Younger Canadians Embrace Crochet and Knitting for Comfort and Connection

Kevin Yee, a 43-year-old actor, artist and TV writer, says he picked up crochet during the 2023 Hollywood writers’ strike as work dried up and he “moved back to Vancouver from Los Angeles to navigate his ‘big millennial unemployment’ period.” He found a small crochet kit at Dollarama — which he calls the “mecca of artists” — taught himself on YouTube and has since made a sweater vest, a pink, frilly umbrella and a knock-off of the Chinese Labubu doll while documenting the process on social media.

Yee’s posts on TikTok drew “millions of views from fans,” and his videos make clear the DIY motive behind some projects. In one clip he joked, “Let's crochet a Labubu because I am la-poor-poor. I am struggling,” noting the $65 price for a genuine version, and later added, “Listen, if I am going to have to do a bootleg Labubu, I might as well just crochet one myself.” He also uses the shorthand “cro-raging” to describe the repetitive, cathartic work; “You really can get a lot of angst out of crochet because it is about tying knots,” laughed Yee, who said it makes his chest feel lighter.

Beyond Yee’s following, fibre artists and organisers say the revival has broad roots. Statistics Canada noted that when the pandemic hit, many Canadians turned to hobbies as a way to pass the time and textiles were a popular choice, and local fibre artists point to stress relief, mindfulness, making art and building meaningful connections as drivers. Organisers and yarn-shop owners report more interest from younger people and “including men,” a demographic shift that feeds workshops, online tutorials and community meetups.

Knit Social’s Fiona McLean, who has hosted the Knit City festival with business partner Amanda Milne since 2012, says the infrastructure for that revival is long-standing. Knit City has run in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto; McLean expects about 3,000 people to attend the next festival from March 27 to 29. The festival’s multi-city history and McLean’s attendance estimate point to a national network of makers and events supporting the trend.

The art of crochet and knitting may date back thousands of years, but the combination of pandemic-era hobbying, social media amplification and festivals like Knit City is giving the crafts renewed momentum in Canada. With creators such as Kevin Yee turning domestic materials into viral projects and organisers preparing for several thousand attendees at late-March events, the revival looks set to persist as a source of comfort and connection.