The New Hobbies Era
Maybe This Is Your Sign to Spice Up Your Cardigan
At the beginning of 2026, everyone suddenly wants a hobby again. Not a personality, not a rebrand, a hobby. Something offline, something calming, something they can mention casually over coffee like, "Oh, I've been doing a lot of ceramics lately." Coloring books have already had their renaissance (twice). Knitting had its pandemic moment. Journaling never really left, it just changed fonts.
And yet, the hunger is still there. For something manual. Something mildly creative. Something that doesn't involve optimizing yourself.
So consider this your sign to spice up your cardigan.
Not by buying a new one. Not by falling into a three-week crochet obsession you'll abandon by February. But by doing something oddly specific, deeply unserious, and surprisingly satisfying: sewing your own buttons.
The point of small things
It sounds small because it is. That's the point. The cardigan I'm talking about was fine. Soft. Cream-colored. Respectable. The kind of piece that disappears into your wardrobe because it never causes problems. And maybe that's exactly why it needed interference.
There's something quietly defiant about altering a perfectly acceptable garment for no practical reason. It's not customization in the Instagram sense. It's not "DIY" with a capital D. No reveal, no transformation video, no before-and-after. Just you, a needle, and a decision that doesn't need an audience.
Which feels very right for 2026.
We're coming off years of hobbies that had to do something — heal you, monetize you, make you better. Sewing buttons does none of that. It doesn't promise mindfulness or productivity. It won't fix your life.
Because once you start noticing details like buttons, you start noticing everything else. The way clothes sit on your body. The difference between uniform and personal. The pleasure of choosing something slightly odd over something correct.
So if you're standing at the beginning of another year wondering what new habit you're supposed to adopt — run a marathon, learn a language, become the kind of person who ferments things — let me offer a softer suggestion.
Take the cardigan you already own. Change the buttons. Do it badly if you want. Do it slowly. Do it without telling anyone.
Not everything has to be a reinvention. Sometimes it's enough to take something familiar and give it a tiny twist — just enough to remind you that you're allowed to be inventive, even in the smallest ways.
