Crochet Philosophy

This one really is for the students, as many try to crochet very tightly, and then they can’t put your hook in the next stitch to carry on your work. Since this is then frustrating to them, loosey goosey is often repeated. Whilst it is very much a trap for new players, I do tend to work with a tension that is not to tight and not to loose. A bit like Goldilocks and her porridge.

As I was working some crochet chats for this website I realised that I have a crochet philosophy. It never occurred to me before, but when I teach crochet there are three things that I always tell my students:

No stress, no bother;

There are no mistakes, only design features;

Loosey goosey.

Then I realised that I use these in my crocheting as well. Each of these statements carries some detail behind them and I would like to discuss them further.

No stress, no bother

To me this sums up why I crochet, to relax and remove stress. So if I don’t like something, no bother I will start with something else or try it in a different approach. If I find that I am bothered or stressed by crochet (it happens, but very rarely) then I just put it down.

There are no mistakes, only design features

We all make mistakes. Chances are that we are probably the only ones that notice them. When I make a mistake I try to “fix” it as I go along. By knowing that I am possibly the only one to notice it, I embrace it as a feature of my work. As my partner once told me, your work is handmade, the little mistakes make it amazing and unique, as well as showing it is handmade. It reminds me of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery to show where the breaks were.

Loosey goosey

This one really is for the students, as many try to crochet very tightly, and then they can’t put your hook in the next stitch to carry on your work. Since this is then frustrating to them, loosey goosey is often repeated. Whilst it is very much a trap for new players, I do tend to work with a tension that is not to tight and not to loose. A bit like goldilocks and her porridge.

That is my crochet philosophy, and it works well for me. I would be really interested if you have a crochet philosophy, and if you do I would love to hear what it is.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to chatting with you again soon.

Charlie