In a generation obsessed and attached to our phones, the last year has shown an increase in young people, specifically Gen Z, picking up hobbies that we once associated with generations above ours. Recently needlepointing, knitting, crocheting, baking, sewing and other “grandma” hobbies have taken the spotlight as activities for people in their twenties. As we try to distance ourselves from our phones and screen time, these hobbies provide great outlets to pass time and learn a new skill. Here is an introduction into some of these hobbies and how to start them up yourself!
Skills utilizing needles have made a huge comeback in the last year and seem to be even more at the forefront for 2026. This includes crocheting, knitting, and needlepointing. Specifically, girls in their 20s have taken up these activities to make garments for themselves. I have friends who have made laptop covers, scarves, hats, and more. Patterns and tutorials for these projects can be found online and you can buy yarn at any craft store. A sustainable way to source yarn is to buy old sweaters at the thrift store to take apart and reuse the yarn for a new project—taking recycling to a new level and including it in the learning process of a new hobby.
One of the rising hobbies is needlepoint or cross stitch. Needlepoint is a sort of hand embroidery in which you use colored thread to create a design on a weave canvas. Sophomore Kaitlyn Coakley recently got back into this skill over winter break. She said “I used to knit and such in high school and kind of stopped when I got to college but this Christmas I got a needlepoint kit in a yankee swap which got me back into it over break.” She expressed how much she enjoyed doing this project over break and that she wants to continue this hobby now that we are back at school. You can buy needle point kits or designs on Etsy and can get the starter materials on amazon.
Similar is crochet which uses only one hook and yarn to create loops. This hobby is coming back, but sophomore Emma Van Wickler has “always known how to crochet because of [her] grandma.” Like others, she rediscovered this hobby in the past year, explaining, “It wasn’t until this past winter break when I was bored and looking for a new hobby that I stumbled back into crocheting”. She “started by making a couple scarfs and laptop covers, items that felt necessary for winter and school.” This hobby is one of those that you can occupy your hands with as you watch a show, chat with friends, or listen to music.
A hobby increasingly popular online is baking sourdough. There are recipes from a simple sourdough starter and loaf to specialty sourdough bagels and cinnamon rolls. This practice brings one of the most basic foods straight to your kitchen. It’s rewarding to create something so necessary and delicious. Sourdough is also very healthy for your gut due to its prebiotic quality and fermentation process. This is another hobby we often associate with our grandmothers or elders in our family as baking used to be a skill that almost every young person, especially young ladies were equipped with. It seems to be a challenging hobby but once you get the hang of it the possibilities are endless.
Another hobby that is a valuable skill is sewing. It makes it so much easier to mend or alter clothing if you know how to hand sew and better yet if you can operate a sewing machine. I personally have altered many items in my own wardrobe within the last few years. It is becoming more popular to not only know how to alter clothing but to follow a pattern to make an entirely new garment for yourself. Fabric is very easy to acquire at any fabric or craft store and patterns are easy to find for free online. There are so many great tutorials online, especially on YouTube, which make learning the skill of sewing so much easier for a beginner. You can start with something simple such as a pillow case or learning how to sew a button and work your expertise up to doing more complicated tops and pants for yourself to wear.
All of these “old fashioned” hobbies prove to be very rewarding as they often result in something of your own making that you can use or wear. This recent encouragement of creation will increase your creativity and improve your mood especially in reducing stress and anxiety. Completing projects like these and learning new skills proves to your brain that you are accomplished and capable of doing difficult tasks.