Thursday, November 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The History of Crochet
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| Hook |
Little is known of crochet's early history. There are
theories that crochet could have existed as early as 1500 BC, as part of nun's
work, which included needlepoint lace and bobbin lace. There are three main
theories for the origin of crochet. During the Renaissance, women crocheted
several strands of thread producing fabrics similar to lace.
At the end of the eighteenth century, tambour evolved into
what the French called crochet in the air, when the background fabric was
discarded and the stitch worked on its own. Tambour hooks were as thin as
sewing needles, and therefore the work must have been done with very fine
thread.
A type of lace called cheyne lace was made with a hook from
the late eighteenth century and a primitive form of crochet called pjonting can
be found from about 1820.
Lis Paludan theorizes 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 19th century. In Europe Crochet began boosted by Mlle Riego de la
Branchardiere, well known for her ability to take needle and bobbin lace
designs and turn them into crochet patterns that could be duplicated. She
published numerous patterns and also claimed to have invented lace-like
crochet, today called Irish crochet.
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| Crochet |
The first published crochet patterns appeared in the Dutch
magazine Pénélopé in 1824. Other indicators that crochet was new in
the 19th century include the 1847 publication A Winter's Gift, which
provides detailed instructions for performing crochet stitches, although it
presumes that readers understand the basics of other needlecrafts.
Donna Kooler proposes that early industrialization is the key
to the development of crochet. Crochet technique consumes more thread than
comparable textile production methods and cotton is well suited to crochet. Kooler
identifies a possible 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.
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 being an alternative way of
making money for impoverished Irish workers).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.
After World War I, far fewer crochet patterns were
published, and most of them were simplified versions of the early 20th century
patterns. 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.
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