Self-Care Tip: Knitting

A self-care craft idea that I like to do is knitting. Some great advantages to doing knitting as a self-care project is that yarn is fairly affordable depending on where you get your supplies from. Knitting is something a lot of grandparents or maybe even parents may have done and they can lend you their old stuff and you can get yarn at a thrift shop or with coupons for cheap prices, as well as being able to bring the supplies with you anywhere. You can knit as you have a chat with friends and family, on your breaks, on the bus, or just by yourself. One more advantage is that you can make things with your knitting. My mother makes washcloths, I like to make baby hats to eventually donate to hospitals, but you could make carves, gloves, clothes, and more.

Some health benefits is that it can reduce stress and anxiety as knitting needs all your attention in case of any mistakes, especially those harder patterns, which helps you calm down because you aren't thinking of the stress and things you need to do anymore. Certain patterns also stimulate your brain and improve your cognitive functioning, such as your memory. Being able to alternate your stitches and changing patterns is productive for your brain.

Another health benefit is that it can boost your self-confidence. As you work your way through a project, you can feel proud of how you have made something, and even if  you mess up it is a small part in what you have made. This also helps improve your social connection as there are many groups for knitters to come together, and the more expert knitters are always so nice to see beginners picking up what they love to do and most love being able to help you through mistakes. This also helps with depression as any negative thoughts are taken away when you are focusing on a project, and even if you feel bad about mistakes, the expert knitters know what it was like to be a beginner and are there to help take any negative thoughts away by complimenting and giving tips on how to undo your mistake or how to move on. 

Some pillars of wellness that knitting can address is the physical, mental, intellectual, and social. The physical pillar can be addressed through the projects you carry around. The bigger projects, such as blankets, can get quite heavy, and even the small ones, you are moving your arms and hands to be able to make these projects. The mental pillar is addressed through the benefits, helping with anxiety, stress, and depression by focusing on the projects you are making. The intellectual pillar is about how knitting can stimulate your brain and improve you cognitive functioning. The social pillar can be addressed if you decide to go to knitting groups and talk to other people about patterns and projects, but the social pillar is up to if you decide you want to be around other people while knitting.

To start knitting, you need some supplies like knitting needles and yarn. You can also grab some other supplies such as a row counter, a stitch pin, and specific patterns, but those usually aren't recommended for beginners as you want to start off easy. The easiest design is a scarf, sometimes just straight knit, but you can alternate knit and purl stitches to make a more interesting design. I would personally recommend a video on how to do those stitches as it is hard to explain, but then you just cast on your first row to make your first scarf. After that, some people may do washcloths, hats, pick a harder, but still simple design before going into a big project. Once most people get the hang of the different stitches and how to cast on, add, and decrease the number of stitches, bigger projects become easier.

I personally like knitting because of how much attention it needs. Once I start knitting, I know I won't be stressing about homework or other things because I am completely focused on making sure my rows are neat and every stitch is the same tightness. I also like knowing I am actually working towards something that can be used rather than something that will be stored away and eventually thrown out. Knitting is also great for me because I am a perfectionist and even when making a mistake, I know how to undo it or I remember that it is such as small part of this project that nobody will notice it once it is done.

My resource used was:

6 science-backed health benefits of knitting. happiness.com. (2022, October 11). Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://www.happiness.com/magazine/art-culture-leisure/health-benefits-of-knitting/