Crocheting Can Make You Feel Calmer, Happier, and More Focused, According to This Survey

Crafters know it, and it’s time for everyone else to know too: Crocheting is good for your mental health. 

A survey done by the University of Wollongong Australia shows that crocheting makes people feel calmer, happier, and better able to focus. It’s follows earlier studies that focused on knitting. “We found out a lot has been done on knitting in the UK for social and emotional well-being, but no one had looked at crochet,” Dr. Pippa Burns, one of the study’s authors, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “Knitting shows positive benefits, but the knitters say using both arms with a needle in each hand has a different benefit to crochet, where you only use one hand.”

Despite its physical difference from knitting, crochet also showed positive results. Of the 8,000 crocheters surveyed, 90% said crocheting made them feel calmer, while 82% said it made them feel happier. More than 70% said it improved their memory and concentration. “The results from the survey show that crocheting provides many positive benefits for people in terms of wellbeing,” Dr. Burns told Martha Stewart. “Being aware that crocheting can provide positive benefits may encourage people to take up the hobby as a self-care strategy.”

Plymouth Yarn Magazine explains that crafting is good for mental health because it requires mindfulness. As you crochet (or knit), you need to pay attention to each stitch, the movement of your hook or needle, your breath, your stitch count. As Greater Good Magazine at the University of California, Berkeley puts it, “When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future… thousands of studies have documented the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness.”

The benefits of crafting go even farther — it has also been shown to relieve insomnia and anxiety, according to Martha Stewart. Plus, it’s fun and results in one-of-a-kind objects (like artist Yan Schenkel’s Pica Pau animals). What’s not to love?