The Joy of Crochet

In March of this year, the UK was put into a nationwide lockdown. Both myself and many others suddenly went from working a hectic five day week, to having a hell of a lot of time on our hands. So to cure boredom, expand my skill set and help me to resist spending stupid amounts of money on unethical fashion, I decided to teach myself to crochet.

I already had a set of crochet hooks and some acrylic yarn that I was given as a gift a Christmas or two ago when I had mused over learning the craft. I would have preferred to start with cotton yarn due to it being both nicer to work with and more eco-friendly, but as I was just learning and I don't like waste, I decided this was fine to start with.

I like to learn things with an end goal in mind rather than just practice, and so I threw myself straight into crocheting a bralette crop top. Initially, I found it quite difficult to hold the yarn and hook as I already knew how to knit and couldn't stop falling into a knitting motion, moving both hands in sequence. However, after a bit of perseverance and the help of some fantastic tutorials from a wonderful YouTuber Krystal Everdeen, I got the hang of it. I learnt a few different stitches and incorporated them into my top to practice, and was fairly happy with the final result!

One of the things that excited me the most about being able to crochet was the idea of being able to make my own underwear. I only wear non-wired bralettes as I don’t need much support, and have spent many hours scouring the internet for pretty, sustainable underwear that fits me and isn't ridiculously expensive. I bought some eco-friendly organic cotton yarn for my this project, which is so much easier to work with than acrylic, and much softer.

I was fairly happy with it, although it was a little loose on me. I struggle with determining how many stitches in each row I need to get the fit perfect. I especially found when making this bra that it was hard to figure out the length of the straps and the bottom part of the bra needed to be. But hey-ho! I can now use this project as a guide for future bras and bralettes to get a perfect fit next time!

For my third project, I decided to make another top, but this one made up of granny squares! They come in many variations and are incredibly versatile, being able to be made into tops, cardigans, towels, blankets and more. I stitched fourteen granny squares together to make this top and used ribbon from an Easter egg box as a removable strap and some wooden buttons I’ve had in my craft box for years.

Learning to crochet has been incredibly rewarding and the possibilities are endless. Future projects of mine include another top, a dress, a swimming costume and even makeup remover pads! Not only do I find it therapeutic but having the ability to turn a ball of yarn into a wearable piece of clothing, that is incredibly sustainable and ethical (as long as you choose the right yarn) is rather empowering. I love to learn skills that mean I can rely more on myself and less on consumerism and I fully recommend it to anyone with a bit of patience who likes to craft!