By Gabriel Algo, News Editor | March 10, 2023
Photo Courtesy of AP Images
Since the dawn of man, knitting and its many variations has been the lifeblood of creation. Baskets, flip flops, and sweaters were all made from weaving, knitting, and crocheting.
So, how is it that something so necessary and tedious, an art practiced for eons, could be made into an enjoyable fun hobby? What makes people want to pick up those needles, that crocheting hook?
Knitting has taken a resurgence recently with students trying their hand and taking part in the process of learning how to knit or crochet all sorts of cute characters and stuffed animals. A couple of these creations are cat beanies: beanies that are shaped as squares or rectangles to give the wearer cat ears, and small figures of animals or characters.
But it’s not just the end product people are looking for in knitting - although being able to make your own stuffed animals whenever you want is a great incentive - but there’s another side to knitting. It’s the health benefits; yep, that’s right, knitting has been used and implemented into prison campuses and is a part of various groups solely for exploiting the benefits that knitting provides for the body and mind as well as bringing together people who have a passion for crafting with yarn.
Knitting is seen as a great way to sharpen your mind.
“Knitting is actually a good example of ways that we use math in the real world. The patterns, stitch counts, different stitch types, all require some amount of math, but what’s great about it is that you may not even know you’re using it,” Mindwell says in their blog, ‘The Many Benefits of Knitting’
The New York Times stated that “the repetitive action of needlework can induce a relaxed state like that associated with meditation and yoga.”
Carson High School senior Savannah Jackson said, “Personally, I agree [with the health benefits]. I find it to be really relaxing [...] It’s also really rewarding because you get to create something!”
“I picked up this hobby very recently around the last week of winter break,” CHS senior Angela Bis said. “I believe one benefit of it is that you aren’t reliant on devices.”
And even now, knitting, crocheting, and other types of yarn craft still seems to have an edge for being one of humanity's longest relied upon art forms and is a creative outlet even amidst the dawn of cutting edge technology. So, if you’re a creative person looking for a meditative art form that results in cute little critters you can play with after, then knitting just may be the hobby for you.
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