Busting Crochet Myths

Submitted by Kim Werker on 19 December 2006 - 2:00pm. Categorized As:

Crochet is crochet, and that's what it is. It's a craft, a hobby, for some it's an art. It's not politics or finances or religion, which is why I'm always surprised that it's never far from sparking dramatic exchanges, especially online. I've never really held my tongue about what I think of crochet at a higher level (which is not to say I don't hold my tongue when it comes to my opinions about specific instances of crochet; my tongue has held steady for years on this). And when I speak my mind on crochet, I can't shake the feeling I'm often stating the obvious. But that hasn't stopped heated discussions from popping up about it. That something is obvious doesn't always make it go down easy.

In the new issue of Crochet Insider, Dora Ohrenstein has written an article I think should be required reading for anyone who's even fleetingly entertained the thought of being creative with their crochet. (Don't balk: a lot of crocheters don't think creatively about their craft; this is not an insult or a judgment, it's just a contrast.) She ends her piece with an admonishment we should all take to heart:

“...if you don’t invest the time and energy to learn how to make crochet drape, float, and cling, please, don’t blame the crochet.”

This article is one of few I've read that contributes new, original ideas to the higher-level conversation about crochet. Beyond the ideas she promotes, Dora also highlights perfectly the factor I think is the most important thing for crocheters to grok: hook size. Hook size is, at this precise moment in the history of crochet, the single most important contributor to crochet's persistent awfulness (on one hand) and, on the other hand, to its being set free.


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Thanks so much for bringing this excellent article to our attention. I found it so helpful to read the description of the differences between crochet and knitting's....personalities. It makes me want to do be more free with my projects.

Submitted by Lilli (not verified) on 19 December 2006 - 2:14pm.

Hi Lilli - I'm so glad you enjoyed it and that you'll experiment some more. (And greetings from Vancouver!)

Submitted by Crochet Me Admin on 19 December 2006 - 2:21pm.

Great article. I hope it gets read by a least a few of crochet's nay-sayers.

Submitted by Carrie (not verified) on 20 December 2006 - 1:17pm.

Oh for heaven's sake, are we still doing THIS?

I am not a crochet naysayer by any standards. Otherwise, why would I have crocheted my own wedding shawl?

Look, the problem is not that you can't make fluid drapey crochet. Because we all know that's possible. The problem is that it's really hard to make fluid drapey crochet that is NOT LACY. Look at all of those photos in that article again. Notice that all of the really successful ones, all of the ones that make you think "Wow!", have one thing in common. They are lace. The structure of the stitches is such that if you don't want laciness, you have to get them really close in together and then things get heavy and stiff. It's been hard to get men to wear lacy garments since the French Revolution, and a lot of women won't wear them either (even Doris Chan herself).

Crochet makes beautiful, wonderful lace. It makes awesome homewares. It makes really cool sculpted stuff. But for plain, solid-textured, close-fitting garments that have drape, it is just not as good as knitting. And quite frankly, crocheters would do better to play to the strengths of crochet rather than trying to ape knitting in a half-assed way, while at the same time snarking the knitters and whining about how unfair it is that yarn shops and publishers cater more to knitting.

Submitted by Autunite (not verified) on 7 February 2007 - 5:49am.

Autunite, keep an eye out for clingy, drapey, solid-textured crocheted garments in books and magazines in the coming year. Dora is absolutely bang-on in her article - investing time and thought into anything uncovers possibility. Whether the texture of crocheted fabric is more or less pleasing than that of knitted fabric is a matter of taste, but in terms of mechanics, anything is possible.

Submitted by Crochet Me Admin on 7 February 2007 - 10:43am.

Thanks so much for letting us know about this terrific new 'zine! You have clued me in to so much great stuff on the web.

Submitted by E. (not verified) on 20 December 2006 - 3:18pm.

ditto!! thanks so much! for once I wish it wasn't christmas so I could read more at my leisure :) .

I totally agree about hook size issues--but also like you said in your interview, yarn weight is also problematic (though I say so, who made purses from super super bulky..tee hee). In the last Crochet! magazine, there were so many great patterns that would have looked more proportional in a yarn half the thickness. It contributes to the clunkiness, and it doesn't need to be that way.

I really enjoyed the history of the craft and the author's conclusions as well.
thanks again, and happy holidays!

Submitted by marykate (not verified) on 23 December 2006 - 7:57am.

My reaction is that I've always compared knitting and crocheting to driving. Knitting is like driving a car or any other vehicle on the road and with a destination in mind. Knitters tend to start with the bottom and work upward (start to finish) and their stitches lead to that end point.

Crocheting is like off-roading it. You can start or finish anywhere, build in any direction, and start, stop, and start again quite easily.

One isn't better than the other. It's just what kind of experience you're up for.

P.S. I still haven't read your interview. Savin' it for after the holidays when I'm not pressed for time. Looking forward to it though!

Submitted by Amie (not verified) on 20 December 2006 - 7:20pm.

Congratulations on that fantastic new position with Interweave Crochet! I'm looking forward to seeing the next edition of the magazine and will be becoming a subscriber. It sounds like CrochetMe e-zine will have a new look too. Thank you for making that zine such a great read.

Submitted by Roli (not verified) on 30 December 2006 - 4:00am.

Thanks, Roli!

Submitted by Crochet Me Admin on 30 December 2006 - 9:00am.

Congratulations Kim - that's great professional news. Will you be able to do it from Vancouver, or will you have to move?

Also, thank you for enlightening me with the Crochet Insider article. That's very thought provoking. Thanks for bringing it up a notch!

Happy New Year.

Submitted by WayOutWear (not verified) on 1 January 2007 - 10:15am.

Thank you! Yes, I will work from home in Vancouver, which I'm very happy about. Happy New Year to you!

Submitted by Crochet Me Admin on 1 January 2007 - 6:28pm.

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