Yarn therapy

Crochet & Knitting | Resources

The Benefits of crochet and knitting

Knitting and crochet are a social phenomenon that many are calling wool therapy or yarn therapy.

Below are some of the most important benefits.

Knitting or crocheting periodically…

Reduces levels of tension and stress

When the brain is paying attention to an activity so complete (such as knitting or crocheting), it ignores what is not relevant at the moment.

While the brain synchronises view with left and right hand, estimates how many stitches you have to do before changing the stitch, and counts how many rows until decrease, it just doesn’t have time for personal problems, worries and anxieties. Therefore, knitting or crocheting periodically reduces levels of tension and stress.

Gives satisfaction and improves self-esteem

Turning a simple ball of yarn into a unique and unrepeatable finished project gives self-confidence and satisfaction.

With practice, the quality of projects will increase, giving more satisfaction, increased self-confidence and self-esteem.

Promotes tranquillity and a good mood

Each creative activity produces the brain to verify and confirm its neural links.
While some tasks may seem challenging at first, with practice, those connections will get stronger. What interprets as more confidence.
Knitting and crochet improve frustration tolerance because routine improves skills, which promotes tranquillity and a good mood.

Helps to physically and mentally recover after a workday

Regular physical and mental rest is necessary to continue with daily habits. However, it is not easy to stop thinking.

The brain manages to be preoccupied with something, and the only way to trick it is by keeping it busy.

Knitting and crocheting are activities so complete that they will not allow the brain to think about anything else, which produces mental recovery, physical rest and facilitate sleep because it is easier to fall asleep thinking about a project than a workday.

Finally, when you do not have enough time to knit or crochet, it helps to talk about your designs, organise yarn stash, hooks and needles, or search for new patterns.

Improves fine motor skills

Fine motor skill is the coordination of small movements, usually involving the synchronization of hands and fingers with the eyes. They demand extraordinary precision and a high level of coordination.

The development of this skill allows an increase in the capacity to carry out a specific task.

Repetitive precision movements are required to develop fine motor skills and build patterns that will remain forever in the brain.

This process makes it easy to do something that had initially cost significant effort.

Knitting and crochet highly improves these fine motor skills by repeating precisely coordinated movements.

Encourages communication between people

Certain factors promote communication between people, and many of them are present when we knit or crochet. Like speak naturally of what we are doing, share the same codes, feel comfortable with the work done, and many others.

For example, the symbols in a crochet diagram should mean the same to everyone. We use the same code.

From the moment we read and interpret a pattern until we share our experiences with others, we develop communication skills. They improve with the level of difficulty of the design and practice.

Awakens our most creative side

Creativity is the ability to generate new ideas or concepts. A ball of yarn and a pair of needles or a crochet hook are like a blank canvas, and the knitter or crocheter has endless possibilities to develop many projects.

To choose what to knit is necessary to create new associations between ideas, concepts and known skills. Therefore, you can adapt or modify acquired knowledge to develop new creations.

But what boosts our creativity the most is to combine the already known techniques with the available materials and the idea that we have in mind to transform a simple ball of yarn into a unique piece.

Helps to concentrate and relax

Concentration is the action or power to focus attention or mental effort.

Developing this skill is very useful. It can be applied to study, work or simply, to perform a task more efficiently.

Concentration also allows relaxation and to enjoy more completely each situation that requires a little more attention.

Depending on the complexity of the chosen project, knitting or crochet requires physical movement and high concentration.

That is why it is advisable to start with a simple project. When this becomes repetitive, it is time to increase the difficulty.

Brings clarity to thoughts and feelings

To be able to feel the softness and texture of wool through our hands is a pleasant sensation that directly influences the mind.

The colours are also important. For example, yellow stimulates the nervous system and is associated with joy. The colour blue, like the sky, provides calm and rest and encourages healing and relieves pain. White means purity, freshness and supplies the imagination.

Knitting and crochet produce more positive thoughts thanks to the relaxation and calm that manual work like these provides.