About two months ago, I held envy, jealousy and also a great affinity for people who made their own clothes. It didn’t matter if it was sewing, crocheting, knitting or printing, one thing was certain; I yearned to learn the ways of the seam, the bobbin, the needle, the hook, the string! My friend Isabella was a crochet prodigy! We took a road trip this summer, and she introduced me to the eighth wonder of the world: crochet. It wasn’t an easy process to learn. My first project was a tote bag. With help from the crochet ladies on YouTube, I married ruby red yarn for the actual bag part and kelly green for the handle to create a staple of my outfits: my strawberry bag! It’s been maybe a month since that project, and I’m currently working on a purple and orange sweater top — thrilling, I know.
Throughout the time I viciously misuse my Instagram explore page, watching bootleg broadway videos or raccoon pictures, I notice more and more people getting involved in crocheting and knitting! Except, it’s not all hugs and kisses in the crochet community. The issue on the table (get the Hamilton reference? Yeah? No? Alright.) people seem to get all agitated when they see someone copying their crochet project. Hm. Ok. I understand that. I would be a little, how shall I say this … steamed, if I saw my strawberry bag being sported by someone who is not me. So, I decided to Google some specific instances of crochet drama or crochet bullying, which is actually quite ludicrous given that Grandma’s favorite pastime has turned into a battleground of colorful yarn and aggressive Pinterest frequenters.
Apparently, according to a blog that displays patterns for little and quaint crochet bees with smiles on them (https://www.amigurumitogo.com, check it out!), the bees were not always so … Como se dice … smiley. This woman states that she was trying to sew another bear pattern to her collection and accidentally ”made a bee butt” (Freely, X); thus, the acclaimed bee was birthed. This woman said she posted the bee on her Facebook and woke up to a crocheter’s nightmare: a comment repugnantly stating that she stole the design. Displeasure. That’s the crochet equivalent of someone “pantsing” you. To sum it all up, the main aura of the blog post is that there are billions of people in the world; there’s going to be millions of crochet patterns. However, not every crocheter is as decent as Ms. Amiguru. There is no contact tracing for crochet patterns; it is literally free-range, yours-for-the-taking. To quote Ariana Grande’s wisdom that somehow perfectly aligns with the crochet community, “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.” However, I digress.
If someone fancies the granny-square cardigan you posted about on Instagram, they are probably going to want one for themselves, especially if they know how to crochet. To restate my point above, as I scroll, I see several extremely similar granny-square cardigans. I theorize that this is a debate as old as time: is copying really the most sincerest form of flattery? Well, this isn’t a great answer at all, but it depends! Some crochet lovers are fine with people copying them and vice versa, but it really bothers other people.
It’s important to remember to keep some things in mind; crocheting can be a beautiful alternative to fast fashion. If people are sick of consistently buying from brands that exploit their workers, it allows people to make clothing on their own! People also use crocheting to show their artistic side, relieve stress and express themselves. There are many resources on the web, such as, and not limited to: TikTok, Instagram and Youtube. Each of these platforms has videos to teach people how to crochet! Although I cannot solve all of the pressing crochet-world problems in one publication, I can expose how much I love my little string and hook.