Learn to #StitchAwayStress with the Craft Yarn Council

April is National Stress Awareness Month, and the Craft Yarn Council is celebrating by spreading the word about the therapeutic benefits of yarn crafts.

Knitting and crocheting are perfect for busting stress, giving you something to focus on other that whatever is bothering you. It’s meditative to form stitch after stitch, and it’s one thing you can control when the whole rest of the world is out of your hands.

I wrote a little more about the health benefits of knitting over at About if you want to check that out, and the Craft Yarn Council has some great information about yarn craft being good for you. While you’re there, check out the “When Life Gives You Lemons” stress ball pattern, designed by Twinkie Chan and available in knit and crochet.

There’s also a form there you can fill out to share how knitting or crochet has affected your life and health; responses are posted on the page.

You can also take part in the #StitchAwayStress campaign by sharing what you’re working on and how knitting allows you to stress less on social media.

I’d love to hear your stories, too, so let me know how knitting has affected your life in a positive way, whether through stress reduction or in some other way.

[Photo via Craft Yarn Council.]

Next Pattern:

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

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