Why I Knit

This week Dr Paula Redmond joins me to discuss how knitting can help with depression and low mood. We've chosen three episodes of the podcast in which my guests have discussed using knitting as a strategy to help with low mood, and we discuss our reflections and themes from these conversations.
The episodes we listened to were:
Series 4 episode 1 with Ellen of Sew and Inspire
Series 1 episode 3 with James McIntosh
Series 5 episode 6 with Kathryn Vercillo
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🧶 We are hosting a LIVE version of our webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on 14th July at 7pm BST followed by a Q&A
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Knitting for Attention and Focus. We explore how knitting and crochet can support concentration, attention and mindful awareness, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond
Mentioned in this episode:
How to support the podcast
Thank you so much for listening. If you value the podcast and would like to support it, here's how:
1. Sign up to our monthly newsletter here: https://creativerestoration.org/newsletter/
2. If you've enjoyed the podcast please leave us a rating and a review to help others hear about it.
3. Please consider sharing the podcast on social media or send it to a friend who might enjoy it.
Thank you so much for your support, we really appreciate it.
How to support the podcast
Thank you so much for listening. If you value the podcast and would like to support it, here's how:
1. Sign up to our monthly newsletter here: https://creativerestoration.org/newsletter/
2. If you've enjoyed the podcast please leave us a rating and a review to help others hear about it.
3. Please consider sharing the podcast on social media or send it to a friend who might enjoy it.
Thank you so much for your support, we really appreciate it.
Join us to learn more about the mental health benefits of knitting!`
We are running our popular webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on Tuesday 14th July 2026 at 7pm BST and we'd love you to join us. Click the link below to find out more:
https://creativerestoration.podia.com/the-healing-power-of-knitting-live-webinar-july-2026

This week Paula and I discuss the journal article investigating whether knitting can reduce anxious thoughts in people diagnosed with anorexia nervosa.
Find the article here: Clave-Brule, M & Mazloum, A & Park, Rebecca & Harbottle, E. (2009). Managing anxiety in eating disorders with knitting. Eating and weight disorders : EWD. 14. e1-5. 10.1007/BF03354620.
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🧶 We are hosting a LIVE version of our webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on 14th July at 7pm BST followed by a Q&A
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Knitting for Attention and Focus. We explore how knitting and crochet can support concentration, attention and mindful awareness, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond
Mentioned in this episode:
How to support the podcast
Thank you so much for listening. If you value the podcast and would like to support it, here's how:
1. Sign up to our monthly newsletter here: https://creativerestoration.org/newsletter/
2. If you've enjoyed the podcast please leave us a rating and a review to help others hear about it.
3. Please consider sharing the podcast on social media or send it to a friend who might enjoy it.
Thank you so much for your support, we really appreciate it.
Join us to learn more about the mental health benefits of knitting!`
We are running our popular webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on Tuesday 14th July 2026 at 7pm BST and we'd love you to join us. Click the link below to find out more:
https://creativerestoration.podia.com/the-healing-power-of-knitting-live-webinar-july-2026

In this bonus book club episode Paula joins me to discuss two great books about art, health and well-being. Both books take a deep dive into the research into how the arts impact on our health, well-being and education.
Mia has read the New York Times bestselling book: Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross. This is a summary of research across different areas of the arts and how the impact on health, welll-being and learning.
Paula has read Art Cure by Daisy Fancourt who has conducted a huge amount of research in the field of arts and health.
We share our thoughts on these books and how the relate to knitting and what might be happening in our brains when we knit.
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🧶 We are hosting a LIVE version of our webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on 14th July at 7pm BST followed by a Q&A
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Knitting for Attention and Focus. We explore how knitting and crochet can support concentration, attention and mindful awareness, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond
Mentioned in this episode:
How to support the podcast
Thank you so much for listening. If you value the podcast and would like to support it, here's how:
1. Sign up to our monthly newsletter here: https://creativerestoration.org/newsletter/
2. If you've enjoyed the podcast please leave us a rating and a review to help others hear about it.
3. Please consider sharing the podcast on social media or send it to a friend who might enjoy it.
Thank you so much for your support, we really appreciate it.
Join us to learn more about the mental health benefits of knitting!`
We are running our popular webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on Tuesday 14th July 2026 at 7pm BST and we'd love you to join us. Click the link below to find out more:
https://creativerestoration.podia.com/the-healing-power-of-knitting-live-webinar-july-2026

For this journal club episode we discuss the commonly made claim that knitting can reduce blood pressure. We discuss the origins of this claim in the research and look at a new paper which examines the impact of a creative handicraft group, which included knitting, on a group of older adults living in a residential home.
You can find a link to the abstract and reference here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyg.70044?af=R
To find out more about Self-Care One Stitch at a Time: an audio course
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🧶 We are hosting a LIVE version of our webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on 14th July at 7pm BST followed by a Q&A
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Knitting for Attention and Focus. We explore how knitting and crochet can support concentration, attention and mindful awareness, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond
Mentioned in this episode:
Join us to learn more about the mental health benefits of knitting!`
We are running our popular webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on Tuesday 14th July 2026 at 7pm BST and we'd love you to join us. Click the link below to find out more:
https://creativerestoration.podia.com/the-healing-power-of-knitting-live-webinar-july-2026
How to support the podcast
Thank you so much for listening. If you value the podcast and would like to support it, here's how:
1. Sign up to our monthly newsletter here: https://creativerestoration.org/newsletter/
2. If you've enjoyed the podcast please leave us a rating and a review to help others hear about it.
3. Please consider sharing the podcast on social media or send it to a friend who might enjoy it.
Thank you so much for your support, we really appreciate it.

This is our first bonus relisten episode where Paula and I choose 3 episodes on a theme and relisten to them and give our reflections.
This month we are listening to 3 episodes with knitters who discuss their experiences of ADHD and how they use knitting to benefit their well-being as an ADHD knitter.
If you'd like to listen back, the episodes we discuss are:
Una S8E8
Madison Siegel S6E4
Lisa Silver S4E4
If you'd like to see the full list of episodes featuring discussions of ADHD you find them on the blog
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🧶 We are hosting a LIVE version of our webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on 14th July at 7pm BST followed by a Q&A
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Knitting for Attention and Focus. We explore how knitting and crochet can support concentration, attention and mindful awareness, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond
Mentioned in this episode:
How to support the podcast
Thank you so much for listening. If you value the podcast and would like to support it, here's how:
1. Sign up to our monthly newsletter here: https://creativerestoration.org/newsletter/
2. If you've enjoyed the podcast please leave us a rating and a review to help others hear about it.
3. Please consider sharing the podcast on social media or send it to a friend who might enjoy it.
Thank you so much for your support, we really appreciate it.
Join us to learn more about the mental health benefits of knitting!`
We are running our popular webinar The Healing Power of Knitting on Tuesday 14th July 2026 at 7pm BST and we'd love you to join us. Click the link below to find out more:
https://creativerestoration.podia.com/the-healing-power-of-knitting-live-webinar-july-2026