Hilary Duff has quietly added crocheting to her routine as a way to unwind after performances and hectic days with family. You’ll see how a simple craft helps her slow down, focus her hands, and carve out calm amid a busy career in music and acting.
Crocheting gives Duff a practical, low-pressure way to relax that fits into life on the road and at home. That small habit opens a window on how she balances public work, personal life, and self-care without grand gestures.
This piece explores how the hobby started, what it means for her daily rhythm, and how a tiny shift in routine can change the way someone manages life, fame, and family.
Crocheting: Hilary Duff’s Newfound Relaxation Ritual
Hilary turned to crocheting to carve out quiet pockets of calm amid touring, recording, and parenting. She treats it like a short, intentional pause—sit, breathe in, breathe out, and focus on a single stitch.
How Crocheting Helps Hilary Slow Down
Crocheting gives Hilary a tangible way to slow her breathing and attention. She sits with a hook and yarn, which creates a steady, repetitive motion that lowers heart rate and interrupts the rush of scheduling and emails. That rhythmic hand movement acts like a simple meditation: inhale, exhale, loop through the stitch.
The activity also forces micro-breaks during her day. Even ten minutes between rehearsals or school runs lets her reset mentally. In interviews she notes the contrast between the high-energy stage and the quiet focus of making a row of stitches.
Starting Her Crocheting Journey
Hilary began with beginner-friendly supplies: a medium-weight acrylic yarn and a size H/8 (5 mm) hook. She learned basic stitches—chain, single crochet, double crochet—by watching short tutorial videos and practicing in hotel rooms while on tour.
She keeps a small project bag in her tour backpack so she can work on something while waiting for soundcheck. That portability made the hobby practical for a parent and working artist. The process of learning stitches slowly built confidence and reduced the pressure to be “productive” in traditional ways.
Projects and Progress: What She’s Made So Far
Her first projects focused on small, comforting items: a square coaster set, a striped headband, and a simple beanie for a friend. These quick wins reinforced the calming loop of craft and completion. She’s also tried a small amigurumi-style toy, which taught shaping and tighter tension control.
Hilary posts occasional glimpses of finished pieces and works-in-progress, showing color choices and imperfect stitches. Those posts underline that the point is the practice—and the breath between each stitch—rather than perfect results. For her home, she plans to make a few throw pillows and a lightweight lap blanket to keep on the couch for quiet evenings.
Finding Balance in a Hectic Career and Family Life
Hilary Duff structures daily life around clear time blocks, practical trade‑offs, and small rituals that keep work, parenting, and personal time from collapsing into one another. She accepts imperfect months and leans on partners, routines, and creative outlets to stay grounded.
Managing Motherhood and Work
Duff chooses projects with set schedules—like television and film—so she can plan school drop‑offs, rehearsals, and bedtime. That makes commitments predictable: call times, craft trailers, and known shoot lengths let her arrange childcare and coordinate with Matthew Koma and occasional help from family.
She and Koma split responsibilities around the kids’ needs rather than forcing a strict 50/50 division; tasks shift depending on shoots, travel, and a child’s age. For example, a day on set means she blocks off “adult creative” time and synchronizes Koma’s studio or tour plans accordingly.
When music projects arise, she stages them around family life—writing or recording in limited windows—and postpones major tours until timing fits the household rhythm and her children’s schedules.
Self-Care Routines for Mental Health
Duff uses low‑effort hobbies like crocheting to decompress between scenes and nighttime parenting. Short, repeatable activities create quiet pockets that reduce stress and give her a sense of completion after chaotic days.
She also schedules adult‑only creative periods; treating work blocks as restorative rather than only demanding helps her feel fulfilled. Sleep, therapy, and selective social media use appear in interviews as concrete steps she takes to protect mental space.
Acceptance plays a role: she acknowledges disappointment when plans fail and reframes setbacks as temporary, which prevents cycles of guilt and keeps mental health work pragmatic and ongoing.
The Role of Family and Relationships
Partnership with Matthew Koma centers on practicality and communication. They trade off school runs, doctor visits, and night feeds when possible, and they accept that parenting is often uneven rather than perfectly split.
Extended family—like sister Haylie Duff—and trusted caregivers fill gaps during intense work periods, giving Hilary flexibility to film shows such as revivals or guest spots tied to her past like Lizzie McGuire references without sacrificing stability at home.
Relationships inform career choices; she weighs how a job’s timing will affect family routines and chooses roles that allow for presence with her kids, keeping long‑term family needs in focus.
Expressing Identity Through Music and Style
Duff stages non‑urgent creative ambitions—such as a new album—so they align with life phases, allowing music to return when children and schedules permit. She frames musical projects as something to be returned to rather than abandoned.
Style and fashion remain tools for self‑expression during public appearances and press around shows like How I Met Your Father; she picks looks that fit fast hair and makeup days between school pickups.
Beauty choices and wardrobe function as practical extensions of identity: polished enough for red carpets, adaptable for motherhood, and reflective of personal taste rather than trend‑driven statements.
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