Through an online knitting site a UK-based knitting therapist, Betsan Corkhill, surveyed around 3 545 knitters from all over the world. The survey included questions such as how often they knitted, their mood, why they knitted, and their connotative abilities. More frequent knitters tended to have higher cognitive functioning, were more likely to have calming and happier moods whilst reported to have less feelings of sadness or anxiety than those who knitted less frequently. The study however was not intended to show if knitting caused the differences or was simply the result of already existing differences, but, it did find that more than half of the people surveyed reported knitting always left them “very happy”. Many also reported that they would knit because it relaxed them, relieved their stress and offered them a creative outlet.
Now you manly men out there might see knitting as something only women do. Yet contrary to popular belief and prejudice, a man who knitted was very commonplace, and was not a female-only preoccupation. Many historians believe that it was men who actually created knitting and contributed to its development over the years. More and more men are turning to knitting like a form of yoga to relax and unwind from hard working days. So give it a try. Real men don’t just play sport and drink beer. Real men can knit too. And if you don’t know how to, which is shocking if you think you are a real man, view the video below for a beginners guide to getting started on knitting yourself a better, happier quality of life.
