Studies show that Gen Z enjoy antique or vintage hobbies as a route to escape the constant reliance on technology faced in day to day life. Students at Hamburg are not any different. Crochet, the craft of interweaving loops with a singular hook to create a soft fabric or creation, has been traced back to the 11 century CE. Crochet is widely accepted to be easier than knitting and especially gained popularity in 2020 during the pandemic as an creative outlet. A fun fact about the craft is machines have not yet been invented able to mass produce crochet, so all the crochet seen in stores has been made by a real person!
I have been crocheting since grade 6, when my mom got me a kit for my birthday. It took me a really long time to get good at it, and I am very proud of myself for finding a hobby I really like and have stuck by. My favorite projects I have done is a book carrier to hold my paperback so they do not get harmed in travel, a style of crochet called “tapestry crochet” which I used to make Lana Del Rey’s logo, a granny square flower pillow, and a 90’s bead lizard made of yarn. Last year, I made $80 selling crochet stuffed animals at a craft fair in the middle school.
Student Veronica Boyd has always been my personal greatest of all time when it comes to crochet, since she has been doing it just as long as I have. She says her favorite thing about crochet is how relaxing it is and that it gives her something to do with her hands while watching tv. She brings up the point of how rewarding it is to see something online and being able to “recreate it for yourself or for friends.” The most precious thing she ever made was a this doll based off of a TV show she really likes. She says, “It took me a really long time to make because you have to make every tiny part and then sew it all together. While it’s not my best work, it holds a special place in my heart as my first big crochet project.”
Student Lucy Seidel has been crocheting for around three years and enjoys that she can make “whatever I want, whenever I want”. Her favorite things she’s made are a stuffed animal cat named “” and an elephant from grade 7.
In the future, I would like to do harder projects like blankets and skirts.
To learn more about crochet visit: https://themakinglife.com/crochet-basics/
