Grandmacore: Why Gen Z is embracing old-fashioned slow hobbies

Irish Examiner

a day ago

Knitting, crocheting, gardening, baking. All these pastimes have been labelled 'grandma hobbies' on social media. Maybe 20 years ago, you may have associated knitting with an elderly woman in a rocking chair, but that image has had an upgrade. Gen Z is embracing these slow hobbies, and gaining some much-needed zen in the process.
The uptick in younger people taking up these grandma hobbies coincides with a rise in grandma-core videos on TikTok and Instagram. Grandmacore is all about a feeling of cosiness, nostalgia, comfort, and it's become somewhat of a viral trend on social media. Under the grandmacore hashtag on TikTok, there are over 50,000 posts showcasing everything from funky crochet cardigans to nifty embroidery.
'Social media is making these hobbies a lot trendier. You'll see patterns or techniques that are things you would actually use instead of relying on older patterns that might be lying around in an old magazine,' says 21-year-old Jane Cowen.
Jane Cowan, getting ready to make some bread. Photograph Moya Nolan
Jane writes the Diary of a Gen Z Student for the Irish Examiner every Friday, and learned to knit as a child and took it up again more recently.
Twenty-two-year-old Holly Browne has amassed several grandma hobbies. Knitting, crocheting, dream-catcher making, gardening, baking, reading, and pottery are all in her wheelhouse.
'I started all of my craft endeavours during covid. One of my friends taught me how to crochet during lockdown; she actually taught me to crochet wrong, but it worked out for me, and I'm still using her technique today. I make things like baby blankets, doilies, tops, and I made a cardigan once.'
Holly finds her crafting hobbies relaxing: 'I'd say I'm a very solitary person. I have a great family and a large group of friends but I really enjoy a hobby that I can do by myself.
'The most mindful time I get is either when I'm crocheting, knitting or cooking. I'm engaged with something, and I can't really divide my attention, especially when I'm doing something quite difficult or I'm watching my stitches. So I'm completely focused on what I'm doing. And, it means that I'm not on my phone as often, which means I find that I can sleep at a normal time.'
Holly Browne working on a multicoloured blanket. Photograph Moya Nolan.
With grandma hobbies, you're using your hands and concentrating. It's difficult to use your phone when your hands are occupied, a definite plus for Jane: 'Knitting is something to do in the evening that's not doom-scrolling on my phone. I really enjoy it. I find it quite relaxing to concentrate on something like that.
'If you want to break the habit of being on your phone, you need to replace it with something that you enjoy, and that's what I do with knitting, reading, or baking. They're a mindful and relaxing alternative to scrolling through Instagram.'
Chartered clinical psychologist and certified mindfulness trainer Sheena Burke says these grandma hobbies 'tick all the boxes' of Martin Seligman's PERMA model, which outlines five elements of wellbeing.
'Doing these hobbies releases positive emotions, like an interest or a kind of curiosity, that's associated with flourishing in life or feeling fulfilled. They also encourage engagement; you're creating something and that's the perfect combination of challenge and also skill. You have to have the skill to match that challenge, and that feels really good.'
Having a hobby where you're producing something at the end, whether that's a bagel or a baby blanket, also means people feel fulfilled, explains Sheena: 'It can give people a sense of meaning or purpose, and that accomplishment is less about maybe external feedback, and more about the internal sense of completion and confidence.'
Holly Browne with a suncatcher, which she is crocheting. Photograph Moya Nolan.
Holly loves that feeling of finishing a project, and regularly gives her friend's gifts of items she's made.
'I made a baby blanket for one of my cousins when they were born. It was very difficult to do; it was the first time I used my own creative direction, instead of following a pattern. I was really proud of how it turned out.'
For Jane, who had a dough resting for homemade bagels while we chatted, she enjoys the process of making things from scratch.
'I find that really fun. I will enjoy eating that bagel so much because I know the work I put into it.'
Jane has been knitting and baking since she was a child. One of my mother's favourite quotes from my childhood is me saying 'I forgot how relaxing baking is'. I was about six years old, making muffins. I still feel that way today.'
That's because these slow hobbies are relaxing, they calm the brain because you are completely focused on what you're doing, explains Sheena.
'When we're focused on something, we have that sense of mind and body being in the one place, and there is a natural ease and the brain really likes that, because it quietens down.
'With these hobbies, we have that sense of mindfulness, and because there's a skill involved, your mind can't be elsewhere, you have to focus. This means your mind doesn't wander to the default mode network, where your brain is looking for a problem to solve.'
Jane Cowan getting ready to knead some dough. Photograph Moya Nolan
Knitting, crochet, sewing, and baking, all crafty hobbies, but for Jane, they're more than just a way to relax.
'They're life skills, skills that we've kind of lost. We associate them with our granny because they're the last generation that really knows how to do all of those things. I like the fact that if a button falls off my cardigan, I can sew it back on. These are skills that are actually really useful to have.'