LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky man is using a unique approach to manage his mental health.

What You Need To Know

  • The Louisville veteran picked up yarn when he served as a marine

  • Now he makes crochet dolls

  • He calls himself Dude Yarn

  • The Louisville veteran hopes to create his own patterns and teach others his craft

The Louisville veteran picked up yarn when he served as a Marine. Now he makes crochet dolls.

“Right now, I’m making one of my very own patterns. It’s Eye-van, the one-eyed monster,” said David DiSantis, 32.

He’s in the process of stitching an amigurumi. Amigurumi, for those who aren’t familiar, is a crochet process to create 3D toys.

“A lot of people like that one. The pattern’s by my buddy up in Michigan,” DiSantis said.

He spends his time decompressing, using yarn. “I was introduced to it when I was in the Marines,” DiSantis said. 

 

He served for almost 4 years.

“I was actually at an anger management class, and that was just one of the stations where there’s something to do with your hands and so you know — instead of punching a wall or whatever, pick up a needle and some yarn, kind of do it that way,” DiSantis said.

The yarn helped redirect his emotional energy; he explains.

“I didn’t really have an easy time in the Marines. Slightly overweight wasn’t the fastest guy. I could work out and lift heavy weights but I couldn’t really run the distances without pain on my knees,” DiSantis said.

With the stress mounting, the Marines introduced crocheting to gain mental peace, and he said he didn’t think much of it. “But what it did for my mental health was a lot helped me with anxiety, as well as kind of curb that depression state as well,” DiSantis said.

After he left the military, he picked up the craft. At first, he bought a Star Wars crochet book for his brother, but instead, he started crocheting a gift for him.

“Sometimes when I get annoyed or mad or whatever, I’ll come into here and I’ll just start putting it into every stitch,” DiSantis said.

With every stitch now, he hopes to break barriers. “There’s a social stigma where you’re an old lady or it’s for girls or whatever, but I’m a marine vet, I’ve got piercings, I’ve got tattoos and I crochet,” DiSantis said.

The Louisville veteran hopes to create his own patterns and teach others his craft. He has a social media following on his accounts called Dude Yarn.

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