'Knit for Health and Wellness. How to knit a flexible mind and more…' …is available in e-book or print format from Amazon. Take a look at our Knitting Equation for a quick summary of the meditative, creative and social benefits of knitting.

The word 'knitting' has been the biggest barrier to this work – everyone has their preconceptions about it. It’s often viewed as a simple activity for women of a certain age and as far removed from the hard black and white world of science and randomised controlled trials as you can get. BUT…

what if you change your perspective of knitting to consider it as a –
BILATERAL, RHYTHMIC, PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION

Now ponder over how this has the potential to change the brain and the life of a person who knits.

As you'll see from our Knitting Equation the benefits are complex and closely entwined which makes researching them difficult. It's hard to tease apart, or independently test, the various mechanisms involved. Indeed, they are all so closely interwoven and interactive that we could well change the very nature of what is occurring by attempting to unravel the complexities. And, of course these will vary with each individual knitter’s specific makeup and needs.

STUDIES SO FAR

Crochet… a little hook to improve attention?
A Magnetoencephalography (MEG) scanning study of crocheters

The Benefits of Knitting for Personal and Social Wellbeing in Adulthood: Findings from and International survey.

Exploring the Effects of Knitting on the Experience of Chronic Pain.
A Poster presentation at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the British Pain Society April 2009.  

Therapeutic Knitting Study Day, June 15th 2012
A study day on Therapeutic Knitting took place in Bath, UK on Friday June 15th 2012. It was hosted by Professor Paul Dieppe, Professor of Health and Wellbeing at Exeter University, UK and organised by Betsan Corkhill of Stitchlinks. Please click here for a report on the day.  

Click here to read about the vast research potential.