Let’s Celebrate the Benefits of Knitting

I’m writing this post in honor of World Wide Knit in Public Day, but of course every day is a good day both to knit in public and to acknowledge the benefits of knitting in our lives.

It happens that a piece on this subject was recently published by Self magazine, and while it notes that other hobbies have these benefits, too, it specifically calls out knitting in the headline so we’re claiming it.

Even if you’ve never heard the evidence that yarn crafts and other hobbies that involve making things are good for your mental health, you probably know it from experience. (Though I know a lot of new knitters would argue knitting isn’t stress relieving, it definitely is once you get the hang of it!)

Knitting allows you to be creative, to learn new things, to feel relaxed and to gain a sense of control over things. It’s lovely to think about the fact that, even if you knit the same pattern as someone else using the same kind of yarn, you’re still going to make something that’ totally unique.

I bring up this post for knitting in public day because it also notes that a benefit of knitting is the built-in community. Whether you find that through public knitting events, your local yarn shop if you have one, or even online communities like our Facebook group (give it a join if you haven’t already!) there are so many knitters out there ready to welcome more.

I won’t say it’s universal, but the vast majority of knitters are helpful, kind and supportive, and remember what it was like to be new at something. The others, please ignore.

Check out the post at Self for all the benefits of knitting and other creative crafts.

I’d love to hear what you think are the major benefits of knitting for you, and shout out your local yarn shop or knitting group if you have one in the comments!

Next Pattern:

There’s just something about stripey socks that makes me smile. It’s not really any more difficult to knit socks with stripes as it is to work in a single color, but for me, the payoff is pretty big in terms of added cuteness. Let’s take a peek at some fun striped socks you can knit.

I have to start with the Rainbow Panda Socks from Sheila Toy Stromberg because I was one of her test knitters and these socks are delightful. Not only do they have stripes on the toe and the leg above the ankle, they also include duplicate stitch panda faces on the backs of the legs and ears you knit into the bind off at the top. They are so cute and fun to make and sized for everyone from infants to adult XL, so you’ve got no excuse not to knit them for everyone you know. Get the pattern on Ravelry.

Those socks are totally ’80s in their coloring, but if you want to step back to the ’70s, try Jeff’s Groovy Socks by Anne Vally. These athletic style socks have a ribbed body and stripes of two contrasting colors on the leg and you can pick one (or both) of the contrasting colors to use for your heels and toes. These come in three sizes for different widths, and you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

If you’d rather have allover stripes, check out the Easy Striped Socks pattern from Knitgrammer on Etsy. These sweet socks can be worked toe up or top down using whatever needle configuration you prefer. Either way you can make a custom fit sock, but toe up makes it a lot easier to fit your foot (without swatching!).

Add a little more color while maintaining allover stripes with the Hunky Guy sock from Long Beach Designs, which adds a contrasting color for the cuff, heel and toe. These are worked in worsted weight yarn for great hiking socks, and despite the name the pattern says it’s sized for adults and teens.

Summer Lee’s sock patterns are synonymous with happy to me, and her Classic Ribbed Socks are a great example of that. They use three colors and I love the bold red and white, which makes them look perfect for spring. And they come in five sizes.

If you want to add even more colors to your socks (or use a colorful self-striping yarn) try the Collection of Columns socks from Nancy Wheeler (on Ravelry). This one is a pretty standard sock with six different charts for “columns” of stitch patterns you can add to make the knitting a bit more fun. There are mock cables, textured stitches and eyelet options, and the sock pattern comes in three sizes.

And we can’t talk about stripes without adding some rainbow stripes, so be sure to check out the Happy Friends Socks, a free pattern on Ravelry from Monika Soltysik. These fun socks use crocodile stitch worked flat for the cuff, which is then joined in the round to knit the body of the sock with two-round stripes. Use any leftover yarns if you don’t have rainbow colors handy.

The Perfect Socks to Knit for Fall

Knit Socks on a Circular Knitting Machine

Learn to Knit Socks with this Easy Ribbed Sock Pattern

Next Pattern:

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