The Zen-like Effects of Knitting
Knitting — and Crochet — has an undeserved moniker of being an activity that only grannies enjoy. Although it had something of a renaissance a few years back, in today’s world it is still seen as uncool, as a recent UK radio advert pronounced.
But knitting is good for you. Knitting is soothing and calming. Knitting helps with a plethora of stress-induced issues that this crazy, fast-paced world imposes. And, what’s even better, you get a hand-made article at the end of it.
Knitting has even been likened to yoga for its ability to deal with stress and this is all backed up with science. Through various studies over the last few years, knitting has been found to:
• Lower blood pressure and improve wellbeing
• Reduce depression and anxiety
• Increase self-esteem and feelings of usefulness, including when knitting for others
• Helps with memory, so is great for people with dementia
• Helps with chronic pain by providing a distraction from symptoms
• Gives knitters an opportunity to be creative, which is also great for your mental health
• Reduces feelings of isolation and loneliness, especially when knitters join a knitting group
The late Elizabeth Zimmerman, one of the knitting world’s goddesses, said: “Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either.” And it’s so true.
In a recent study by Knit for Peace, a charity where thousands of UK knitters knit for people in need, knitting not only benefits the recipient of the piece, but the maker as well. It states: “There is a surprising large body of research showing the health benefits of knitting. What is more surprising is how little known this research is.”
“People who are unable to use their hands skillfully for all kinds of work, will not become good thinkers and will behave awkwardly in life….Activities demanding manual and bodily skill, such as knitting, leads to the enhancement of the faculty of judgment.” Rudolf Steiner
The report cites a number of studies over the years including Harvard Medical Schools Mind and Body Institute’s 2007 study which “proved that knitting induces the relaxation response and lowers the heart rate by an average of 11 beats per minute.” A report in 2013 by J Riley, B Corkhill and C Morris found that “Blood pressure drops when knitting” and there was “a significant relationship between knitting and perceptions of feeling calm and happier.”
The 2009 research by Corkhill & Davidson showed that knitting also helped with chronic pain “inducing meditative-like calm and enabling symptom distraction, as well as psychological and social benefits.”
And a 2002 study by H X Wang, A Karp, B Winbald and L Fratiglioni looking at the links between social leisure activities such as knitting and crocheting and mental health, showed that there was a lower incidence of dementia in those who “took part in mental , social or productive activities” than those who did not.
The report also sets out some of the findings Knit for Peace discovered from surveying 1000 of their own members, the majority of whom are over 60. They reported that knitting improved their mood and sense of well-being, reduced feelings of isolation and loneliness, helped distract from chronic pain and gave them a chance to help others by knitting for the charity.
“It enhanced their senses of usefulness (and) made them better able to cope with problems of old age, including dementia.”
“Knitting, he thought, was a comfort to the soul. It was regular. It was repetitious. And, in the end, it amounted to something.” Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford
So what about the perception that knitting is just for old ladies? There are many men who knit too, admittedly many keep it under wraps for fear of being seen unmanly which is a shame because it’s a beautiful skill that takes years of practise to perfect.
In her book, At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee said: “Despite what we knitters know to be true, the non-knitting world somehow persists in thinking that a “knitter” looks a certain way. Most likely, this picture is one of an elderly woman, grandmotherly and polite, sitting in her rocking chair surrounded by homemade cookies and accompanied by a certain number of cats.
“In reality, a knitter today is just as likely to be young, hip, male, and sitting at a “Stitch and Bitch” in a local bar. Several of today’s best knitting designers are men, and a knitter is as likely to have body piercings as homemade cookies.”
Personally, I’ve been knitting since I was a child. My mother taught me and her mother taught her, so it’s a craft that’s been passed down generations. I knitted right up until I went into high school and then all those teen anxieties of not being cool made me down my needles for several years. Too many years, as it happens.
I did not take up knitting again until I was in my late 30s and going through a massive burn-out topped with anxiety disorder. It started with me knitting a neon pink cardigan for my daughter. I don’t know what possessed me to pick that colour: you could almost see her from space the colour was that bright. Then I went on to crochet several lap blankets. After that, excuse the pun, that was me hooked again. Since then, I have been knitting as often as I can, mostly at night in front of the television.
And I’m not the only one who has rediscovered the benefits of knitting. When I was still working as a Public Relations officer for the NHS, we launched a campaign to set up lunchtime knitting groups in various offices and workplaces because we knew it promoted stress-reduction. Seven years on, these groups are still going and members report on feeling less stressed because they knit.
So, the moral of the tale is this: do not sneer and snigger at we knitters. We are in a state of zen sitting there knitting away, our heart rates are down, we’re feeling relaxed and nothing bothers us. If you don’t believe us, come and try it. Trust me, before long you too will be hooked.
And the final word goes to Catalonian-born knitter Montse Stanley (1942–1999), lady architect and author of The Handknitter’s Handbook, who said: “The information is now in your hands for you to enjoy in the way that suits you best. Learn it all, or learn a little — the choice is yours. Have fun.”
Pssst. Just for the record: I am not over 60 and I am not a grandmother. In case you were wondering. Plus, if you are a knitter (secret or not) and are interested in vintage knitting, come and find me on Esty: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/VintageKnitTreasures