Why everyone’s knitting again - and why you might want to in 2026
Knitting is having a moment and not just because young Olympics diver Tom Daley lit up the internet with his clicking needles at the Paris games last year. That image captured hearts globally and did much for the image of knitting. But it’s already a hobby that’s growing, at least partly due to its mental health and cognitive benefits.
Daley, who took home his fifth Olympics medal at Paris 2024, says he knits –or crochets – between heats to stay calm – it’s a form of mindfulness that helps when he’s competing. But the Englishman, of course, stood out because it’s still unusual to see men handy with the needles.
That wasn’t always the case. The first mention of hand-knitting in Europe dates from 1268 in Paris, and then across the continent knitting guilds began popping up, exclusively for men who produced everything from leggings and stockings to caps, berets and children’s clothes.
Few people these days knit to earn a crust, but they might to make themselves feel happier in their world. Nurse and Central Queensland University lecturer Danielle Le Lagadec led a study published last year, “Healing Stitches”, which reviewed research findings on knitting and other handcrafts, such as embroidery and crochet. The 25 studies she and her colleagues looked at resoundingly supported needlecraft for mental wellbeing, family and social connections and providing a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Tsunami survivors who participated in a knitting programme had significantly higher happiness scores.
But it’s not just about general wellbeing. A study after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster found survivors who participated in a knitting programme had significantly higher scores for subjective happiness and quality of life, compared with those who didn’t knit.
The tsunami on March 11 killed nearly 20,000 people and destroyed entire towns. The Yarn Alive knitting programme was an American-led psychosocial scheme to bring women together after the earthquake. The 72 participants, many of whom had lost their homes or income, rated the programme highly in helping them cope with the aftermath. It was the second-most common way of coping with the disaster.
A small Israeli study, this time for teenage girls newly released from psychiatric care, showed embroidery had therapeutic benefits. The art therapists noticed three particular advantages of embroidery: repetition, structure (working according to a pattern), and simplicity, which could help create a feeling of calmness or increase energy levels.
“Half of them had done needlecrafts, and the other half hadn’t,” says Le Lagadec. “And they looked at the benefits of those who had done needlecraft, and it was just amazing because they could express themselves in their craft.”
For those recovering from anorexia, knitting was found in another study to distract them from their anxious preoccupation with eating and weight. Thirty-eight women in a Canadian eating-disorder unit were given knitting lessons and three-quarters of them found it beneficial.
Knitting is also the CRC of socialising, says Le Lagadec, the perfect lubricant to get conversations going. And it delivers “flow”, which comes from the meditative, rhythmic repetition of knitting that calms as well as improves focus and mental clarity. Interestingly, that includes staying on topic in work meetings. Women who take their knitting report they pay more attention to the speaker – their hands are busy, so their minds don’t wander.
But more than that, writes Le Lagadec, needlecraft is associated with better physical health, lowering blood pressure, relieving chronic pain and helping to modify smoking or drinking.
It’s easy to pick up and put down, she says. She grew up in South Africa, where you’d find needles and wool in dentist waiting rooms so patients could sit and knit while they waited. Eventually, the knitted sections were made into a blanket.
Hooked in
Penny Williams knits because she’s not one to sit around with idle hands. Her mother taught her to knit when she was 9. “I suspect it might have been because I was a bit too busy and talked a lot, and I think she kind of wanted me to sit still and leave her alone.”
She kept at it sporadically during her teen years and hit her stride in her 20s. Now, several decades later, the Auckland maths teacher has noticed a resurgence in the popularity of the craft. Gone are the days when knitting meant polyester fibres, some rather bizarre colour matches and weird designs.
In the past 20 years, attitudes have warmed, says Williams, who attracted odd looks for her “old lady” pursuit in her younger years. It’s partly because handknitting now has a touch of the luxurious about it.
“You can get all these beautiful yarns and you can make beautiful designs. And there’s a huge amount of stuff on the internet. You can look at Pinterest and be inspired.”
Instead of polyester, wools are often handspun using vegetable dyes, or you can buy yarn derived from cotton, bamboo or hemp. “We can knit just about anything, as long as the fibres are long enough. There was a woman at my craft group who used dog fur. She spun it with something else. And then she made herself some mittens.”
It’s just mental
Handknits are on the catwalks and the online New Zealand Fashion Museum, curated by Doris de Pont, this year held an exhibition that included workshops to get novices started. Enthusiasts have developed it into far more than homecraft. “Yarn-bombing” – in which trees are snuggled in colourful stocking stitch – has sprung up in such places as Greerton in Tauranga and Christchurch. The craft has been turned into art – the crocheted Wharenui Harikoa is one example.
Williams joined a craft group about 18 months ago where she shows beginners how to knit and fix their mistakes. “When you’re doing something difficult, whatever it might be, but you’ve got someone alongside you supporting you, that does a lot for mental wellbeing.
“And I would say for myself, though I don’t need that support any more, it’s nice to help other people. It gives you something else to concentrate on, other than whatever troubles you might have.”
What else is nice is giving a hand-knitted jumper, beanie or baby blanket that you’ve created stitch by stitch. It creates a connection, says Williams, and that’s valuable to the giver and the receiver.
And the research agrees. Studies note needlecraft provides an opportunity to socialise, whether in person or online, and promotes a sense of community. Like Williams, many knitters donate their work, strengthening connections with others. Le Lagadec adds, “There’s a lot of joy in giving and feeling like you’re part of a community, that you’ve contributed something.”
This story was originally published in the Listener’s New Book of the Brain 2025 edition.
