Detail of a crocheted doily, Sweden

Crochet (IPA: krəʊ'ʃeɪ) is a process of creating fabric from yarn or thread using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the Middle French word croc or croche, meaning hook. Crocheting, similar to knitting, consists of pulling loops of yarn through other loops. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one loop is active at one time (the sole exception being Tunisian crochet), and that a crochet hook is used instead of knitting needles. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 291 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (388 × 800 pixel, file size: 116 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 291 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (388 × 800 pixel, file size: 116 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ... Yarn Spools of thread Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. ... The hook A crochet hook is a type of needle with a hook at one end used to draw thread through knotted loops. ... Middle French (French: ) is a historical division of the French language which covers the period from (roughly) 1340 to 1611 [1]. It is a period of transition during which: the French language becomes clearly distinguished from the other competing Oïl languages which are sometimes subsumed within the concept of... Knit hat, yarn, and knitting needles Knitting is a craft by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth. ... Tunisian crochet, also known as Afghan crochet, uses an elongated hook with a stopper on the handle end, called an Afghan hook. ... The hook A crochet hook is a type of needle with a hook at one end used to draw thread through knotted loops. ...

Origins

Some theorize that crochet evolved from traditional practices in Arabia, South America, or China, but there is no decisive evidence of the craft being performed before its popularity in Europe during the 1800s. The earliest written reference to crochet refers to shepherd's knitting from The Memoirs of a Highland Lady by Elizabeth Grant in 1812. The first published crochet patterns appeared in the Dutch magazine Pénélopé in 1824. Other indicators that crochet was new in the nineteenth century include the 1847 publication A Winter's Gift, which provides detailed instructions for performing crochet stitches in its instructions although it presumes that readers understand the basics of other needlecrafts. Early references to the craft in Godey's Lady's Book in 1846 and 1847 refer to crotchet before the spelling standardized from 1848 onwward.^[1] Many find it likely that crochet was in fact used by early cultures but that a bent forefinger was used in place of a fashioned hook; therefore, there were no artifacts left behind to attest to the practice. These writers point to the "simplicity" of the technique and claim that it "must" have been early. The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... // Invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801. ...

Irish crochet lace, late 19th Century. The design of this example is closely based on Flemish needle lace of the 17th century.

Other writers point out that woven, knit and knotted textiles survive from very early periods, but that there are no surviving samples of crocheted fabric in any ethnological collection, or archeological source prior to 1800. These writers point to the tambour hooks used in tambour embroidery in France in the eighteenth century, and contend that the hooking of loops through fine fabric in tambour work evolved into "crochet in the air." Most samples of early work claimed to be crochet turn out to actually be samples of nålebinding. Donna Kooler identifies a problem with the tambour hypothesis: period tambour hooks that survive in modern collections cannot produce crochet because the integral wing nut necessary for tambour work interferes with attempts at crochet.^[2] Kooler proposes that early industrialization is key to the development of crochet. Machine spun cotton thread became widely available and inexpensive in Europe and North America after the invention of the cotton gin and the spinning jenny, displacing hand spun linen for many uses. Crochet technique consumes more thread than comparable textile production methods and cotton is well suited to crochet.^[3] Image File history File links Irish_crochet. ... Image File history File links Irish_crochet. ... Irish crochet is a type of lace, which has its origin in the famine years of the 19th century in Ireland. ... Needle Lace borders from the Erzgebirge mountains Germany in 1884, displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum. ... Ethnology (from the Greek ethnos, meaning people) is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyses the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the racial or national divisions of humanity. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... lace from Lier Tambour lace refers to a family of lace made by stretching a fine net over a frame (the eponymous Tambour, from the French for drum) and creating a chain stitch using a fine hook to reach through the net and draw the working thread through the net. ... Gold Embroidery Cross-stitch embroidery, Hungary, mid-20th century Phulkari from Punjab region, India 15th century embroidered cope, Ghent, Belgium Elizabethan embroidery styles include blackwork on linen and dense patterns worked in colored silk and metallic threads on velvet or other rich fabrics Embroidery is the art or handicraft of... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... NÃ¥lebinding (Danish: literally binding with a needle or needle-binding, also naalbinding or naalebinding) is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. ... Cotton gin A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates the cotton fibers from the seedpods and the sometimes sticky seeds. ... Model of the spinning jenny in a museum in Wuppertal, Germany The spinning jenny is a multi-spool spinning wheel. ...

Beginning in the 1800s in Britain, America and France, crochet began to be used as a less costly substitute for other forms of lace. The price of manufactured cotton thread was dropping, and even though crocheted laces took up more thread than woven bobbin laces, the crocheted laces were faster to make and easier to teach. // Invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801. ... Lace appliqué and bow at the bust-line of a nightgown. ...

During the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849) , Ursuline nuns taught local women and children to thread crochet. It was shipped all across Europe and America and purchased for its beauty and also for the charitable help it provided for the Irish population.^{[citation needed]} Great Irish Famine may also refer to Great Irish Famine (1740-1741) This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The word Ursuline is used to describe the following: Ursulines A Catholic religious order. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America[1], Central America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ...

Hooks ranged from primitive bent needles in a cork handle, used by poor Irish lace workers, to expensively crafted silver, brass, steel, ivory and bone hooks set into a variety of handles, some of which were better designed to show off a lady's hands than they were to work with thread. By the early 1840s, instructions for crochet were being published in England, particularly by Eleanor Riego de la Branchardiere and Frances Lambert. These early patterns called for cotton and linen thread for lace, and wool yarn for clothing, often in vivid color combinations.

Early history

A young girl crocheting, in a 1889 painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Around the world, crochet became a thriving cottage industry, particularly in Ireland and northern France, supporting communities whose traditional livelihoods had been damaged by wars, changes in farming and land use, and crop failures. Women and sometimes even children would stay at home and create things such as clothes and blankets to make money. The finished items were purchased mainly by the emerging middle class. The introduction of crochet as an imitation of a status symbol, rather than a unique craft in its own right, had stigmatized the practice as common. Those who could afford lace made by older and more expensive methods disdained crochet as a cheap copy. This impression was partially mitigated by Queen Victoria, who conspicuously purchased Irish-made crochet lace and even learned to crochet herself. Irish crochet lace was further promoted by Mlle. Riego de la Branchardiere around 1842 who published patterns and instructions for reproducing bobbin lace and needle lace via crochet, along with many publications for making crocheted clothing from wool yarns. The patterns available as early as the 1840s are astonishing in their variety and complexity. Download high resolution version (733x1000, 122 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (733x1000, 122 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... William-Adolphe Bouguereau, self-portrait (1886). ... A status symbol is something, usually an expensive or rare object, that indicates a high social status for its owner. ... Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from 1 May 1876, until her death on 22 January 1901. ... Valenciennes Mechlin Lace Bobbin lace is a delicate lace that uses wound spools of thread (the bobbins) to weave together the shapes in the lace. ... Needle Lace borders from the Erzgebirge mountains Germany in 1884, displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum. ...

Modern practice

Fashions in crochet changed with the end of the Victorian era in the 1890s. Crocheted laces in the new Edwardian era, peaking between 1910 and 1920, became even more elaborate in texture and complicated stitching.

Small Swedish tablecloth about 1930

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 40's until the early 60's, 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 patterns called for thicker threads and yarns than in earlier patterns and included wonderful 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 great strides in improvement of the quality and varieties of yarn. There are many more new pattern books with modern patterns being printed, and most yarn stores now offer crochet lessons in addition to the traditional knitting lessons. Filet crochet, Tunisian crochet, broomstick lace, hairpin lace, cro-hooking, and Irish crochet are all variants of the basic crochet method. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... A table cloth is a cloth used to cover a table. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... See also: DIY Network, a cable TV network. ... Filet crochet is a needlework handicraft using hooks. ... Tunisian crochet, also known as Afghan crochet, uses an elongated hook with a stopper on the handle end, called an Afghan hook. ... Broomstick Lace is a form of crochet, although the needle used looks like a very large knitting needle. ... Hairpin lace or hairpin crochet is a textile-making technique using a crochet hook and a hairpin loom: a small handheld loom with two parallel metal prongs joined by wooden endpieces (historically, a metal U-shaped hairpin was used). ... The cro-hook is a special double-ended crochet hook used to make double-sided crochet. ... Irish crochet is a type of lace, which has its origin in the famine years of the 19th century in Ireland. ...

Because of the underlying mathematical pattern structure of crochet, it has been used to illustrate shapes in hyperbolic geometry that are difficult to reproduce using other media or are difficult to understand when viewed two-dimensionally.^[4] Lines through a given point P and hyperparallel to line l. ...

Process

Crocheted fabric is begun by placing a slip-knot loop on the hook, pulling another loop through the first loop, and repeating this process to create a chain of a suitable length. The chain is either turned and worked in rows, or joined to the beginning of the row with a slip stitch and worked in rounds. Rounds can also be created by working many stitches into a single loop. Stitches are made by pulling one or more loops through each loop of the chain. At any one time at the end of a stitch, there is only one loop left on the hook. The running bowline, a type of slip knot For other senses, see slipknot. ...

Materials

Aluminum crochet hooks

Crochet hooks come in many sizes. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (650x908, 67 KB) Summary crochet hooks Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (650x908, 67 KB) Summary crochet hooks Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... The hook A crochet hook is a type of needle with a hook at one end used to draw thread through knotted loops. ...

Steel crochet hooks range from 3.5 to 0.75 millimeters in the size of the hook, or from 00 to 14 in American sizing. These hooks are used for fine crochet work. A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ...

Aluminum or plastic crochet hooks are available from 2.5 to 19 millimeters in hook size, or from B to S in American sizing. Some of the more popular crochet hooks are made by Boye and Susan Bates. Boye may refer to: Anker Boye (born 1950), Danish politician Jan Boye (born 1962), Danish politician Karin Boye (1900-1941), Swedish poet and novelist Mame Madior Boye (born 1940), former Prime Minister of Senegal Torben Boye (born 1966), Danish former professional football (soccer) player Boy (disambiguation) Boyde This page or...

There are many artisan-made hooks, too, most hand-turned of wood, sometimes decorated with semi-precious stones or beads.

Crochet hooks used for Tunisian crochet are elongated and have a stopper at the end of the handle, while double-ended crochet hooks have a hook on both ends of the handle. There is also a double hooked apparatus called a Cro-hook that has become more popular. Tunisian crochet, also known as Afghan crochet, uses an elongated hook with a stopper on the handle end, called an Afghan hook. ... The cro-hook is a special double-ended crochet hook used to make double-sided crochet. ...

International crochet terms and notations

In the English-speaking crochet world, the basic stitches have different names. The differences are usually referred to as UK/US or British/American. Examples of these differences and their usual abbreviations are: Image File history File links Crochet_symbols. ...

• UK: double crochet (DC) = US: single crochet (SC)
• UK: treble crochet (TR) = US: double crochet (DC)

and so on.

To help counter confusion when reading patterns, a diagramming system using a standard international notation has come into use (illustration, right). A more complete list can be found here, as well as in many pattern books.

Differences from knitting

One of the more obvious differences is that crochet uses one hook while most knitting uses two needles. This is because in crochet, the artisan usually has only one live stitch on the hook, while a knitter keeps an entire row of stitches active simultaneously. So dropped stitches, which can unravel a fabric, rarely interfere with crochet work. Round or cylindrical patterns are simple to produce with a regular crochet hook, but cylindrical knitting requires four or five special double sided needles.

Knitting can be accomplished by machine, while many crochet stitches can only be crafted by hand. Although some crochet patterns can emulate the appearance of knitting, distinctive crochet patterns such as granny squares cannot be simulated by other methods. Crochet is more suitable than knitting for joining pieces of fabric and knit patterns for sweaters may incorporate crochet for finishing. Crochet can add borders or surface embellishment to both knit and crochet fabric. Crocheted fabric uses 1/3 more yarn than knitted fabric. Crochet produces a thicker fabric than knitting, and tends to have less "give" than knitted fabric. Generally speaking, crochet technique produces fabric faster than knitting.

References

December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

External links

Crochet tutorials and basic information

• NexStitch Crochet Videos
• Stitch Diva Studios Crochet tutorial

Free crochet patterns

• Martha's Crochet & Craft links Extensive directory of patterns
• The Antique Pattern Library
• Crochet Pattern Central

v • d • e Crochet
Tools and techniques:	Amigurumi · Blocking · Crochet · Crochet hook · Cro-hook · Doily · Filet crochet · Tunisian crochet
Crocheted lace:	Broomstick lace · Crocheted lace · Hairpin lace · Irish crochet
Related:	Yarn