About Crochet

Crochet a Favorite Hobby for Many

The method of fashioning textile from different materials preferably thread and yarn, crochet has existed for more than a century. Its name has been obtained from the word “croc” which means hook. The craft has a lot of resemblance to knitting where it involves the pulling of materials through other circles. The difference though is that only one loop of either thread or yarn is being employed at a single period. It is also true in the usage of a hook instead of a needle.

Crochet is believed to have started in China, South America or Arabia; however, no significant evidence was presented that proved the claim. When it became popular in Europe around the 1800’s, the said first printed pattern emerged in a Dutch publication. There were a lot of individuals who thought that the craft was employed by the early customs using a bent forefinger as a substitute to the hook. Albeit, there were no pieces that can verify the “classic technique” utilized to realize the art.

There were also other people who noted that crochet survived since the primitive epochs but then again, there were no artifacts even when browsing through the rich collection of the various ethnological cultures. These persons were actually referring to the results of tambour embroidery where a hook was also employed. It began in France where there was a contention that the fastening of circles through a delicate fabric developed into “craft in the air.” Majority of the samples that were accomplished in the yesteryears were actually results of nalebinding.

When crochet arrived in America and Britain, it started as an affordable alternative to generate an assortment of laces. The cost of manufacturing thread or yarn out of cotton was decreasing. Also, even if laces that were done through the craft required more thread or yarn, they were easier to learn and faster to create. After less than fifty years of the art’s fame in America and Britain, Ursuline sisters taught Irish women the process. When their works were shipped all over the continent of Europe, they were praised for its beauty.

The efforts of the natives in Ireland largely contributed to the entire population of the country. Locals were employing a wide range of hooks; there were archaic bent needles up to expensive silver clips. Others were also produced from ivory, steel and brass as well as bones that each had handles of disparate contours. Some were even patterned to flaunt a design used by the most gentle of hands.

At this juncture, crochet is quickly turning out to be a favorite hobby among a huge demographic across the globe.