Astrid Hickman taught herself the old-fashioned craft of crochet four years ago.
“No-one that I knew really knew how to crochet … so I taught myself with books from the library and videos on YouTube,” Ms Hickman said.
“At that time I was employed doing graveyard shifts and I just needed to do something during the day.”
Now, Ms Hickman is selling her work and, for the first time, has put entries in the Royal Hobart Show’s creative crafts exhibition, which is being held at City Hall while a redevelopment of the Hobart Showground continues.
“I wanted to enter into the show because I just wanted to be part of another community.
“I find it’s very gratifying to be in this community of people who are bringing the trend of crochet back.”
Ms Hickman received a first prize for the baby heirloom dress she entered, and second prize for a baby cardigan.
Crafters say there are many benefits that flow from creating something with their hands. (ABC News: Loretta Lohberger)
Classes in leatherwork and ceramics back
The creative crafts community has been growing.
More than 100 classes have been added to the Hobart Show’s creative crafts schedule for this year’s show, and about 700 items have been entered across the cookery and craft sections, up from about 400 a few years ago.
The new classes include the return of some crafts that have been absent from the show schedule for some years, such as leatherwork, ceramics and machine knitting, and the addition of new classes for existing sections, including crochet, knitting and cookery.
Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania’s McKinley Garwood says there’s been a big increase in entries. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
“We’re up 32 per cent on our entries, and it’s the best result we’ve had in 12 years,” Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania operations manager McKinley Garwood said.
“Some of our biggest years are 1,000 [entries] so we’re creeping up.
“We don’t know what it is, but we just know that people are keen to enter again, that people want to be involved in the show.”
Ms Garwood said the COVID-19 pandemic helped drive up interest “because everyone had been doing crafts”.
Creative crafts coordinator Rosemary Kerrison says it’s nice younger people are getting into craft. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Rosemary Kerrison is the coordinator of the show’s creative crafts section.
It’s a role she has had for about six years, but Ms Kerrison has been involved with the show for “many, many years”, first as an exhibitor and later as a member of the committee.
Ms Kerrison said it was “inspiring” to see other people’s exhibits.
“I think, ‘Where did they get that idea from?’ … and I love that.
“It’s really inspiring to see what comes in the door.”
A prizewinning Grogu (‘Baby Yoda’) tea cosy inspired by Star Wars on display as part of the exhibition. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Ms Kerrison has also noticed an increase in the number of younger exhibitors entering.
“I think they’re so busy and it’s nice to see that they actually have the time to be able to produce exhibits, and surprisingly beautiful ones,” she said.
Ms Garwood said she had noticed more men exhibiting.
“They’re quite young as well, so that’s very exciting for us to see.”
The mental health benefits of craft
Clinical psychologist Allison Wells says crafting provides multiple mental health benefits. (ABC News: Owain Stia-James)
While it can be satisfying for crafters and cooks to see their work on display, especially if it’s adorned with a blue ribbon, there are other benefits that craft can bring to people’s lives.
“There are so many mental health benefits associated with crafting,” clinical psychologist and director of Psyche Mental Health Centre Allison Wells said.
“Engaging in crafting activities can enhance cognitive functions such as problem solving, memory and cognition by stimulating the brain through engaging in repetitive tasks, learning new skills.
“Craft also promotes emotional wellbeing because it’s fun, it’s fun to do and it offers a sense of achievement and accomplishment as well as reducing stress.”
Ms Wells said craft could also help with meaningful emotional expression.
“For some people, they can really struggle to put words to their emotions and their experience, so crafting can offer a really safe, non-verbal outlet for expressing those emotions and experiences as well as processing them.”
Replacing alcohol with yarn
Craft also brings people together.
Knitter Sam Leishman started a men’s craft group, Great Balls of Fibre, in Hobart 2020.
“Knitting and working with yarn gives you something to do while you’re in a social space, so if you want to engage with the conversation and chat about whatever it is that you want to chat about, that’s fine,” he said.
“If you’re not interested, or you’re a bit quieter, or you just don’t want to engage you can feel quite comfortable sitting there for an hour or two and not really having to say much at all.”
Sam Leishman has swapped drinking for crafting. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
Mr Leishman said he learnt to knit as a child, but took it up again about six years ago when he decided to have a go at knitting a beanie for his sister’s grandchild.
“It was a terrible thing,” he said of the hat.
“But I thought, ‘Oh that was kind of fun.’ I got the idea of the pattern and had another go, and just sort of went from there.”
For Mr Leishman, knitting has replaced a drinking problem.
“Nowadays I can just sit at home quite happily, stick on a podcast or an audio book or some music, and just grab a ball of wool and create something instead of drinking myself into a stupor. It’s been really, really beneficial for me.”
Crafting as ‘doctor’s orders’
Knitter Robyne Conway is also a member of a craft group, Sip and Stitch, which meets at a North Hobart cafe.
She said she become involved with group crafting on the advice of a psychologist who was treating her for severe depression.
Robyne Conway is a member of the Sip and Stitch craft group. (ABC News: Adam Holmes)
Ms Conway said knitting with others, and being encouraged by them, “completely changed my life in a major way”.
“When I joined the original group, I made friends and then, over time, I discovered I could make [knitting] patterns. And now people all around the world buy my patterns.”
Meeting younger knitters has also broadened her skills.
“I learned a whole lot of new ways of knitting … because these young women were doing all sorts of things that I’d never seen before, and they’re really good at teaching me how to do things and encouraging me to try new, different ways of knitting,” she said.
The Sip and Stitch craft group forges social connections for those who like craft. (ABC News: Adam Holmes)
Ms Wells said craft groups had “amazing” social benefits.
“Craft groups foster a sense of connection, and that feeling of inclusion and acceptance, and the non-judgemental nature of craft groups can be really fabulous for combating feelings of loneliness and isolation.”
For Ms Hickman, the repetitive motion of crochet helps her relax.
“I have recently had an endometriosis diagnosis, so it has helped me get through that just with the therapeutic benefits of being able to do it mindlessly.”
