Articles

Ancient Fibers

An interview of Dr. Irene Good, by Mik Gain

Have you ever walked into a yarn store, held a skein of something wonderful that would crochet up into that perfect project and wondered how, over the course of many millennia of human history, that ball of fiber wound up in your hand? Dr....

Finding Crochet's American History, Part 2

By Denise J. Lavoie

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From Carpets to Jourabs

By Larisa Vilensky

High up in the northern Himalaya Mountains, the Tadzhik people of Pamir plateau, divided between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, still live a simple, centuries-old life, herding animals. Here we find a rare art, the making of colorwork crochet socks, called by the Turkish word Jourab. Larisa Vilensky provides rare insight into textile history,with her original research showing clear links between the making of these Jourabs and the ancient arts of Persian and Anatolian rugmaking.

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Reclaiming Crochet, and its American History

By Denise J. Lavoie

The real history of crochet has yet to be discovered. In the United States, there is virtually no written history of crochet. Of the few books providing historical treatment of crochet, only one had a portion dedicated to American crochet history.
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The Unknown History of Italian Irish Crochet Lace

An interview of Sonia Brunalti by Veruska Sabucco

Some time ago I made email contact with Veruska Sabucco, an Italian fiber journalist who shares my enthusiasm for crochet history. Veruska told me about Sonia Brunalti, a scholar who's done research on the Italian version of Irish crochet. I'd come across some exquisite work of this kind from a practitioner in the Umbrian town or Orvieto, but knew little more about it. I'm very honored to present Veruska's fascinating conversation with Sonia, and these intriguing images.

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Tunisian Crochet - No Boundaries

By Angela ARNie Grabowski

www.ChezCrochet.com

I hear all the time, "Wow! I never knew you could do so much with Tunisian Crochet! All I’ve ever seen is that one stitch!"

I just smile and nod, "You’d be amazed at what you can do with Tunisian Crochet, once you learn what was forgotten through the years."

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We LOVE Our Grandmother's Crochet

essays by Leslie Blackmon and Tanis Gray

It may be a convenient marketing ploy, but if I read one more blurb that says "this is not your grandmother's crochet" I'm going to go ballistic! It was Annie Modesitt who first pointed out this unwarranted dissing of handiwork by our foremothers. Home and garment fashions were different then, so were yarns, hooks and lifestyles, so naturally women did a different sort of crochet. Often it was at a far more advanced level than what many crocheters do today, so let's cherish these pieces for the wondrous example of craft and care they are....