With knitting now very popular with everyone it’s not surprise that ‘crochet’ has also made a big comeback. The word ‘crochet’ is French meaning ‘hook’. Like knitting it’s a pattern of pulling loops through other loops but the difference is that only one stitch is active at one time.
It is said to have started in around 1797 with some claiming that the first published crochet patterns didn’t arrive until 1824 in a Dutch magazine. However some patterns have been found in a Swedish magazine dated 1819.
According to the Crochet Guild of America, crochet originated in Arabia, spread eastward to Tibet and westward to Spain, from where it followed the Arab trade routes to other Mediterranean countries. Two: Earliest evidence of crochet came from South America, where a primitive tribe was said to have used crochet adornments in rites of puberty.
Of course this has prompted people to pull out their vintage crochet squares and doily’s to use yet again while its all back in fashion. If you spot them in charity shops they are well worth buying as they are started to fetch quite a good price for some vintage ones.
Crochet now has become as popular as knitting with free classes available online from The Spruce Crafts and Skill Share. Lots of people now knit and crochet for charities with UK Hand Knitting having charity lists and patterns to follow on their website. Lots of free patterns from hats, to cute bears and of course crochet blankets. Charities include ‘Knit for Hair Loss Charity, Cancer Care‘, ‘Knit a Chick for Barnardo’s ‘or ‘Headway The Brain Injury Association’ and lots more.
The Knitting and Crochet Guild have a list of local groups and meetings throughout the UK so you never knit to knit or crochet alone again. Or, you could join a virtual group through Baa Wool, and many libraries also seem to have knitting and crochet group meet ups.
Whether you like knitting or crocheting it will never go out of fashion as it’s been around since the 1790’s. To me, what could be nicer than sitting with friends and enjoying a lovely cup of tea while crocheting and having a catch up.
Source: UK Knitting, Baa Wool, Crochet Guild of America, The Spruce Crafts, and Skill Share
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