Arts and crafts: A stitch in time that soothes minds

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I was a serial crafter. Over the years, I’ve tried beading, scrapbooking, knitting, crochet, counted cross-stitch, embroidery, card making, quilting — the list goes on and on.

I limit my creative activity to sewing clothes for myself now, and it was my mother who taught me to sew. She was also a knitter. I have memories of her knitting during her work breaks. She was a nurse, and I know she knitted on her breaks because there was a period where I was able to visit her when she was working, as I was often in the same hospital doing things that would help me get into medical school.

Like many women of her era, my mother began sewing because that was the only way she could afford fashionable clothes. That changed when store-bought clothes became cheaply made, though even then my mother continued to sew and knit.

I wish I had asked her why. Maybe she continued to make things for the same reasons I and other people craft and make things today — because it helps us relax, gives us a sense of accomplishment and benefits our well-being.

Research shows engagement with arts, including doing crafts like sewing, is linked to well-being, which can be defined as having a good quality of life and being able to contribute positively to society. An example of the impact of creative activities on well-being comes from Canadian researchers who found that arts engagement in a variety of settings, with people of all ages, leads to a higher sense of control, sense of self and sense of purpose, and that it also can help people come to terms with an illness and build social support.

An online survey of more than 3,500 knitters from around the world revealed that higher knitting frequency was related to feeling calm and happy. Many of the people who completed that survey said that knitting was a stress reliever. Another large survey, this one in the U.S., found that one-third of survey participants engaged in creative activities, like crafting, during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic, often using these activities to help them cope.

As I remember hanging around the hospital, trying to get into medical school and visiting my mother (she died several years ago), it’s hard to believe that I’ve been a pediatrician and adolescent medicine doctor for more than 30 years. In that time, I’ve never failed to be amazed by the curiosity and creativity of patients and families. I can picture one family in my practice many years ago that was always working on one interesting craft or another while in clinic. They crafted despite, or perhaps as a result of, social stressors they were dealing with.

There are no simple solutions to our everyday challenges, but because of the link between arts engagement/crafting and well-being, my clinic now works to encourage the creativity of patients and families in simple ways. We ask about their hobbies and what they like to do for fun. Plus, we have started asking patients to draw a picture of what makes them happy.

Looking ahead, I’m so curious about how my clinical practice and that of others can foster the arts engagement of patients and families, and perhaps further support their well-being.

On a personal note, I’m considering how my craft practice helps me in my clinical practice. Am I more relaxed? Do I listen better? Do I approach patients, families and colleagues with a deeper appreciation of their unique curiosities and creativity?

I’ll end with another memory — that of knitting when I was a doctor training to be a pediatrician. There were many long days, and during conferences that were often held at noon after many of us had been awake all night, some of my colleagues and I would knit. This didn’t sit well with a few of our teachers, who complained about what we were doing, but knitting helped me relax, focus, cope and stay awake!

Dr. Julia Joseph-Di Caprio is the founder and president of Leap Pediatric and Adolescent Care, a nonprofit clinic for 0- to 26-year-olds in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway area.