Does THREADSTACK Offer Some of the Leading Benefits of Crochet/Craft?

Research Says Creativity and Calm are Leading Benefits of Crochet but Social Connection is Right Up There On That List As Well!

Jul 13, 2024

This article originally appeared on the PsychCentral blog Crafting to Heal which I wrote in 2018-19 about the health benefits of hands-on crafts. If you like this kind of thing, you might want to check out THREADSTACK!

I recently had the opportunity to compare two different studies into the health benefits of crochet. I was thrilled to see that the two studies, completed entirely independently of one another, turned out similar results. This gives us great insight into the leading benefits of crochet, which are its ability to offer creativity and a sense of calm. Digging deeper, the studies also find other mental health benefits of crochet.

About the Crochet Health Benefits Studies

The first study was one that I myself completed in 2014. For those of you who are just getting to know me, I am the author of Crochet Saved My Life, a book about the mental and physical health benefits of crochet. I appealed to fans of the book to provide additional information about how crochet heals them. (I also spent over a decade developing an expertise in crochet-as-therapy, wrote a book of crochet-for-healing exercises that has been used in various settings, and generally love this topic.

Four years later, in 2018, Australian researcher Pippa Burns from the University of Wollongong. She was working with Rosemary van Der Meer, conducting an anonymous online survey about the use of online crochet forums, exploring the ways in which crochet – particularly the social aspect of it – can help people.

There were many similarities between the two studies:

They were both conducted through Survey Monkey.
Approximately 8000 people completed each survey.
Both surveys were completed almost entirely by female respondents.
More than 50% of the 2018 survey respondents were between ages 41-60. Similarly, the 2014 survey included 34% between ages 36-50 and another 35% between ages 51-60.
In both studies, a majority of respondents crocheted daily.

There were also a few differences:

My 2014 survey had approximately 1/3 the number of questions as the survey from 2018.

The 2018 survey had respondents from more than 75 countries. This was significantly more than the 2014 survey, which primarily had US respondents with about 25% coming from either Europe or Australia.

Additionally, the 2018 study found that 58% of people had been crocheting between 1-10 years. The 2014 study had 20% that had been crocheting for 2-5 years, and another 20% that had been crocheting more than 30 years, so there was a greater range in that study.

Reasons People Crochet

The studies both asked people why they crochet. The question wasn’t directly linked to mental health, but the answers revealed that positive feelings associated with mental health are clear motivations for crocheting. The top three answers from the 2018 study were:

Creativity
Relaxation
Sense of Accomplishment

78-85% of respondents cited those as the reasons that they crochet. This speaks to the benefits of crochet specifically (and the benefit of all crafts more generally.) Self-expression, reduced stress, and boosted self-esteem all help people dealing with a variety of mental health conditions.

Mental Health Benefits of Crochet

The studies both specifically looked at the benefits of crochet. Instead of asking “why do you crochet?” these questions ask “what are the benefits of crochet?” This change of phrase provides deeper information into how craft helps to heal us. The 2018 study found that the biggest cited benefits were:

Calmness (90%)
Happiness (82%)
Improved memory (74%)
Improved concentration (71%).

The results of the 2014 study were similar: creativity, focused attention, sense of purpose, and self-esteem (65% – 92%). Furthermore, asked to specifically define the number one healing benefit of the craft, 46% chose “calming, relaxing, stress-reduction” and another 34% said “creative outlet.”

Beyond Stress-Relief

My own study looked more specifically at the ways in which crochet helped with specific ailments. 89% again said stress-relief or relaxation. This is no small thing. Stress causes, or at least exacerbates, a wide range of both physical and mental health conditions. If we can find affordable, accessible ways to reduce stress – such as crafting – then we can help mitigate some of those problems.

Crochet for Depression and Anxiety

However, my study went beyond that and found that there are two specific mental health conditions that people alleviate with crochet:

59% of people said that crochet helped to reduce symptoms of anxiety
56% of people said that crochet helped to reduce symptoms of depression

Additionally, 27% of people said that crochet helped them through processing grief. While grief is not defined as a mental health condition, it can become depression or complex grief over time if not processed. Therefore, any tool (including crafting) that assists us in moving through grief is beneficial to our mental health.

Crochet for Social Connection

The 2018 study looked more specifically at forming online connections through crochet. They report:

“At least half of the respondents (51%) found that communicating with others in online crochet groups strengthened their relationships with the other members and many (40%) had made new friends online.”

There are so many ways that mental health issues isolate us. Coming together online to discuss crafts is one way to help battle that feeling of isolation.

THREADSTACK

Of the people who have signed up to be a part of the THREADSTACK directory, nearly all of them have said that they are here for community and connection. Let’s amplify that! In the months to come, I’ll be ramping up the connectivity opportunities here with new group comment threads, interviews, and plans for a virtual Substack tour. Please share to others who love thread/yarn/fiber/fabric so we can grow the community.