Crochet is what your granny used to do, right? A gentle hobby that produced cushion covers, baby blankets and the occasional odd jumper/cardigan that you had to wear to school. Wrong! It is a hobby for everyone and crochet, like knitting, has really taken off in popularity in recent years. How cool is Tom Daly in his home made jumpers?
I have knitted, on and off, over the years since I was taught how to at school. I famously knitted only one bed sock in P7. It was red and green (eeek!) I hated it so much and it took me so long that only one was ever produced. I guess I could have alternated it between my cold feet in bed but my loathing of the object and its singularity meant it was never used.
When I was pregnant with Senior Bomber my aunt Kathie came to stay and re-taught me how to knit after which I produced several items of baby clothing for all The Bombers as they appeared: cardigans, bootees, mittens, hats etc. I even decided that I would tackle a Shetland lace shawl when expecting the arrival of Tiny Bomber. The pattern had been commisioned for the birth of Princess Beatrice wth anchors and the rose of York on it but when Tiny arrived a few months later the shawl was still on the needles and remained so for many years afterwards. Infact it took eight years to complete (four small Bombers leave little time for hobbies) and there were no longer any baby Bombers to use it. I recently gave it to my first granddaughter so it has found a home at last as a family heirloom!
There was a long period after that when I put my needles away and forgot about them. Looking back it is a pity I gave up as it would have been a soothing hobby to relieve the stress of doing a PhD. Likewise with crochet. My aunt Annie, taught me to crochet Granny Squares to make cusions and blankets but I didn’t continue the hobby into adulthood.
Two concurrent events prompted me to pick up my needles and hooks again about four years ago. The first was the arrival of great nieces and nephews, (and now my own grandchildren) for whom I could create cardigans and blankets etc., and the second was through the persuasion of a friend who had taught herself to crochet and convinced me to try it again.
The usual starting place for crocheters is the above mentioned Granny Squares but I am not usually one to take a conventional route. I had a ball of unspun wool which I had bought on Uist while on a walking holiday of the Outer Hebrides so I decided to learn how to make a hat with it. And here is my only piece of advice for anyone wanting to take up crochet/knitting, especially if you cannot rely on expert aunts: watch YouTube videos! I found a simple video explanation and tutorial for a hat and proceded to make it. Of course, anyone who has worked with unspun wool will know it is not the easiest yarn to work with (the problems of the unconventional approach to life!) but I soon had a functioning hat.
What really attracted me to crochet though was the limitless possibilities of amigurumi. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of making small stuffed toys and gets its name from ami meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi meaning stuffed doll (Wikipedia). My first attempt was a Miffy doll, which I was so pleased with that I quickly followed it up with a Snoopy. I used kits from stitchandstory.com which are not cheap but come with everything needed to complete the project and extremely detailed instructions that are perfect for a beginner to follow. I have crocheted hats, cardigans and blankets, of course, but I always come back to amigurumi.
Amigurumi is easy in that there are only a couple of techniques to learn: increase, decrease and working in the round, usually with only one stitch type. The most challenging technique is probably learning to make a ‘magic ring’ which is the starting row of most amigurumi. Again, a good online tutorial will help. If the first tutorial you choose doesn’t help, try another. There are several ways to start a magic ring and it really is a case of finding the method that works for you.
Where amigurumi becomes more difficult is making small pieces such as limbs or when finishing off a sphere (head or body) with a small round of stitches. It is in these small, difficult areas that amigurumi can become an extreme hobby. Pushing a hook repeatedly through tight stitches can result in constant stabbing of the forefinger which in turn results in not only pain but callouses. Fingers cramp as one hand holds the amigurumi in place while the other strives to maintain tight stitching. Language is tested to the fullest, the air around teh extreme crocheter often attaining a blue tinge when something does not go as planned/hoped. Crochet is not the gentle hobby non-initiates believe but, as all ‘hookers’ know, it can test us to the extreme.
Crochet is a great hobby but not always as gentle as one might imagine. Still, the ugliness of the callouses, the pain and expletives give way to the joy and beauty of a toy which will bring happiness to its creator and to its new owner.
Significantly Different 