Dr Kate Ruttley’s Sunday Yarn
Meet Dr Kate Ruttley, founder of Casual Knit Club and the Sunday Yarns series. This one is a little different. She is knitting a peggy square, and talking about why — both the personal reason and what the science actually says about knitting for other people versus knitting for yourself.
This week’s Sunday Yarns, Dr. Kate Ruttley shares the research on the benefits of knitting for others, and her personal connection to the NICU.
“I'm knitting a Peggy square and I want to tell you why and how the science suggests that knitting for other people actually might do more for your well-being than knitting for yourself. Welcome back to Sunday Yarns, my series where I sit down on a Sunday, get cozy and talk about some of the benefits of knitting whilst doing some knitting, but today's video is a little bit different. I have been messaging Courtney from Premmie Knitting Club New Zealand, who is in the middle of the charity's Stitching Together Aotearoa campaign.
We'll talk about that in a minute. First, the science. So in 2013, there were three and a half thousand knitters who were surveyed, and unsurprisingly, they found that social connection is one of the biggest benefits that come from the craft, but it goes a bit deeper than that.
The Knit for Peace 2017 Health Report found that knitters who knit for other people report a particularly strong sense of purpose and community belonging. If we put the knitting aside for a second, psychology research supports that this pro-social behaviour, doing something that benefits someone else, boosts our mood and sense of meaning more than just doing something good for ourselves. So the square that will be 15 by 15 centimetres when I'm done with it, and it will be joined up with 19 other squares to create a blanket that will go to a baby in one of New Zealand's neonatal intensive care units or special care baby units.
The Stitching Together Aotearoa project is currently running through till the end of June, and it's a great opportunity for everyone to get involved. It's just so cool to see primary schools through to retirement villages coming together to contribute to a great cause. Squares are brilliant because you don't need any experience to get going with them.
They can be a bit wonky. I'm going to dig out a photo actually of the Peggy Square blanket that I made my nephew when I was younger. Very wonky.
There's lots of ways to get involved from knitting your own squares, making a donation, or if you're in London, we're going to host an event early June so come along I will put the details in the caption below or comment Peggy and I can send you the details too. I spent the first six weeks of my life in Auckland's NICU. It gives me so much joy thinking about this little square being joined up with somebody else's work and then that making its way to a little baby somewhere in New Zealand.
I'll see you next Sunday for another yarn.”
