I love to knit. I knit in class, on airplanes, while waiting in queues. I host knitting nights and go on yarn pilgrimages whenever I travel. I have attended yarn festivals. I’ve been to Yarn Con and Wool Fest (more than once). My partner, my friends and my whole family knit. And I have two cats whose names are, yes, Knit and Purl.
Knitting has undoubtedly made me a happier and healthier person. It’s given me an outlet to relieve stress and a way to connect with loved ones. With the growing popularity of handcrafts, it is clear I am not the only one who finds fibre arts calming, restorative and anxiety reducing.
Mental health rates have risen significantly over the past decade. Youth are especially affected, with 20 per cent of adolescents experiencing a mental health condition in 2023, a 35 per cent increase from 2016. While current evidence-based mental health treatments are effective, many barriers limit the real-world accessibility to and therapeutic impact of this care. Financial, structural and attitudinal (such as stigma) factors make it more difficult for people to receive support. To enhance the effectiveness of current mental health treatments, novel evidence-based interventions that are affordable, accessible, scalable and approachable for a variety of communities are needed.
Addressing rising mental health rates will undoubtedly require a range of different tools, both pharmacological and non-pharmaceutical. Recent research has emphasized the role that art, music and other hobbies can play as community-based mental health initiatives. Of course, more comprehensive research is needed to better understand their impact and scope in different cultural and socioeconomic contexts. However, the early results are encouraging. Hand crafts, which are adaptable and accessible for a range of communities and cultural perspectives, show unique promise.
Handcrafts have been found to be beneficial for various populations, such as cancer survivors, incarcerated individuals, older adults, refugees and dementia patients. It is an effective tool to address crisis, trauma, anxiety and depression. The positive impacts seen across diverse communities are well summarized in this 2024 scoping review in which the authors conclude “needlecraft has an overwhelmingly positive effect on mental health and general well-being.”
A 2009 study found that knitting helped to improve symptoms in individuals with eating disorders. Eating disorders are often perpetuated by intrusive and anxious thoughts surrounding food, weight and body image. Knitting was found to decrease these disruptive thoughts and provide a calming effect in 74 per cent of participants. Arts and crafting were associated with a significant increase in life satisfaction and happiness in a 2024 study. These findings were even larger than those explained by variables such as socioeconomic status, age, health and gender, emphasizing that this easily manipulable intervention could improve outcomes across a wide range of communities.
Some reasons why these initiatives may be helpful include increased social connection, development of a sense of purpose, enhanced self-esteem and improved cognition, memory, emotional regulation, problem solving and inhibition control. Handcrafts also serve as a creative outlet to express one’s personality and identity.
One mechanism of interest is the induction of “flow,” a harmonious state of total absorption. The repetitive nature of handcrafts evokes a state that has been linked with enhanced self-identity, life satisfaction, emotional regulation and reduced stress. As most of the preliminary studies on the flow state are qualitative, more research is needed to understand this phenomenon on a neural basis.
Addressing the rising challenge of mental health will undoubtedly require an individualized, multi-faceted approach. Including handcrafts as a therapeutic tool is cheap, portable, scalable, easily modifiable and accessible for a variety of communities. Though more robust studies are certainly needed, given that interventions like handcrafts have minimal risk and carry a host of other benefits, it may, for many, be worth a try.
Knitting has helped me navigate my own challenges by giving me a community and a way to de-stress. Admiring my previous yarn creations or picking up my needles to cast on a new project always gives me a boost. Though I need to be aware of my own confirmation bias when exploring handcrafts as a therapeutic tool, it is undeniable that knitting has provided support, joy and comfort for many.
And honestly, I will take any excuse to knit more!
