Why is Gen-Z So Obsessed With Crochet? (crochet-tok & quiet activism)

timestamps!
00:00 intro
01:06 history crash course
03:53 politicisation of crochet?
08:08 from craft to art
11:47 the pandemic & crochet-tok
13:36 crochet & the trad-wife trend
17:53 anti-fast fashion

socials!

references:

🔗 business enquiries only

[wiktoriadomanowska]

I think what bothers me most about crochet in fast fashion is that there's not even a good opportunity for crocheters to sell their crochet. A lot of people don't sell their completed pieces and instead sell the pattern because the price they'd have to sell the piece at to account for yarn + time + effort would be too expensive for anyone interested.

[frogdrug]

I’m obsessed with crochet because I feel like I have more control over my wardrobe and it feels unique.

[rontanamo_bae]

as a gen z male, I got into crochet during 2020 because I needed a hobby during lockdown and knitting was harder 😭

[brittany]

I know why!! It’s fun!! It’s challenging!! You get a cute stuffed toy or a cuddly blanket as a reward at the end!

[blueca]

i've been seeing more and more machine knit objects being labeled as crochet in big stores as crochet has become more trendy. it's really sad to me that these corporations are trying to profit off of a craft that's impossible to mass produce by lying about their products and intentionally mislabeling their products in order to be "trendier"

[Ashaasmith]

I have been crocheting for years. My grandma and mom taught me how. Honestly because I know crochet can’t be machine made, I often think “I love this but there’s no way someone got paid well enough at that price” or “I could make that myself” or “that is the correct price but I don’t have nearly that much money” whenever I pass crochet work in stores

[abigailcampbell]

Crochet also provides instant gratification. On days where work or social life don’t provide a sense of accomplishment, seeing that my project grew an inch makes me feel more productive.

[mariaalejandracastillaberd]

As a med student who crochets, I receive so many comments like how do I get the time and stuff like that. And now that I think about it, it started in the pandemic, but now it's also about no dedicating every second of the Day to medicine. Which May be a way to reject the expectations of the med student that only studies, and doesn't have time for their friends or actually anything.

[NNG]

Im a teen and started crochet about 2 years ago. Its the best hobby i ever learned and feel awesome that i have a whole skill.

[toniantiporda]

Dropping this comment before starting the video just to say: I’m actually quite happy that crocheting made a resurgence. Elder millennial here, and I’ve been crocheting since the 3rd grade, but never have I seen so much variety in available yarns and hooks, it’s insane.

[marabanara]

I’m a 40 year old (so an older millennial). I learned crochet basics at a school club at age 11. My grandmother and mum taught me to knit a bit but I never loved it. Then at age 20 my very crafty future MIL refreshed my crochet knowledge and taught me more stitches. Most of her projects were embroidered items just bordered in crochet with cotton. Which was fine, but I started to search for videos as I was and still am obsessed with YouTube.
Of course it was much harder back then to find content but I knew enough to start figuring things out on my own.

The problem I see now is very inexperienced/new crocheters jumping in making content or selling patterns that are unfortunately of terrible quality.
These days when paying for pattern, it’s not always possible to figure out if it will be well graded and have been properly tested.

Of course the use of crochet in fast fashion is a big problem. And not even always actual crochet! Oftentimes, it’s machine-knit fabric made to imitate crochet. Yes, any crocheter can spot it easily, but your average fashion consumer wouldn’t necessarily know. This further devalues handmade items.

As others have noted, the difficulty with making and selling crocheted items means that instead, creators turn to selling patterns, and as I said before, these aren’t great quality most of the time.

Similar things happen with knitting but it’s often impossible to tell if something has been totally hand knit or has had matching knitting incorporated too. Even smaller sellers crank out machine knitted garments, and this is kind of becoming a craft all of its own, but still sold as “handmade” just not “hand knit”.

It’s crazy that when something is done by women, it’s often not even considered a craft but purely a hobby, or just what women did in the past to help clothe their families or make items for their homes. Yet men’s handicraft’s mean their makers are “craftsmen”, a well regarded term, and when men engage in fibre crafts, their work is art, and they’re considered artists. I’m making generalisations, but you get the picture.
I even see this in crochet, and YouTube crochet content. Out of all crocheters, men make up very, very few. And while there are fewer male than female crochet content creators, I get surprisingly many of them suggested to me, sometimes daily! I also will say most are also white. So I have to go hunting sometimes to find crochet inspiration from women around the world- because it’s a worldwide craft. As I was born in Chile and still can speak Spanish, I seek out Latin American crochet content (such as Majovel Crochet- she has an English Channel too) as the designs are great and quite different to the designs from English speaking channels. Black American women crocheters also have some great stuff too, with a well known favourite being TL Yarn Crafts. I even speak just enough Italian to admire Il Filo Rosso’s stunning designs that I still haven’t found an English standard equivalent for, particularly for fingering or laceweight yarn.

As much as I do also enjoy young mainstream crochet YouTubers (such as Jenna Phipps), I don’t love the reliance on granny stitch/granny squares, lack of garment shaping (the boxy sweaters) and chunky or DK yarn (I’m loving the drape of fingering weight and sock yarn).

[caroline]

As someone who despises fast fashion and has made a lot of effort to not buy from any fast fashion brands new as much as possible for years now (I still slip up occasionally but that’s okay) ive nearly either thrifted or made my entire wardrobe. I find it a lot of fun to plan an outfit for an event 6 months in advance and thrift what supplies I can and make it thoughtfully in ways I know I’ll be able to wear for years instead of running out and buying a cheap dress for an event. It’s more work but worth it for sure.

[marlasinger]

i feel like a lot of times crochet isnt rlly "slow fashion" because ppl make projects just for fun or boredom and then never wear them

[TheHarryKnit]

I'm on the knitting side of TikTok and Instagram most of the time but the rise of crochet as both a hobby and an art form is incredible to see - I wonder about how these crochet works will compare over time and if it become a staple like knitwear or be considered a trend of the 2020s

[CarleyRoseStudio]

literwally crocheting while i watch this 🤪this was so insightful, i hadn't thought about the actual reasons for the resurgence and/or disappearance of crochet as a trend and hobby. Love it!

[Nik-koeq]

I have been a crocheter since 2002, I was 18, now I’m 40! The resurgence makes me happy but yeah… the fast fashion aspect ticks me off! I love gen z, my daughters generation, for bringing it back to the public eye

[savannah]

I crochet, and love that I have something tangible to show for my hard work at the end. I originally started in 2022 bc I was recovering from a surgery and wanted to learn a less physically-based hobby, and I fell in love! I like the creativity of personalizing something (a garment, blanket, toy, whatever) any way I want, and I love the challenge of learning how to make my creative vision into a reality. Mentally, depending on what you’re making there can be a fair amount of math and problem-solving involved, which I also find fun. Plus, I like how easy it is to undo your work when you mess up (this was the big reason I learned crochet over knitting). My only drawbacks are that it’s time-consuming and yarn can get expensive! Like, if I make a sweater it’ll be like $50 of materials plus like a month of labor. But the trade off is that I can make it fit and look exactly how I want, and I know I’ll end up with a truly unique garment

[looseleaflyra]

i know i sound like a gatekeeper but i stand by the fact that you do not deserve to wear crocheted garments if you are not making it yourself or supporting an independent artist.

[Steviejustine]

I started crocheting in 2013 and LOVE that so many more people are into now because there are way more crochet pattern videos and inspo than there used to be when I started. A lot of the youtube vids were older women and not very in style. There's so much more variety. I'm in my early 30s now, and the younger generation is SO creative. It's fun learning from them 😊

[lilrootroot]

I love that you researched the background history of this craft! It's really good to hear that "crochetivism" is (and was) always a thing that a lot of us hold onto in this community <3

I got into it ~2014 bc of the Amigurumi blogs on Tumblr but put my hook down for about 6yrs and bc of the rise of popularity on TikTok, I was re-inspired to get back into it!

I love seeing the younger generations get into it and just how much y'all are bringing into this community bc back then, it was SO HARD to find a pattern (or inspo) that wasn't at least 20yrs old lol. So grateful to see this community very alive and well!