Knitting is so much more than a ‘grandma hobby’. Here is why and how to start your fiber craft journey.
As February is now well underway, the excitement from the New Year season starts to dwindle along with the commitment to our new year’s resolutions and recently acquired healthy habits. The desire to reduce screen time seems to be an ever so common and annually recurring resolution that is particularly challenging and easy to give up. As students, we rely heavily on our devices for nearly everything whether that be for school work, communication, entertainment, etc., making it seemingly imperative that we spend long hours glued to our screens. Not only do we need to use our devices constantly just to live a normal university student life in 2026, but social media platforms actually count on users getting addicted to them, creating algorithms that are engineered to make it extremely difficult to veer our attention away from the instant dopamine boost of swiping.
It is no secret that excessive screen time has clear downsides; many clinical studies have shown its negative effects on cognitive abilities, memory and mental health. However, knowing these facts is clearly not sufficient; we know them all too well and the difficulty to combat our technology dependency remains. The collective student mental health is also not aided by the fact that we live in a time of uncertainty regarding our place in a world increasingly changed by artificial intelligence. As AI tools get more and more accessible to all, it raises anxiety about the erosion of our own skills and the extent to which we rely on technology to think and create.
To offer a much needed comfort, I aim to show that resisting our screen addictions and reducing technology-induced anxiety is completely possible and less challenging than it seems. Working on and producing something entirely by yourself, with your own hands, is a useful reminder of your abilities. Returning to a simple, tactile craft can provide a break from monotonous swiping and blue light headaches. It is rewarding to exercise patience in an otherwise very fast-paced world which trains you to rely on instant gratification. Offering a moment of deceleration and calm, knitting (or any other fiber craft like crochet, embroidery, and felting) is a possible antidotal action to the screen fatigue that plagues so many of us.
I realize that picking up knitting may seem intimidating and maybe just ‘not for you’. As someone who is a perfectionist and who definitely does not enjoy the learning curve of a new hobby, I can attest that knitting was pretty quick to get a hand of. After learning just two types of stitches a little under four months ago, I have already made 7 projects. Learning the basics was surprisingly stimulating and there are a multitude of beginner-friendly projects. The feeling of satisfaction after completing a project is not to be underestimated; it serves as a valuable motivator to keep improving.
Adding to my attempt to convince you to give knitting a try, I must highlight to what extent the act of knitting is actually good for you. Researching the proven positive effects of knitting, I found that the physical, psychological, and cognitive benefits seem to almost perfectly counteract the negative effects of excessive screen time mentioned earlier. It greatly improves dexterity which refines fine-motor skills and improves joint health, helping prevent some issues that come as we age. The Scientific Reports published a study from 2025 that shows a visible increase in attention span in knitters which in turn delays memory loss. Surprisingly, there is also clinical proof that knitting can be effective in managing anxiety in eating disorders.
Knitting is meditative. Requiring complete focus, it momentarily mutes the constant mental whirring we carry throughout our day. With thoughts about counting stitches, monitoring tensions, and remembering to knit or purl being solely at the front of your mind, any anxious or bothersome noise is pushed to the back for a moment of mental relaxation. Not only is it a break from the never-ending stimulation of social media, but it also acts as a practice of mindfulness, an exercise in acknowledging one’s presence in the moment.
I think it important to share my own testimony for what knitting has done for me as a way to express the true extent of its benefits. For as long as I can remember, I have been a nail-picker, never being able to stop my compulsive nasty habit. Though I haven’t completely cured my nail-picking, I noticed a clear improvement which occurred once I got into knitting. Being a different way for me to occupy my hands, it is the only thing that I have found to be effective. I, like many, struggle with anxiety which is worsened on days where I feel like I have not been productive enough. The sense of guilt that accompanies lazier days has quieted down thanks to knitting; working on my project during downtime replaces that guilt with a feeling of accomplishment. Seeing knitting as an act of self-love has also been a very positive addition to my day-to-day life; as I pour hours on a garment or accessory for myself, I am taking a bit of time everyday to do something nice for myself. It is also a way to show love for others. Most of the projects I have completed so far have been presents to loved ones, and it is truly a labour of love that really touches those who receive them. To go back to the initial issue I was aiming to address, picking up knitting has noticeably reduced my screen time. In moments of boredom, I reach for my knitting needles before I reach for my phone.
If you’ve read this far, I may have succeeded in convincing you to give knitting a try. Here are some tips that will help the start of your fiber craft journey. Inspiration is key, and for that Pinterest will be your best friend; you can easily find cool beginner-friendly projects as well as more advanced knitwear garments you could make one day if you keep knitting. When choosing your first project, it is crucial that you choose something that you actually want to wear that is relatively small. If your starting project takes too long to make, it is much easier for you to lose interest or get discouraged. Getting an early sense of reward will motivate you to continue your knitting journey. I suggest starting with either a small skinny scarf, a simple beanie, or even a scrunchie. Along with picking the right pattern, colour choice will be vital when you start knitting; choosing a colour that you enjoy looking at and that you are excited to wear will help you avoid getting bored as you will be staring at that colour for hours.
When it comes to actually learning how to knit, there are a multitude of comprehensive YouTube videos that have all the information you could need. I recognize the irony that I am advocating for knitting as a break from screens, however once the basics are learned you will rely less and less on tutorials. If you have specific questions to which you cannot find the answers on the internet, ask people you know. Knitting is more popular than it seems among young people, you probably have friends that knit and can help you out. Though knitting is definitely not just a ‘grandma hobby’, I have personally gotten a lot of guidance from older family members. You most likely have a family member who knits and would be happy to teach you.
I must warn you, however, that knitting can be quite expensive. Good quality yarn and needles quickly add up, but it is definitely worth it in the long run (especially for a big project like a sweater). If knitting is something you are interested in, don’t let this stop you! There are ways around the cost barrier. Patterns themselves are affordable; on Etsy, they are rarely more than $14. Though it may require an extra step, yarn does not need to be purchased from a yarn store. You can find yarn bundles sold on Facebook Marketplace or in thrift stores. Alternatively, you can frog yarn from other garments. Frogging refers to taking apart an already-made garment and repurposing the yarn, and it is a way to greatly reduce the price of knitting material and to make it an environmentally-friendly hobby.
All in all, knitting is a great hobby that could be a valuable addition to your life. Getting a break from screens may be difficult, but adding in a hobby like knitting makes it much easier. Its health benefits are surprisingly far-reaching, offering not just stress relief but a rare chance to slow down, focus, and reconnect with something tangible in an increasingly digital world. I hope that through sharing my own positive experience, I have made knitting seem less intimidating and encouraged others to consider giving it a go.