As knitters and crocheters, it doesn’t take much to make us happy. Give me my knitting and an audio book and I am in heaven. Along with some chocolate; chocolate always helps. During this strange year that upended all of our lives several people told me: “I have picked up my knitting again.” Yes, having a crafty project is soothing, relaxing, and comforting.

But don’t take my word for it. A study conducted by the British knitting charity Knit for Peace shows that knitting is a stress-reducing activity that is measurably good for your health. The complete 44-page-long study is available HERE

In this extensive study researchers show that knitting can

• Lower blood pressure

• Reduce stress and anxiety

• Help with chronic pain

• Help with overcoming addictions

• Improve mental health

• Provide a sense of purpose in life

• Provide a sense of personal productivity and satisfaction

• Prevent social isolation and loneliness

Knitting with Others

How can knitting prevent social isolation and loneliness when it is at root a solitary activity? The study’s authors explain it perfectly: “Knitting ….. is also a vehicle for making social connections both virtually, through the rise of the Internet knitting sites, and in real time through local knitting groups.” (p. 18)

Almost every yarn store has weekly social hours when knitters gather to talk about projects, exchange ideas, help each other, and socialize.

Meetup.com is an excellent online source to find local community knitting groups. My group has been meeting for the last 12 years at Panera. (Well, not right now since we are still socially distancing.)

Ravelry.com is a very good website to connect with other crafters. Ravelry, the “Facebook for Knitters,” is a free site with over 6 million members worldwide where you can find anything related to yarn, knitting, crocheting, weaving, patterns, knitting groups, charity knitting, etc.

Knitting for Others

In our last blog post we spoke about the joy of knitting for others, specifically for family members and loved ones. The study above talks at length about the benefits of knitting and volunteering, which is where charity knitting groups come in.

As the name implies, charity knitting groups knit for the benefit of others and there are groups as diverse and numerable as the needs they serve. There are groups that make

• prayer shawls

• premie hats for maternity wards

• blankets for the homeless

• lap afghans for nursing homes

• hats for chemo patients

• items for animal shelters

• socks, sweaters, and hats for children in orphanages

The Wool-Aid kids, a US based group that knits for children in orphanages worldwide

Local hospitals and churches as well as Ravelry.com are good sources to find groups to knit for. My favorite knitting charity is Wool-Aid which knits for children in orphanages around the world. It is an amazing group that cares for children in harsh, winter climates that would otherwise be cold. I know the founder personally and have been a member of this group since its inauguration in 2010. During those years we were able to send shipments of warm woolies to Afghanistan, Greece, India, Syria, Turkey, and Tibet. Find Wool-Aid’s website HERE and its Ravelry group HERE.

No matter if we are knitting for ourselves, for a loved one or for a charity group, knitting is good for our health.