The core of local knitting and crocheting groups may still be mothers and grandmothers, but the craft has come a long way in recent years thanks to the internet.

According to Betty Narducci, who owns The Knit in Old Saybrook, websites like Ravelry have made a significant impact because anyone can publish a pattern, not just manufacturers.

“Now you don’t have to just look at your grandma’s pattern,” she said. “Ravelry has allowed people to have things that are much more contemporary or that are challenging or fun or different.”

She said the combination of access to more beautiful yarn and different patterns have made more people want to start knitting and crocheting again.

While people frequently come into her store, which opened in February, to seek help with a project, Narducci said many people don’t have access to another person who can troubleshoot a problem or assist in a pattern, which is where websites like YouTube come in.

“The availability of information using the internet allows you to finish your garments better,” she said. Different techniques work better with different projects, so people can look up what would make their project look best.

Members of the Community Knit group at the Public Library of New London said there are several knitting and crocheting techniques now that they have never seen before.

“You can look up anything on YouTube,” Cheryl West of Gales Ferry said. “If you’re stuck on a pattern, you can look it up on YouTube. It’s such an incredible resource.”

The internet has also become a valuable resource for learning about knitting gatherings such as conferences and wool festivals. West said she enjoys going to sheep and wool festivals to see yarns made from local sheep and alpacas, and STITCHES conferences, which have been taking place around the country for 25 years, are like candy stores for knitters and crocheters.

“Some of the exhibitors there have a big display of different needles, and those Addi Turbo needles were really nice,” she said. “They had some that were square instead of being rounded, and those were very nice.”

“I like the ones that are interchangeable,” said fellow knitter and Waterford resident Barbara Margolis. “They had circular needles but you could interchange the points. I thought that was really cool.”

In addition to the interchangeable circular needles being a major change in the industry, Narducci, of the Old Saybrook shop, cited counters, yarn bowls and other items that make keeping track of a project easier. She also uses PDF apps on her Kindle e-reader for referencing patterns on the go.

The availability of different kinds of yarns has been helpful for her shop, as she can offer a variety of fibers, colors and prices to meet any person’s yarn needs.

“For a long time, all you could buy was acrylic yarn. It’s not particularly warm, not really comfortable,” Narducci said. “They started expanding fibers so you can have a lot more choices, and people started hand-dyeing things.”

Some new projects don’t use yarn at all. West said patterns have emerged for knitting and crocheting with wire or ribbon to make jewelry.

Knitting in public has become more popular as people take their projects to class, medical appointments or even baseball games, and Margolis said she always keeps a project in the car just in case she has to wait anywhere.

Narducci said “mystery knit-a-longs” also bring people together with patterns that are released in sections each week, often coinciding with a television show so people can work on the project as they watch. Since the patterns are released one bit at a time, everyone is at the same point in the project at the same time and can help each other if they get stuck.

And regular knitting and crocheting groups are still held at yarn shops, libraries and community centers throughout the area for people of all ages and skill levels who knit or crochet. Ann Axtell, who leads the group at the library in New London, said members have ranged from their 20s to their 70s, and some have brought their children and grandchildren to the Thursday morning gathering as well.

Doris Norman, who also knits with the group, said she didn’t know how to knit when she first joined, but the group was able to get her started. Even now, members are supportive of each other.

“If one of us gets stuck on something, somebody else knows what to do,” she said.

“I just think it’s really nice to get together with other people who are knitting,” West said. “I’ve learned a lot, and you can share ideas on things.”

a.hutchinson@theday.com