haired (a deliberate take on Creator/LucyLawless) is encountered as a septagenarian barbarian heroine who is placidly embroidering a sampler. With the legend "Burn This House". It is also noted that she has slain several heavily-armed assailants with nothing more lethal than a pair of knitting needles.

Old people who do needlework are usually friendly no matter where they fall on the popularity spectrum, though some evil elders (like an elderly WickedWitch, for instance) may do needlework to exploit the stereotype of the friendly old lady/man.

!! Examples

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', an elderly woman is briefly seen knitting in a chair inside the tornado.

Old people who do needlework are usually friendly no matter how they fall on the popularity spectrum, though some evil elders (like an elderly WickedWitch for instance) may do needlework to exploit the stereotype of the friendly old lady/man.

This trope is OlderThanRadio because many FairyTale's and NurseryRhyme's mention "the little old woman sitting at her spinning wheel" or similar.

[[folder: Films - Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/BabyLooneyTunes'' where Granny never knitted before, and she repeatedly utters "knit one, purl two" on the process.
* PlayedForDrama in the ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode "The Quilt Club." Courage's elderly owner Muriel is at a fabric shop when the shopkeepers, a pair of elderly ConjoinedTwins called the Stitch Sisters, tell her about their quilt club, encouraging Muriel to bring in quilts she's made so they can decide if she's worthy to join the club. Muriel makes [[SerialEscalation progressively bigger and more elaborate quilts]], and the Stitch Sisters keep rejecting them, causing Muriel to go through SanitySlippage as she tries harder and harder to impress them. They finally accept her into the club, and for the initiation, order her to stitch a cloth with a certain symbol into a giant quilt. [[spoiler: The quilt is actually magic, and by stitching the symbol into it, Muriel is pulled into a pocket dimension in the quilt where she is stuck floating with the souls of other quilters. The Stitch Sisters have been doing this throughout time to prolong their lives. Courage eventually saves Muriel by stitching some of her old patches into the quilt, freeing her.]]
* Granny of ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' oftentimes knits to the point where she gets too focused on her work and doesn't see Sylvester trying to catch Tweety, and she sometimes hits him with the needle when she does.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':
** Spongebob's grandmother knits him and whoever else comes around sweaters "with love in the stitches".
** In "Goo Goo Gas", one of Plankton's attempts to turn Mr. Krabs and [=SpongeBob=] into babies so he can steal the Krabby Patty Formula instead turns them into seniors. When an elderly [=SpongeBob=] decides to take up knitting, this gives an equally-elderly Mr. Krabs the idea to join him so that together, they can knit a net to catch Plankton in. When they successfully knit the net and catch Plankton in it, they hang the net like a pinata, so the other seniors can beat Plankton up for calling them old.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''. Grandma Thora knits a lot and so does her friend Mrs [=MacGrady=], who is also elderly, but in "Arthur Unravels", Arthur takes up knitting too, however, he [[EmbarrassmentPlot is embarrassed to admit it]] because he thinks it's for old people. However, at the end of the episode, it's revealed that Oliver Frensky (who is middle-aged) and Rattles (who is only a year older than Arthur) like knitting too.

* In ''Discworld/TheLastHero'', Zena the Barbarian Princess (a deliberate take on Creator/LucyLawless) is encountered as a septagenarian barbarian heroine who is placidly embroidering a sampler. With the legend "Burn This House". It is also noted that she has slain several heavily-armed assailants with nothing more lethal than a pair of knitting needles.