Crochet as Therapy in Academic Research
Or how my own lived experience ultimately made me a reference-able expert in a developing niche ...
Have you ever searched yourself on Google Scholar to see if your work has been cited in academic publications? The work I am most proud of that has been cited is all related to the mental and physical health benefits of crochet. When I first started researching this topic over a decade ago, no one was really talking about it. Since then, it’s become practically common knowledge that crochet heals. I’m thrilled to have played a part in opening up that conversation.
Here’s a roundup of some of those articles:
Mindful Stitch: Generating dialogue in and around the threads of wellbeing, Swinnerton
As far as I can tell, the only peer-reviewed journal my work is mentioned in is this one:
In this article, author Swinnerton mentions:
A blog post I wrote for Lion Brand on Crochet as Meditation.
My recommendations to choose a beginner project with a repetitive stitch pattern, colors that are comforting and a quiet relaxed craft space.
This specific quote:
“The combination of constantly counting, gentle recurrent hand motions and focus on the work is a stress reducer and a path to being present in the here-and-now.”
Crafting Textile Connections: A mixed-methods approach to explore traditional and e-textile crafting for wellbeing by Sara Nevay, Lucy Robertson, Christopher S.C. Lim & Wendy Moncur
Unspun heroes: an example of intergenerational learning and community action by Kathy Snow and Janice Tulk
The Slow Fashion Renaissance: an in-depth exploration of crochet and knitting as sustainable technologies for contemporary fashion by Jie Peng
Sources:
Swinnerton, E. L., (2015) “Mindful Stitch: Generating dialogue in and around the threads of wellbeing”, Fields: journal of Huddersfield student research 1(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.5920/fields.2015.113
Sara Nevay, Lucy Robertson, Christopher S.C. Lim & Wendy Moncur (2019) Crafting Textile Connections: A mixed-methods approach to explore traditional and e-textile crafting for wellbeing, The Design Journal, 22:sup1, 487-501, DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2019.1595434
Snow, K., & Tulk, J. (2020). Unspun Heroes: An Example of Intergenerational Learning and Community Action. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 32(1). Retrieved from https://cjsae.library.dal.ca/cjsae/article/view/5495
Peng, Jie. "The Slow Fashion Renaissance: an in-depth exploration of crochet and knitting as sustainable technologies for contemporary fashion." (2023).
If you read this far, perhaps you liked the work. The work does take work. It only continues with support, so please consider subscribing. My annual rate starts at $10 per year.
Seeing benefits of crocheting in working with traumatised refugees. Not just the process, but also the soft toy products made, have therapeutic value.
So cool! Both that you are being referenced, and that others are carrying on the research 😁