I have discovered that in Britain at least the word to describe one who knits used to be gendered. Knitter referred to males and knitster referenced to female.
I guess this links to the gendered usage of spinner and spinster to describe the differing genders of those who spun. As the spinning of wool was one of the few acceptable jobs for women who were not married then they would earn a living by this means. The word spinster then mutated in meaning to refer to an unmarried woman.
Does any one know of similar gendering in other languages or in other craft related work?
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