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5 Reasons Why We Should All Be Crafting (Guys Too)

Knitting at home is the hobby of the future, and men, too, have finally caught the crafting bug.

Just because you have a Y chromosome doesn’t mean your interests are limited to soccer and cars! Gone are the days when men were afraid of embracing artistic and artisanal activities that were dismissively labeled “ladies only.” The latest trend is crafting, and men are getting their creative juices flowing, admiring works they produce with their own hands and experiencing the satisfaction of successfully following a sewing pattern.

Crochet, embroidery, clay pottery, wood/stone/metal sculptures, glasswork, origami, bonsai, upcycling... The choices are truly endless. On social media, the number of blogs and fan pages administered by men who want to share their artsy tips and tricks is growing. To name but a few: Stephen West’s Westknits with his amazing knitwear, Mike Aspinall’s inexhaustible The Crafty Gentleman and The Cynical Crafter's amusing YouTube tutorials.

If you’re hunting for a new hobby to save you from channel surfing on the sofa, here are five reasons you need to pick up crafting.

1. It Helps You Unwind

Science has demonstrated that engaging in artistic activities helps us produce serotonin, which lowers stress levels. Making ritualistic, repetitive gestures with our hands, having a daily craft routine, managing to create something beautiful: these are all gratifying, positive experiences.

Moreover, spending an hour a day immersed in crafting allows you to enter a flow state and reclaim your dreams.

2. It Improves Self-Esteem

It feels good to complete an ambitious project, carefully following complex instructions and seeing manual dexterity improve over time. It feels especially good to admire the fruits of our own labor. Whether we’ve finished a piece of embroidery, knitted a blanket, made a vase or produced an oil painting on canvas, seeing the tangible results of our efforts and imagination helps us to perceive our own abilities.

We’re good, we’re creative, we’re ambitious. The key is to find the crafting activity that suits us best. And, of course, not to give up on the first try (usually after the third try it gets easier).

3. It’s Good for Your Memory

Tom Daley, the Olympic diving champion, was often photographed knitting in the stands during the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. “Learning to knit and crochet has helped me so much through these Olympics and we won Gold yesterday,” he said on Instagram, proudly showing off the crocheted medal cover he’d made over the previous days.

4. It Helps You Make New Friends

Engaging in artistic activities stimulates oxytocin, which is a hormone associated with love, trust, empathy and interpersonal connection. Those who share your crafting passion can only become the dearest of friends. What’s more, any new friendships you strike up thanks to your creative hobbies can also help you to fan the flames of love.

How? Ask your new knitting buddies to help you decorate and personalize the seat of your Vespa. You can thank them by taking them for a spin.

5. It Solves the Problem of What to Give People for Christmas and Birthdays

A scarf, an ashtray, an oil painting, a blanket for your chihuahua’s bed, a dry floral arrangement: the options are endless. Next time the holidays roll around you’ve got everyone covered. These are such unique, personal gifts that they’ll never be re-gifted.

Feeling inspired to try your hand at crafting? October is the best month to start. Halloween is almost here and you can have fun emptying, carving and decorating a pumpkin. It doesn’t have to look beautiful; scary is good enough.