Anisotropy is a difficult concept, although it is often met in everyday life. This paper describes a simple model--knitted patterns--having anisotropic elastic properties. The elastic constant is measured for the force applied in different directions with respect to the knitting direction. It is also shown that the deformation of the knitted pattern does not always have the same direction as the applied force, a behaviour that is also typical for anisotropic systems. The dependence of the elastic coefficient on the direction of applied force has the same form as the refraction coefficient of an extraordinary ray in a uniaxial anisotropic crystal. (Contains 1 table and 6 figures.)