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Textile craft activities including knitting, crochet, sewing, quilting and needlework may enhance mental, emotional, physical and social health by fostering a sense of purpose and promoting overall wellbeing. A narrative literature review methodology was employed providing a fuller understanding of the link between textile craft and wellbeing across available literature. This review allowed for an in-depth thematic synthesis of diverse studies and empirical findings highlighting the multifaceted benefits of a range of textile craft activities. Social, emotional, cultural, creative, cognitive, and health dimensions as related to engagement in textile craft were reviewed and the approach facilitated the identification of key themes and gaps in current research. The review explores the effects of engagement in textile craft and deepens the understanding of the ways through which textile craft contributes to wellbeing thus underscoring the potential of textile craft as an intervention in fostering wellbeing. Three emerging thematic areas were established; creative expression and emotional wellbeing; social and societal wellbeing and intellectual wellbeing. The review reveals the potential of varied textile crafts to foster a sense of purpose and self, to enhance emotional resilience, increase community engagement, encourage involvement in creative pursuits, exploration of culture, cognitive stimulation and promote overall wellbeing.
Cabe et al. (Tue,) studied this question.