National Crochet Month

Intertwining an imaginative mind and craft, crochet serves as a vision of artistic technique. March represents National Crochet Month, where the country celebrates and promotes the art form that emerged in 1829. Originating during the Irish Potato Famine, crochet provided income for farmers through the selling of hand-made items.

Crochet’s forerunner, known as “shepherd knitting” later became today’s slip stitch technique, previously used to fabricate rugs, vests, leggings and other accommodations in the 19th century.

Making a comeback in the 1940s, crochet then served as the catalyst for home craft and acted as a medium during the post-war period.

Following the 40s, crochet evolved, holding the power of creativity and allowing artisans to express their individuality and creativity through the craft.

“Crochet is definitely a very creative outlet. I’ve been doing it since I was 10 and it allows me to just take things that are in my mind, and just make whatever I want,” Miami Palmetto Senior High senior and crocheter Emma Kramer said.

Crochet further serves to ease the mind, especially for teens struggling with underlying responsibilities.

Based on a survey by the University of Wollongong in Australia, out of 8,000 crocheting respondents, 90% answered that it increases calmness, 82% answered it increased serotonin and over 70% responded that it improved memory.

“I feel like when I crochet, it’s really calming and soothing, so all of my stress just goes away and I just focus on crocheting in general. It really helps me to concentrate and just not always think about negative thoughts because my mind is like, somewhere else,” MPSH freshman and crocheter Katie Wu said.

Created in the 21st century, Crochet Therapy soon became a coined term for the strategy of working with elderly struggling with onset Dementia issues. Crochet therapy helps improve memory, give purpose and increase productivity.

Not only does one benefit from creating a new piece, whether an article of clothing or a plushy, but the act of crocheting itself leads to mindfulness, repetition and focus; in turn leading to greater positive effects: increased serotonin, positive social interactions and relief of depression.

Within the MPSH community, crochet has provided opportunities for students to grow and push themselves beyond their limits.

“The most impactful part of it is that it kind of pushed me to make an Etsy store over the pandemic, which definitely grew my confidence because I was able to sell something. So it was kind of like, ‘oh well, people are actually interested in the things that I make.’ So I ended up making more and more things and learning a lot of new techniques,” Kramer said.

MPSH Early Childhood Education teacher Michelle Uhle also uses crochet as an outlet for both creativity and service, where she found that it also benefited her students and their strengths.

“It’s just been something that’s therapeutic for me and when I started doing early childhood, I realized that like the week before Christmas break and the week before spring break there was a lot of absence happening and it’s hard to try and start a new subject when you’re going to have two weeks off for a whole week off, and so I don’t like starting something new.

So I decided that we would do a class service project and because it’s early childhood, we would make [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] hats,” Uhle said.

Uhle now holds crochet classes every Wednesday, where students learn skills and even participate in aiding the early childhood project.

“It gives them something to do with their hands and so now even still I have a bunch of students come back and they’re like, ‘Do you have any yarn? I’m done with my work and I need to do something’ and so they’ll just sit there and make stuff,” Uhle said.

Uhle prides herself in the fact that crochet not only allows for a way to benefit the community but also helps to expand one’s selection of style, design and overall artistic realm.

“You can do [anything], from clothing, to stuffed animals, to blankets and you can have the creativity of colors, patterns and you can mix things up [and] can see different stitches. So it’s just like quilting or painting that you have and it’s a form of art,” Uhle said.

Crochet has cultivated a community and inspired innovation both locally and around the world.

Seen on the popular social media platform TikTok, crochet has become a sensation. Known as #Crochettok, the popularized hashtag with over 3 billion views serves as a network for the community, where artisans post their work, tutorials, promote their small businesses and more.

Over the summer of 2022, crochet clothing spiked in popularity where individuals would hand make their own beachy and summery clothing to match their own style. Crochet clothing has now continued to be a top style in 2023.

“I know a few people who crochet and one of the girls in my class actually found out that I crochet, and she asked me to teach her at the end of the year. So, I’m hoping maybe I can start my own community and at least teach other people because it’s definitely getting a lot more popular, but I feel like I would like to make crochet more popular than it already is,” Kramer said.

Those who crochet not only see the beauty it provides, but the opportunity that sprouts from looping yarn into a meaningful item.

“I would definitely recommend people to crochet. I feel like it can help lots of different people who struggle with mental health issues or can’t really concentrate on certain things. I feel like it’s a very good, relaxing thing to do,” Wu said.

Isabella Hewitt

Contents Editor

i.hewitt.thepanther@gmail.com

DESIGN BY IVY LAGARTO

PHOTOS BY MADELINE VOLPE