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Why Do People Love Crafting?

Teresa

When you think of crafting, are you unsure what the hype is about? In fact, even though we live in a chaotic world, crafting can help put us at ease and make life more enjoyable! I’m here to tell you why people love crafting so much.

People love crafting for various reasons, including its positive impact on mental health, the money saved while duping an expensive DIY, and the opportunity to spend some time working with your hands. Why people love crafting is individual to each person and also depends on their craft of choice.  

Crafters all enjoy their craft of choice for different reasons. Below, I’ll go into some of the research behind why crafting can be so relaxing for some and then expand on a few other elements of crafting that people love!

Here's why people love crafting!

The Benefits of Crafting

Crafting can be a great way to calm down in a chaotic world. For many people, crafting is a form of stress relief.

It’s beneficial if you’re an introvert or easily overwhelmed by busyness and noise; it gives your brain something concrete to focus on besides all that chaos! Time seems to slow down when immersed in your craft, and the rest of the world melts away.

For others, a learning opportunity, and for some, a business. There are many reasons to love crafting!

Crafting and Mental Health

Even if you don’t consider yourself an artist (and most people do not), there are so many different ways that crafting can help make things beautiful: from sewing clothes to making jewelry or pottery, every type of artistry has its own unique way of expressing creativity through what we create with our hands. 

Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses the creative process of art-making to improve self-awareness, build self-esteem, and increase communication skills. It can also reduce stress and anxiety, improve problem-solving, develop social skills and strengthen positive self-images (source).

Crafts are often used in art therapy. Art therapy is a whole realm of therapy that focuses on supporting big emotions from people through the art of crafting. This video gives an example of what an art therapy session might look like for someone working on anger (which is something we all experience!):

Because of its usage in therapy, crafting can be considered a form of therapy or an excellent coping mechanism, even if it may not be practiced with a professional. This is the same way that calling up your best friend when you’re upset is different from “talk therapy,” but it still feels good and helps a lot. 

There’s a body of literature behind the positive benefits of art therapy. For example, it can help you de-stress at any level, even if you aren’t an expert (source). It can also support working through complex grief (source). Crafts also give you an outlet for negative emotions like anger, frustration, or sadness. When you positively deal with these emotions, it can affect the quality of your life. 

Art has also been proven to support people working through complex things such as addiction and is often used in recovery (source). It can also benefit public health (source).

It can also be very empowering—especially if you’re working with material that has sentimental value for you. 

Crafting With Your Kids and Valuable Life Lessons

Crafting can help children learn math, science, art, and more! Crafting gives children a chance to use their hands and minds together. They get to use tools and practice following directions, which is an important life skill. For example, this easy nativity scene craft can help kiddos with fine motor skills. 

Art and crafting are essential parts of a child’s education, even from infancy. Crafts can support sensory learning, give kids their first look at colors, and support creative and imaginative thinking. Process-focused art, in particular, can help kids with numerous cognitive skills (source). 

Crafting Makes For Great Gifting

Crafting is more than just making something with your hands; it’s about creating something unique

Crafts always make great gifts, especially in today’s world of quick consumerism. Most people can order just about anything they want with a click of a button and get it within a day or two. Long gone are the days when someone had to bring you a specific thing from their road trip across the country or when you only got a certain kind of vase from a relative the traveled to Europe. Now, if someone wants something, they can just order it.

That makes crafts such a wonderful gift–it’s something no one can find elsewhere. Depending on your craft of choice, people are likely selling the same thing on websites like Etsy. These wreaths, for example, can sell for over fifty dollars on some websites (and I made them for much less!). 

It can be challenging to make gifts for people that are both personal and practical. However, crafting allows you to create something that the recipient will treasure. 

Crafting Can Help You Save Money

There are many ways that crafting can help you save money, but one of the most common is by making your own gifts. Many people have created their entire brand by duping (which means copy-cat) expensive pieces of furniture for less. Here’s an example of a dupe that saved someone hundreds: 

Crafting also allows people to create decorations for their homes and offices at a much lower cost than purchasing them at a store. Though the material costs may be initially expensive, the more you craft, the cheaper it’ll get. 

For example, the start-up costs may be pretty expensive if you want to start quilting. You’ll need a machine, the tools, and the fabric. However, the more you commit to this craft, the less you’ll likely spend.

You don’t have to buy a machine every time, you’ll already have the tools, and you can learn to use the scraps from other quilts to make new ones.

Conclusion

So why do people love crafting? Because it makes us feel good! It makes us feel accomplished and proud of ourselves and lets us use our hands in a way that we don’t always get the chance to do with other hobbies.

Crafting is awesome. It does many things for people, and though there’s no one answer, there are dozens of possibilities. Crafting may help you through recovery, grief, or through stress.

There are some great crafting projects for couples to take on together. And it can help support your parenting by teaching your children as you create together. It can also save you money!

Here are some great crafting projects to get you started:

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