10 Reasons Why Knitting Is a Great Hobby
Are you searching for a new hobby and have knitting on your shortlist, but you’re unsure if knitting is the best hobby for you? If you wonder why you should start knitting - get ready to be convinced with at least one of the ten reasons I’m sharing today from my experience!
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Advantages of Knitting
1 - creative boost
Knitting is an excellent outlet for creativity - it allows you to create beautiful pieces with your hands and uncover your artistic side - even if you thought you didn’t have it!
2 - sense of productivity
If you love binge-watching series and at the same time you’re feeling guilty, you’re not doing anything productive at the same time - knitting may well be an answer! Choosing simple and repetitive projects will allow you to knit while watching your favorite series with some practice - that’s a win-win in my book!
3 - accomplishment & pride
The feeling of creating your wearable pieces with your own hands is just priceless. Bonus? The pride in wearing your handmade sweaters and accessories - especially when you get compliments, and your friends are in awe of your skills!
4 - valuable skill
Knitting is a valuable skill - it allows you to create super practical items - wearables like hats, sweaters, socks - even skirts and dresses! But also home decor items like blankets, tea towels, pillow covers, and more. The beautiful thing is that you don’t need many techniques to get started - even equipped with just five foundational skills, you can create many of these items (if you’re curious to get started - you can learn these five techniques and create your first small project, in my scrunchie class!).
Knitting is a skill, not a talent
An important side note - knitting is a skill, not a talent! So don’t be held back by a belief that you’re ‘not good at artistic stuff’ - knitting is all about hand motions, and that’s a skill that can be trained step by step. Also, the more you knit, the more even your stitches will get and create a more neat finishing to your projects. All it takes is practice!
5 - relaxing de-stressor
Are you struggling with high-stress levels due to your job or suffering from anxiety? Knitting is a relaxing and mindful practice. Due to its repetitive, rhythmic motions, it can reduce stress levels and improve focus on the present. So many knitters, including me, find that knitting even just a few rows has the power to calm us down and provide stress relief.
6 - minimum space and tools required
Unlike many hobbies, knitting doesn’t require a lot of space! You don’t need a dedicated craft room or take over the whole kitchen table to do your projects. All you need to start is a spot - a sofa or your favorite chair and a small basket/box to organize your tools and projects.
Low-investment start
Knitting also doesn’t have to be a significant investment - you can start with just a pair of needles, a couple of yarn skeins, and small notions. Knitting can be as cheap or as expensive as you want. There are plenty of price ranges for tools - knitting needles, which you can use for many years.
The main cost for every project is the yarn - you can choose anything from cheap cotton yarn to truly luxurious options like cashmere, mohair, or hand-dyed artisan yarn. Good news? Knitting is almost non-destructive, so if you don’t like the project you created or are just in the mood for something new, you can unravel your knit and repurpose the yarn for another project.
7 - portable hobby
If you’re busy and don’t have much time to commit to a new hobby, this one may especially convince you! Knitting is a portable craft - you can pack essentials in a bag - just a pair of needles and a ball of yarn, or your project in progress with a few small notions - and you’re good to go!
Making time for knitting
With that, you can work on your knitting in little pockets of time during the day - in a waiting room before your doctor’s appointment, on a bus during your commute, on a playground bench - you name it! That’s a great reason to take your project out of the bag and knit on. A time that would otherwise be ‘wasted’ or a situation potentially stressful is instead filled with intentional making and a bit of ‘you’ time in a hectic world.
Small projects like socks, hats, and mittens are especially great for ‘out of home’ knitting because they’re small and won’t take up much space in your bag!
8 - express your style
This reason is a big one of why people start knitting! Have you ever gone shopping and yet again came back empty-handed? Nothing in your dream color and the quality of the finishing, the style, and the material composition were far way off your expectations.
Your favorite colors and fibers
That’s the beauty of knitting - with so many yarn companies worldwide, you will find lots of color variations and shades that you can choose from to knit your dreamy pieces. You’ll also be pleasantly surprised at the wealth of fibers you can choose from to make your heirloom knits. Luxe mohair sweater? Check! Alpaca, merino wool, cashmere? There are lots of brands offering these fibers and blends as yarn. Whatever your preference, you’ll have many customization options to make sweaters and accessories that fit your style!
Wide sizing
If you have trouble choosing from narrow sizing at stores and are fed up with poorly fitting ‘one-size’ pieces, you’ll be happy to learn that with some knowledge, you can knit pieces according to your measurements. Not excited to do the math? Plenty of knitwear designers offer knitting patterns with the sizing worked out, so all you need to do is follow the instructions!
9 - gift knitting
Knowing how to knit will help you create thoughtful gifts for loved ones that will last years! A beautiful, handmade accessory is a lovely gesture that will not go unnoticed. It will also remind the gifted person about you anytime they wear it!
While knitting can take quite a bit of time to complete, you can choose thick, bulky yarn to knit quick projects and choose smaller pieces like hats, headbands, or tea towels for gifting.
10 - an embodiment of your values
Knitting may also support you in expressing your values!
Sustainability
Are you concerned with sustainability and don’t want to support fast fashion and increasing textile waste? First, when you knit, you can create timeless, classic pieces from quality materials that will last for years. You can choose from biodegradable wool and plant-based yarns, also often with organic certificate - go a step further and go for undyed or naturally hand-dyed yarn (with plant ingredients).
If at some time you decide that the piece no longer fits your style or size - you can be calm as the material you chose is biodegradable, or decide to unravel the item and turn the yarn into a new project!
Vegan
There are also many options for vegans - there’s a selection of plant-based yarns - cotton, linen, hemp, and synthetic fibers such as acrylic. If animal rights are at your heart, you can use cruelty-free approved yarns from companies that genuinely care for their herds. When choosing merino wool, looking for a ‘mulesing free’ claim is essential.
Supporting small businesses
Is one of your values supporting small, soulful businesses? Then instead of yarn from big box stores and worldwide companies, you can choose smaller, family-led companies like Knitting for Olive or indie yarn dyers - they dye yarn by hand in beautiful color combos - like Sewrella Yarn or Olivia & Oliver Fibers.
Are there any disadvantages to knitting?
Okay, now that I’ve been raving about the ten reasons you should start knitting, you’re probably wondering if it’s all sunshine and roses. While I believe that knitting is a beautiful, rewarding pastime, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind!
time-consuming
First, knitting takes time. It’s true slow fashion - for example, knitting your sweater takes 20 to 45 hours. On the other hand, there are small projects that can be knit within a couple of hours, especially using bulky yarn - and these are great for beginners, so you can quickly see the results of your work! If you’re just starting, I’d recommend you stick with small projects, so you don’t get bored and discouraged early on. Think tea towels, headbands, and scrunchies.
patience required!
When you start knitting as your new hobby, you need to be patient and give yourself grace. The truth is you will make mistakes, lose some stitches, and have uneven tension at the beginning. It’s all part of the learning process! Please don’t beat yourself up over this. No one starting any new hobby or learning a new skill is perfect. It just takes time and practice - practice makes progress.
Ready to start your next beloved hobby?
Learn to knit with my classes created for total beginners - comprehensive headband class, or one of the quick-start classes, where you’ll knit a chunky headband or a scrunchie in a few hours!
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