Quilting. Breadmaking. Gardening.
Why young women are trading hustle culture for cozy times.

By Melissa Foley-King

I always preferred tea to booze, and in my first home with my husband, an idyllic little farmhouse near the Mason Dixon line, I would invite my other 20-something friends over for pear-and-cheddar sandwiches and poundcake. We did jigsaw puzzles together, we sewed or crocheted or knitted, and I sent them home with perennials split from my gardens to plant. Having skipped over motherhood entirely and headed straight to that Grandma life, I’m thrilled to find that others are also finding joy in this lifestyle.

Since Millennials and Gen Z have spent their adulthood surviving one unprecedented time after another, some have realized that life is too short not to sit down after work with a relaxing hobby. Overwhelmed by the bleak reality of adulthood, Jeanette Richardson, 26, started crocheting a little over a year ago.

“It’s helped a lot with my depression, always having a project to work on,” she says. “I make little animals and characters, and I love giving them as gifts.”

Her coworkers’ desks are covered in colorful crocheted creatures, and family and friends say that holiday shopping for her is easy.

“The yarn store is always a safe bet.”

Research shows that having cozy hobbies is good for mental health. In a March 2025 article in House Beautiful, UK Research Psychologist Emma Palmer-Cooper said, “When we are fully absorbed in a creative task, we can enter a state of ‘flow,’ where we focus entirely on the present moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.”

Dough-mestic Bliss

Remember the sourdough craze at the beginning of the pandemic when the younger generations found themselves at home alone or with their families for the first time? While the craze has died down as folks return to work in person, some have maintained their sourdough habit.

“I don’t remember my grandmother ever running downstairs in the morning to see if her sourdough starter made it through the night, but she definitely baked bread,” says Jenny Lentz, 37-year-old hospice nurse.

Jenny learned all her sourdough tips from TikTok videos.

“At first I thought, ‘Great, another thing I have to keep alive,’ but then we made our first loaf, and Ava and I were hooked.” Ava is Jenny’s five-year-old daughter and fellow old soul, who is also invested in the survival of their sourdough starter. “She named it Tina,” Jenny says, showing the crayon-written nametag on the jar.

Rooting For You

Others started gardening, discovered they really enjoyed it, and have kept it up for five years. Starr Walther, a 32-year-old freelance photographer, says she loves picking out plants at the nursery.

“Last year’s lavender didn’t take off, so I think I’ll try gardenias in its place,” she says. “I sound like Grandma Ginny. I didn’t get it when I was a kid; [gardening] seemed so boring to me. Now I do. I’m obsessed.”

Melisa Bailey, 41, is a close friend who taught me to crochet when I was recovering from surgery in my late 20s.

“Crafts change like the seasons. In winter, you want to crochet or hang out in your warm kitchen. The phrase ‘Knit all winter, forget to knit all summer’ can be detrimental to project completion,” she says, meaning she spends her summers outdoors, neglecting her fiber arts in favor of the therapeutic power of gardening with her son, Calvin.

More Than Granny Panties

When asked why she thinks the younger generation is getting into Grandmacore, Melisa says, “I think it’s a mix of actually admiring our grandparents, and their content and happy life with no rat race.” She adds, “There’s also budgetary issues. My grandmother canned [foods] and knitted sweaters out of necessity, and didn’t romanticize it. These hobbies are so much cheaper than travelling to the Great Barrier Reef. It’s an affordable mind vacation.”

Young women aren’t just finding joy in their grandma’s hobbies; they’re coopting their fashion sense, too. Vintage shop owner Katie March, 40, says one reason could be sheer comfort.

“During the pandemic, everyone was working from home in comfortable clothes, starting gardens, and cooking from scratch, and realized, ‘Hey, this fucking rules.’”

Katie says her best sellers are grandma sweaters and tapestry coats in floral designs.

“Anything with a horse on it sells in like, a minute,” she says. “I would have thought these were hideous in my twenties, but the girlies love ‘em.”

Another theory is that many young women are dressing like grandmas because they’re less concerned with the male gaze in this decade. In contrast to the conservative “Tradwives” movement, popular with social media influencers who celebrate traditional gender roles and live to serve their husbands, Grandmacore is about comfort and authenticity, and the lifestyle can be enjoyed single or partnered.

“I’m so much more comfortable when I’m not dressing for some dude,” Nicole Ball, a 28-year-old librarian, says about their style. “Catch me in granny panties under my thrifted dress any day of the week.” One thing Nicole isn’t repeating from the older generations?

“I’m not putting up with the shit Nana put up with from Grampa, though. No, ma’am.”

Microdosing Simpler Times

Young women are seeking more simplicity and comfort. For some, it’s about nostalgia and a connection to their beloved ancestors. For others, it’s an aesthetic that feels authentic to them and their bodies without a second thought about how men will see them.

Young women’s relationship to Grandmacore also seems to be the product of living through unprecedented times and facing an uncertain future, never knowing what may come next. Grandma hobbies allow them to relax, unwind, and microdose a retirement that may be out of reach for them.

Fewer young women are looking to supermodels or high-powered executives as their role models and instead revere the Sleepytime Tea Bear. A more peaceful existence, spreading joy through homemade gifts, their home gardens, and eco-friendly secondhand clothes, are all icing on the Grandmacore cake.

Thankfully, though, the new generations aren’t submitting to husbands who call all the shots or putting up with the bullshit their Grandmas did.

No ma’am.