NYT Strands Puzzle Celebrates Traditional Textile Crafts

The New York Times Strands puzzle for Sunday, January 18, 2026, offers a refreshing focus on traditional craftsmanship with its theme 'Soft skills,' highlighting time-honored textile arts that have sustained families and communities for generations.

The puzzle's spangram, TEXTILEART, anchors a collection of words celebrating practical skills that have been passed down through families: QUILT, CROCHET, APPLIQUE, WEAVE, EMBROIDER, and KNIT.

Honoring Traditional Craftsmanship

In an era where digital entertainment dominates leisure time, this puzzle serves as a welcome reminder of the value in traditional handicrafts. These skills represent more than mere hobbies; they embody the principles of self-reliance, patience, and the creation of lasting value through personal effort.

Quilting, embroidery, and knitting have historically served as essential household skills, enabling families to create durable goods while fostering intergenerational knowledge transfer. These crafts require discipline, attention to detail, and the kind of methodical approach that builds character.

Playing Strands Effectively

For those new to the game, Strands challenges players to identify theme-related words hidden within a letter grid. Words can travel in any direction, and each letter is used only once. The spangram spans the entire board and explicitly states the puzzle's theme.

Players struggling with solutions can submit non-theme words of four letters or more to earn hints. Three such submissions unlock the hint feature, which highlights letters of theme words.

Unlike other word games, Strands has no time limit or failure condition, allowing players to work methodically toward the solution.

The game is available through the New York Times website and mobile application, continuing the publication's tradition of quality puzzle content that challenges the mind while celebrating worthwhile subjects.