Crochet is a process of creating fabric by interlocking loops
of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials using a crochet
hook. The word crochet is derived from the Old French crochet,
a diminutive of “croche”, in
turn from the Germanic "croc”, both meaning "hook". It was used in 17th-century
French lace-making, crochetage designating
a stitch used to join separate pieces of lace,
and crochet subsequently designating both a specific type of fabric
and the hooked needle used to produce it.
Crocheted fabric in the modern sense is begun by
placing a loop on the hook, pulling another loop through the first loop, and so
on to create a chain. The chain is either turned and worked in rows, or joined
end-to-end and worked in rounds. Stitches are made by pulling one or more loops
through each loop of the chain. This method distinguishes crochet from other
methods of fabric making as it is composed entirely of loops and is only secured
when the free end of the strand is pulled through the final loop.
History of Crochet
Other forms of handwork - knitting, embroidery
and weaving - can be dated far back in time, thanks to archeological finds,
written sources and pictorial representations of various kinds. But no one is
quite sure when and where crochet got its start.
According to American crochet expert
and world traveler Annie Potter, "The modem art of true crochet as we know
it today was developed during the 16th century. It became known as 'crochet
lace' in France and 'chain lace' in England." And, she tells us, in 1916 Walter
Edmund Roth visited descendants of the Guiana Indians and found examples of
true crochet. |
| Tambouring |
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| Irish Crochet |
Crochet began turning up in Europe in the early 1800s
and was given a tremendous boost by Mlle. Riego de la Branchardiere, who was
best known for her ability to take old-style needle and bobbin lace designs and
turn them into crochet patterns that could easily be duplicated. She published
many pattern books so that millions of women could begin to copy her designs.
Mlle. Riego also claimed to have invented "lace-like" crochet, today called Irish crochet.
If we go to create a time-line for the development of
crochet it may look as below:
- 1812
– The Memoirs of a Highland Lady by Elizabeth Grant references
“shepherd’s knitting” which is slip stitch crochet. Crochet started as just the
slip stitch.
- 1824 – A Dutch Magazine named Penelope features an article with instructions for slip stitch crochet.
- 1835 – Crochet bag patterns begin to be more widely published in Dutch and German. By this time chain stitch and single crochet stitch have been added to the designs.
- 1844 – Mercerization is invented. This strengthens cotton making it more durable to crochet with.
- 1846 – Patterns are published in England to reproduce Spanish needle lace. This is the first time that we see patterns that include working through both loops (it was previously only through the back loop) and the first time that we see rows worked back and forth with turning (previously it was worked right to left and the yarn was cut off at the end of each row). This is starting to look like crochet as we know it today!
Spanish Needle Lace - Late 1840’s – Irish crochet lace becomes a way to make money in Ireland during The Great Irish Famine.
- 1850’s and 1860’s – Industrialisation makes it much more affordable to produce crochet hooks. Plus the Industrial Revolution means that more women have leisure time to fill. This results in more crochet work done as a hobby.
- 1867 – Harper’s Bazaar launches. This reflects increased literacy among women and magazines for women who want to craft.
- 1886 – DMC Guide to Needlework book is published with information on crochet.
- 1910 – 1920 – The Edwardian fashion style means that crochet work is now more detailed textured.
- Post WWII – After the war there was a resurgence in home crafts and crochet became alive again after it had been mostly forgotten by the general public.
- 1960’s and 1970’s – Crochet fashions hit a peak. We’ve all seen the granny square items from this time! This is also when freeform crochet begins to be popular.
- 1994 – Gwen Blakley Kinsler founds The Crochet Guild of America to encourage crocheting.
- 2007 – Ravelry launches. Crochet and social media merge. By 2010 Ravelry had one million members.
- 2009 – The Yarn Bombing book is released. Some people think this is an important part of crochet history.
Crochet history in India
Crochet
was brought to India in the early 20th century by a missionary couple named
Macrae from Scotland. The women of India took to crochet very quickly,
using it most commonly to create prayer rugs and prayer caps for Muslims.
Other examples of crochet are associated with Christian ceremonies.
However, crochet in India has broken past the religious to the purely aesthetic
and the practical. Lace making with a crochet hook as well as shuttle work (not
crocheted) are practised around the country.
Amongst the entire country as a whole crochet is seen
to be most predominantly practised in the state of Goa. Introduction of crochet
to the life and times of the Goan culture is majorly attributed to the
Portuguese influence that is largely seen in all aspects of Goan society.
Crochet is a legacy in the Goan culture which has been followed by generations
after generation.
Though the craft of crochet and embroidery has been in
India since time immemorial but it came to Goa with the arrival of nuns and
missionaries in fifteenth century. And thus, started this tradition of crochet
and embroidery in Goa, which has only improved in quality and design since. The
items made included hankies, table clothes, children and ladies garments,
pillow and cushion covers and bed spreads etc.
Types of Crochet
- Amigurumi - This is a crochet art form that originated in Japan and it refers to the making of small, stuffed toys or creatures made from knitted or crocheted yarn. Ami means crochet or knit and nuigurumi means stuffed doll. If you ever see a little doll or toy made from yarn, that’s amigurumi.
Amigurumi - Aran Crochet - Refers to ribbed or cabled crochet. It’s traditionally a Celtic style crochet with interlocking cables and can be used to make chunky beanies, sweaters and scarves. Aran is also a weight of yarn so be weary of that when you read the word ‘aran’ in a pattern. When you see a picture of someone snuggled under a big, cosy looking blanket – that’s aran.
Aran Crochet - Bavarian Crochet - This is a vintage crochet stitch that’s traditionally work in rounds like granny squares. It creates a thick fabric and allows for blended colour changes rather than sharp colour changes like with granny square. Each section is worked in two parts – a base row of clusters and then a row of shells worked on top. Bavarian crochet looks like really, really fancy granny squares.
Bavarian Crochet - Bosnian Crochet - Bosnian crochet makes a dense, knit-like fabric using just the crochet slip stitch, worked in different parts of a stitch from the previous row. You can buy Bosnian crochet hooks but it can also be worked with regular crochet hooks. It’s also sometimes called Shepherd’s knitting. IT also looks quite a lot like knitting. It’s not currently a very popular style and if you see it, you’ll probably think it’s knitted.
Bosnian Crochet - Bullion Crochet - This is a specialised crochet stitch achieved with a combination of multiple wraps of yarn around a very long hook, forming a distinctive and unique ‘roll’ stitch. Bullion crochet is usually used for motifs rather than fabric based projects. It results in a thick, uniform, round motif style piece.
Bullion Crochet - Broomstick Crochet - This is a vintage crochet stitch that is also sometimes called jiffy lace and it’s made with a traditional crochet hook but the stitches are formed around something long and wide like a broomstick handle. Most modern crochetiers use large crochet hooks or thick dowel to do broomstick lace these days. Broomstick lace is an excellent crochet skill to learn and it results in a very beautiful and unique final product.
Broomstick Crochet - Bruges Crochet - This method is used to make bruges lace – where ‘ribbons’ of crochet are created and then crocheted together to form intricate lace patterns. Most grandmas have some handmade bruges style crochet items tucked away in drawers and wrapped in acid proof paper.
Bruges Crochet - Clothesline Crochet - This is a style of crochet where traditional stitches are worked over a thick rope or clothesline style length of thick twine to make circular mats and baskets that hold their shape. This is often seen as a trial technique and can be traced back to craftspeople in Nepal and Africa.
Clothesline Crochet - Clones Lace Crochet - This style of crochet is heavily linked to Irish lace crochet and was created because it was much quicker and easier to create than needlepoint lace. The Clones knot is a part of the clones crochet skill set. Clones lace is a very practical crochet style and was used for utilitarian purposes during wars.
Clones Crochet - Crohook Crochet - Cro-hook crochet is worked with a double ended hook to create double sided crocheted. It allows the crochetier to work stitches on or off either end of their crochet piece and to have neither a right nor wrong side to what they’re working on. This is also sometimes called Cro-knit. This style is similar to Tunisian and results in excellent colour work that’s not achievable in other styles of crochet.
Crohook Crochet - Filet
Crochet - This is a crochet style
created with chains and double crochet. It’s a grid like pattern where squares
are either filled or not filled and the negative space is used to create pictures
within the piece. The unique thing about filet crochet is that you can embed
images using the full and empty squares of the fabric.
Filet Crochet - Finger
Crochet - Very similar to finger
knitting, finger crochet is exactly like crocheting just without the hook! It’s
essentially a form of hand fabric weaving in the style of crochet stitches.
Finger crochet is fun when you’re getting started but as the finished tension
is quite loose, you’ll probably want to move on to a hook pretty quickly and
make more versatile projects.
Finger Crochet - Freeform
crochet - This style of crochet is
created without a pattern or an official plan. It’s a very organic and artistic
form of crochet.
Freeform Crochet - Hairpin
Crochet - This is similar to
broomstick crochet except that it’s worked with a traditional crochet hook with
the crochet piece held taught between two thin metal rods. Back when this
technique was created actual metal hair pins were used which is how it got its
name. This styles’ result in a really unique finished fabric.
Hairpin Crochet - Micro
Crochet - This is a modern style of
crochet and it’s achieved using very fine thread and extremely fine crochet
hooks. This is very delicate work and probably best for more patient crochetier.
Micro Crochet - Overlay
Crochet - A technique where a base of
crochet is made and stitches are added on top to create a raised pattern. This
opens up many possibilities for beautiful and intricate colour work.
Overlay Crochet - Pineapple Crochet - This isn’t so much a technique; it’s more of a general stitch and shape pattern. You can use pineapples in crochet make doilies, scarves and even clothing. Once you know how to spot a crochet pineapple, you start seeing them everywhere. This is a stitch style that was popularised in the 70s.
Pineapple Crochet - Stained
Glass Crochet - Very similar to
overlay crochet but the top part is usually done in black yarn to create a
contrast stained glass affect. A unique and striking style of crochet.
Stained Glass Crochet - Symbol
Crochet - This is also known as chart
crochet and is very popular in Japanese stitch books. It’s an extremely useful
skill to learn as you can pick up any symbol crochet book in any language and
make the projects just by using the chart.
Symbol Crochet - Tapestry
Crochet - This is the crochet
equivalent of colour work. It’s also called intarsia crochet. There are many
different methods of working in tapestry crochet and each style gives different
results. Tapestry crochet is one of the many ways to do colour work.
Tapestry Crochet - Tunisian Crochet - worked on a long hook with a stopper at the end or a hook with a cord attachment, Tunisian crochet is very similar to knitting in that you have many live loops at any given time and you work your loops on and off you hook, just like knitting.
Tunisian Crochet
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