Already an excellent winter activity in an ordinary year, knitting is even better suited to times when we’re being encouraged to stay home and restrict our social circles.
Picking up needles and yarn to create scarves, hats, mittens and sweaters is an inexpensive hobby and easy to take up, given the wealth of free online resources.
But the craft can also trigger mental health benefits. Many studies show that knitting helps to manage chronic pain, improve cognitive function and even increase happiness. Perhaps most relevant to these uncertain times, a survey of knitters taken last year by the Abo Akademi University in Finland indicated that they felt that knitting "can be a counterbalance to a stressful job, hectic lifestyle or other demanding situations in life.”