Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term crochet, which means 'hook'. Hooks can be made from different materials (aluminum, steel, metal, wood, bamboo, bone, etc.), sizes, and types (in-line, tapered, ergonomic, etc.). The key difference between crochet and knitting, beyond the implements used, is that each stitch in crochet is completed before the next one, while knitting keeps many stitches open at a time. Some variant forms of crochet however, such as Tunisian crochet and broomstick lace, do keep multiple crochet stitches open at a time.
Etymology The word crochet is derived from the French word , a diminutive of croche, in turn from the Germanic croc, both meaning "hook". It was used in 17th-century French lace-making, where the term crochetage designated a stitch used to join separate pieces of lace. The word crochet subsequently came to describe both the specific type of textile and the hooked needle used to produce it.Santina M. Levey, Lace: a History, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 1983, , p. 92
In 1567, the tailor of Mary, Queen of Scots, Jehan de Compiegne, supplied her with silk thread for sewing and crochet, "soye à coudre et crochetz".Teulet, 'Maison de Marie-Stuart', Relations Politiques, vol. 2 (Paris, 1862), p. 273.
Origins
Knitted textiles survive from as early as the 11th century CE, but the first substantive evidence of crocheted fabric emerges in Europe during the 19th century.Lis Paludan, Crochet: History & Technique, Interweave Press, Loveland CO, , p. 76 Prior to the 19th century, classifications often failed to distinguish between crochet and knitting. Earlier work identified as crochet was commonly made by nålebinding, a different looped yarn technique. There are three main theories for the origin of crochet. Some believe that its beginnings can be traced to the Arab trade route, originating in Arabia and spreading to Tibet and then Spain as well as other Mediterranean countries. The second theory places crochet in South America, where it was used as adornment in a tribe's puberty ritual. The third notes the use of crochet in China where early examples of dolls were worked entirely in crochet.
The first known published instructions for crochet explicitly using that term to describe the craft in its present sense appeared in the Dutch magazine Penélopé in 1823. This includes a color plate showing five styles of purse, of which three were intended to be crocheted with silk thread. A. B. Van Meerten, Penélopé, of, Maandwerk aan het vrouwelijk geslacht toegewijd, Amsterdam, 1824, pp. 90–94 The first is "simple open crochet" (crochet simple ajour), a mesh of chain-stitch arches. The second (illustrated here) starts in a semi-open form (demi jour), where chain-stitch arches alternate with equally long segments of slip-stitch crochet, and closes with a star made with "double-crochet stitches" (dubbelde hekelsteek: double-crochet in international terminology; single-crochet in US).Sarah Hazell, 200 Crochet Stitches, Search Press, Kent, 2013, The third purse is made entirely in double-crochet. The instructions prescribe the use of a tambour needle (as illustrated below) and introduce a number of decorative techniques.
The earliest dated reference in English to garments made of cloth produced by looping yarn with a hook—shepherd's knitting—is in The Memoirs of a Highland Lady by Elizabeth Grant (1797–1830). The journal entry itself is dated 1812 but was not recorded in its subsequently published form until some time between 1845 and 1867, and the actual date of publication was first in 1898.Elizabeth Grant, The Memoirs of a Highland Lady, John Murray, London, 1898 p. 182. Nonetheless, the 1833 volume of Penélopé describes and illustrates a shepherd's hook, and recommends its use for crochet with coarser yarn.A. B. Van Meerten, Penélopé, of, Maandwerk aan het vrouwelijk geslacht toegewijd, Amsterdam, 1833, pp. 152
In 1844, one of the numerous books discussing crochet that began to appear in the 1840s states:
Two years later, the same author writes:
An instruction book from 1846 describes Shepherd or single crochet as what in current international terminology is either called single crochet or slip-stitch crochet, with U.S. terminology always using the latter (reserving single crochet for use as noted above).Nancy Nehring, Learn Slip Stitch Crochet, Annie's Attic, Berne, IN, 2008, , p. 2 It similarly equates "Double" and "French crochet".Mlle. Riego de la Branchardiere, Knitting, Crochet, and Netting, London, 1846, p. 57
Not withstanding the categorical assertion of a purely British origin, there is solid evidence of a connection between French tambour embroidery, french passementerie and crochet. A form of hook known as crochet was used to create 'chains in the air' as part of passementerie back in the 17th century. This is confirmed by a patent issued to the passementiers by Louis XIV in 1653, and there are earlier decorative examples of this technique. The patent lists various items, including "thread for embroidery, enhanced and embellished as done with a needle, on thimbles, on the fingers, on a crochet, and on a bobbin." Similarly, chain stitch appears in Queen Elizabeth I's wardrobe accounts, starting in 1558, with further references to garments bordered with 'cheyne lace' in other inventories. One example from 1588 describes "a long cloak of murry velvet, with a border of small cheyne lace of Venice silver." While the exact design of the 1653 crochet is unclear, a 1723 French dictionary by Jacques Savary des Brûlons describes a crochet as a small iron instrument, three or four inches long, with a pointed, curved end and a wooden handle, used by passementiers for tasks like creating hat seams and attaching flowers to mesh. It is most likely that the hook used in crochet came from the ones used by the French pessamenterie industry. French tambour embroidery and the crochet needle used for it was illustrated in detail in 1763 in Diderot's Encyclopedia. The tip of the needle shown there is indistinguishable from that of a present-day inline crochet hook and the chain stitch separated from a cloth support is a fundamental element of the latter technique. The 1823 Penélopé instructions unequivocally state that the tambour tool was used for crochet and the first of the 1840s instruction books uses the terms tambour and crochet as synonyms. Mrs. Gaugain, The Lady's Assistant for Executing Useful and Fancy Designs in Knitting, Netting and Crotchet Work, Edinburgh, 1840 This equivalence is retained in the 4th edition of that work, 1847. Jane Gaugain, The Lady's Assistant for Executing Useful and Fancy Designs in Knitting, Netting and Crochet Work, 4th ed., 1847
The strong taper of the shepherd's hook eases the production of slip-stitch crochet but is less amenable to stitches that require multiple loops on the hook at the same time. Early yarn hooks were also continuously tapered but gradually enough to accommodate multiple loops. The design with a cylindrical shaft that is commonplace today was largely reserved for tambour-style steel needles. Both types gradually merged into the modern form that appeared toward the end of the 19th century, including both tapered and cylindrical segments, and the continuously tapered bone hook remained in industrial production until World War II.
The early instruction books make frequent reference to the alternative use of 'ivory, bone, or wooden hooks' and 'steel needles in a handle', as appropriate to the stitch being made. Taken with the synonymous labeling of shepherd's- and single crochet, and the similar equivalence of French- and double crochet, there is a strong suggestion that crochet is rooted both in tambour embroidery and shepherd's knitting, leading to thread and yarn crochet respectively; a distinction that is still made. The locus of the fusion of all these elements—the "invention" noted above—has yet to be determined, as does the origin of shepherd's knitting.
Irish crochet
In the 19th century, as Ireland was facing the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849), crochet lace work was introduced as a form of famine relief; the production of crocheted lace was an alternative way of making money for impoverished Irish workers.Irish Crochet Lace Exhibit Catalog Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles. 2005. Men, women, and children joined a co-operative in order to crochet and produce products to help with famine relief during the famine. Schools to teach crocheting were started, and teachers were trained and sent across Ireland to teach this craft. When the Irish immigrated to the Americas, they were able to take crocheting with them. Mademoiselle Riego de la Branchardiere is generally credited with the invention of Irish crochet lace, publishing the first book of patterns in 1846. Irish lace became popular in Europe and America, and was made in quantity until the first World War.Art That Saved the Irish From Starvation by Zelda Bronstein. Berkeley Daily Planet, April 19, 2005.
Modern practice and culture Fashions in crochet changed with the end of the Victorian era in the 1890s.
The strong Victorian colors disappeared, though, and new publications called for white or pale threads, except for fancy purses, which were often crocheted of brightly colored silk and elaborately beaded. After World War I, far fewer crochet patterns were published, and most of them were simplified versions of the early 20th-century patterns. After World War II, from the late 1940s until the early 1960s, there was a resurgence in interest in home crafts, particularly in the United States, with many new and imaginative crochet designs published for colorful doilies, potholders, and other home items, along with updates of earlier publications. These commercial pattern books, such as the Kentucky Rug Yarns series, published by the January and Wood company, provided simplified instructions for practical household items. These patterns called for thicker threads and yarns than in earlier patterns and included variegated colors. The craft remained primarily a homemaker's art until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the new generation picked up on crochet and popularized granny squares, a motif worked in the round and incorporating bright colors.
Although crochet underwent a subsequent decline in popularity, the early 21st century has seen a revival of interest in handcrafts and DIY, as well as an improvement in the quality and varieties of yarn. As well as books and classes, there are YouTube tutorials and TikTok videos to help people who may need a clearer explanation to learn how to crochet. Crochet has been used as a medium to explore identity and self-expression in educational programs, bridging the gap between art and technology. The repetitive nature of the craft is also used as a therapeutic tool for stress relief, depression, and anxiety.