By: Jane Ni
Analog hobbies, physical hobbies that people can touch and engage with and that produce a product, have exploded in popularity since the onset of the pandemic. These hobbies include things like baking, puzzles, and sewing-- they help bring you to a “flow state”, a mode of hyper focus, partially because they are not abstract. In the pandemic, I’ve personally been doing a lot of knitting and crocheting as a way to pass time, calm my anxiety, and make things that I can wear and gift away.
Knitting and crocheting happen to be two hobbies that require a lot of hand dexterity, and I wanted to explore what tools were out there to help make these hobbies more accessible. I found everything from tools you can purchase to youtube videos demonstrating how people with disabilities knit. Here are 5 ways that knitting and crocheting can be made accessible for all:
- One Handed Knitting Aid - This one handed knitting aid is a tool that can be purchased online for 100 dollars. It is a mobility aid that essentially secures one of the knitting needles so that only one hand is needed to knit-- one of the most impressive things about this aid is that the one aid works for all needle sizes, so it only needs to be purchased once to be applicable for all knitting projects. However, it is 100 dollars, which is inherently a bit inaccessible.
- How to Crochet One Handed - This youtube video details a strategy on how to crochet one handed (the Youtuber had injured her wrist, and she wanted to still be able to crochet!). This video is super awesome because there’s nothing you need to buy for it-- all you need is your hand and a crochet hook!
- Kroh’s Crochet Aid - This is a 25 dollar crochet aid that is perfect for arthritis and MS sufferers who have limited hand movement and dexterity. Velcro band wraps around wrist or hand and can easily be adjusted to provide the right amount of tension for the yarn. A ring attached to the band has a small slit for the yarn to pass through, keeping the yarn from slipping to the side. A second ring which wraps around the finger, has a slit in the top so the yarn stays close to the finger tip and can be easily hooked to crochet. This is really nice because it is more designed for people with dexterity issues, and it is relatively affordable.
- One Handed Knitting - This is an amazing video from a disabled content creator on how to knit one handed! This is a super helpful video and can be adapted to both hands-- additionally, this creator has a ton of other videos on how to do things one handed, including learning sign language :).
There’s a lot out there that can make hobbies like knitting and crocheting accessible, but the price barrier on some of these tools is a definite additional barrier. While the one handed knitting and crocheting will work excellently for amputees or those without function in one hand, the tools are more necessary for those who may have dexterity issues. There is still clearly a lack of readily available, affordable options. In moving towards universal access and design, there is a lot of work to do and a long ways to go. Some steps moving forward would be to publicize these tools more and to encourage more mainstream content creators and tutorial pages to take into account potential accessibility measures when producing their content.
This last point is especially important. It is important to think about universal design and the social theory of disability in all aspects of life, and hobbies are certainly one of those aspects. People with disabilities deserve equal access to all, and all mainstream outlets should be taking this into consideration. It’s not enough to have a couple of tools or youtube videos that show how disabled people can do things like knit and crochet-- every JoAnn’s and Michael’s should carry these tools and they should be affordable, well publicized, and readily available. Hobbies can be a beautiful and amazing source of happiness, and this happiness should be accessible for all.
Originally Posted: 9 May 2022