Last year we asked knitters to take part in our big knit survey. Well, the results are in! We wanted to find out why you love knitting so much- you’ll be surprised to learn what we discovered…
Kate Moss does it. Kate Middleton does it. Even Ryan Gosling does it. It’s knitting, and in case you haven’t noticed, it’s on the rise. Knitting is making the big come back we have all been waiting for, with over 7.3 million knitters in the UK and a further 53 million in the USA. Here at Wool and the Gang we wanted to do some research of our own, and what better participants to focus on than you? 4,000 knitters filled in our survey telling us all about your knitting habits and secrets.
Our favourite part of the day is getting home, putting up our feet and picking up our needles. It seems we are not alone – with 90% of US knitters and 86% of UK and European knitters ‘grabbing their knitting needles’ after a long stressful day, it seems that knitting is one of your favourite ways to relax. The benefits of knitting just get better and better with a huge 90% of knitters agreeing that knitting decreases anxiety levels, while 70% feel a sense of happiness after tackling a difficult project or knitting technique.
WATG’s Aurelie describes knitting as the new yoga: “Growing demand is there for a hobby that has the same meditative qualities and the ability to bring about a feeling of calm, peace, accomplishment and creativity. It’s not surprising that it has such a positive impact on people’s lives.” Alongside meditative hobbies such as yoga and meditation, knitting and crochet were in the top Google ‘how to’ searches of last year with a 70% increase from 2013. Power to the maker!
We also discovered that as well as improving our memory, dexterity and wardrobes, knitting is actually a great anti-depressant. Unfortunately depression is on the rise but fear not – our survey shows that knitting has helped an incredible 40% of knitters to fight depression. That number rises significantly among US knitters (up to 48%), with 33% and 28% for UK and European knitters respectively. Add to that a further 20% of people stated that knitting has enabled them to recover from an illness. Not bad for a humble craft.
So the next time you feel guilty about spending that extra half an hour on your latest project, don’t. After all, it’s good for you.
AWESOME! Of course knitting makes us happy!
I knitted before it was cool and i love it. It rescued me from depression and losing my mind. Thanks God for the power of learn and two amazing hands.
knitting has always been a part of my life, can not remember a time without it! Hope more will make it part of their’s!
This is so great! I am currently working on my masters thesis that focuses on therapeutic crafting
The thesis evolved from research on knitting/crochet use in depression treatment. Love this post and probably will reference it in my thesis book!
Miranda. Could I read your thesis when completed?
This is great, I’m writing my dissertation at the moment on knitting as a therapy and it’s just amazing how much knitting can help! I also found out it can help prevent cognitive impairment as it develops the brains neurons keeping them working longer as well as help fight the risk of having arthritis! its the best!!!
Katherine, Could I read your dissertation when completed?
That is awesome!! I am self taught thru YouTube, very glad to know I am not the only one. I started as a form of meditation with 3 teens at home 😊
Great findings! Absolutely great to see how it’s growing and that it’s trending. Definitely a fab skills to have I think
I’ve shared on Twitter so more people can see your great infographic!
Alina x
I learned to knit after my first and it helped me stave off early contractions when I was pregnant with twins. I just love it and am so happy to find such a great community of crafty people!
There is an interesting connection between neurons and hand stimulation: one can raise consciousness by knitting! And design thinking while knitting is a wonderfull thing!
This is awesome – not that I needed to be told that knitting is fabulous, but it’s nice to see it in statistics as well!
Wow! I loved reading about the survey results! Thanks for sharing! Go knitters!
What are the age groups responding to this survey? Cheers. L
So the largest group of respondents were from the 30 to 39 age group (25%), with age groups 21 to 29 years, 40 to 49 years and 50 to 59 years at roughly 20%. 60+ was around 14% and 17 to 20 made up the remainder
I was inspired to relearn to knit as I wanted to give my loved ones handmade gifts, as a way of meditating, love it on long road trips and when waiting helps me stay focused and relaxed.
Also it is helpful for Mom’s postpergnancy to reconnect the two sides of the brain! Great study!
It’s so exciting to see how much knitting has made a come back in the past 15 years. I’ve been knitting almost everyday since I was 8 yrs old. I’m coming up on my 64th birthday next month, and there isn’t a day that goes by that knitting isn’t in my life. Teaching is a good way to get people hooked on the best form of relaxation. I’ve been fortunate to have been teaching since I was 14 years old. I always thought I would keep track of how many people I’ve taught but I lost track years ago. Got to go, I have a project calling me. Happy Knitting to all.💕
This is so true. I learned my knitting from youtube and articles