Research revealed that Crocheting is a technique for
creating cloth, lace, garments, and toys using yarn or thread and a single hook
of any size. Crochet can be used to make hats, bags, and jewelry, among other
things. In Holland, this talent is known as haken, in Denmark as haekling, in
Norway as hekling, and in Sweden as virkning. Crochet is derived from the Old
French term crochet, which means "little hook." Croche is derived from the Germanic word croc. Both terms refer to a
hook. Crochetage refers to the use of a single stitch to link two pieces of
lace together. In the 1600s, this term was used to describe the process of
producing French lace.
Knitting, needlework, and
weaving, for example, may be traced back in time thanks to archeological finds,
literary sources, and diverse graphical depictions. However, no one knows
exactly when or where the crochet began. The name derives from the Middle French
word croc, or croche, which means hook, and the Old Norse word krokr, which
means hook. Crochet is made up of yarn that is knotted and sewn in a variety of
ways to form a crocheted cloth. A single hook is used to make the stitches or
knots. The yarn can be manufactured from a variety of materials, including acrylic,
wool, and bamboo.
Crochet was given the name
crochet in the mid-nineteenth century. The manner of tambourine altered in the
early 1700s, when it entered Europe after expanding through India, Persia,
North America, and Turkey. The tambourine cloth was removed from the
background. The new technique was dubbed "crochet in the air" by the
French. Shepherd's knitting and the
shepherd's hook were invented in the early 1800s. It has a hooked end and is
thicker than a typical crochet hook. Crochet, or slip stitch
crochet, became popular in the mid-1800s. Granny squares and crocheted homeware
first appeared in the 1960s and quickly gained popularity. In 1300, a Dutch periodical
named Penélopé published the first recorded crochet pattern.
Invention in crocheting
It's difficult to pinpoint
the origins and who invented it. A distinctive Chinese embroidery technique or
the French style of ‘tambouring' is the most reliable link to someone or
individuals developing a crochet. Mademoiselle Riego de la Branchardiere, a Frenchwoman
born in 1829, created the first crochet design. She also wrote and published several books on crochet and knitting. Mademoiselle Riego de la Branchardiere
is credited with inventing Irish crochet because she is French. It went on to
become a popular crochet technique, which it is still today. Shepherd's
knitting is mentioned in Elizabeth Grant's journal entry in The Memoirs of a
Highland Lady (1797-1830). It's a
Annie Potter, a crochet
specialist and globe traveler from the United States, believes that "True
crochet as we know it now was established during the sixteenth century. In
France, it was known as 'crochet lace,' and in England, it was known as 'chain
lace.'" Walter Edmund Roth visited descendants of the Guiana Indians in
1916, she says, and saw specimens of real crochet. Lis Paludan of Denmark,
another writer/researcher who focused her hunt for the roots of crochet on
Europe has three intriguing hypotheses. One: Crochet started in Arabia,
traveled eastward to Tibet, then westward to Spain, from which it spread to
other Mediterranean countries via Arab trade routes where Earl is number two.
However, according to
Paludan, the bottom line is that "There is no conclusive evidence
as to how old or where the craft of crochet originated. Crochet was virtually
unknown in Europe until the year 1800. Many sources claim that crochet dates
back to the 1500s in Italy, where it was known as 'nun's work' or 'nun's lace,'
and was used by nuns for church textiles "she explains. Her investigation
turned up several examples of lace-making and a type of lace tape, many of
which have been survived, but "all indications suggest that crochet was
not recognized in Italy as early as the 16th century"—under any name.
The Irish Famine encouraged Irish Crochet
For the people of Ireland, Irish crochet was a
lifesaver. It rescued them from a potato famine that lasted from 1845 to 1850
and plunged them into poverty. The Irish faced difficult living and working
conditions during this period were bad. To take advantage of the sunlight, they knitted
in between farm chores and outside. They went inside after dark to work by
candlelight, a slow-burning peat fire, or an oil lamp. Because many of them
were living in filth, finding a place to store their crochetwork was a
challenge. If they didn't have anywhere else to put it, it went under the bed,
where it eventually became filthy but can be washed.
Crochet cooperatives were formed in Ireland,
bringing together men, women, and children. Schools were established to teach
the trade, and teachers were trained and dispatched throughout Ireland, where
the workers quickly developed their own designs. Although over a
million people perished in less than ten years, the Irish people managed to
endure the famine. Crochet earnings enabled families to save enough money to
emigrate and start a new life in another country, bringing their crochet
abilities with them. According to Potter, two million Irish people moved
to America between 1845 and 1859, and four million by 1900. Women in the United
States are busy spinning, weaving, knitting, and crocheting.
Crocheting Method
It's fascinating to compare and contrast old and
new crochet techniques. For example, from 1824 to 1833, the Dutch periodical
Penelope noted that both the yarn and the hook were to be held in the right
hand, with the yarn being transferred over the hook from the right forefinger.
The hook is held in the right hand and the yarn in the left in crochet books
from the 1840s, much as right-handers do today. According to a German
publication from 1847, one should constantly "maintain the same tension,
either crochet loosely or crochet tightly, otherwise an appealing even texture
will not be created; additionally, if not crocheting in the round, you must
break off your thread at the end of each row."
The injunction to preserve the same tension
"seems to suggest that crochet hooks were of the same thickness and that
the crocheter was required to work in the correct tension according to the
design," according to researcher Lis Paludan. Old pattern instructions
from the mid-1800s said that the hook should only be inserted into the rear
half of the stitch and that a single crochet stitch should be used unless
otherwise specified. In 1847, a European named Jenny Lambert noted that
inserting the single crochet hook into the rear half of the stitch was
excellent for producing table runners and other items, but passing the hook
through both loops might be used "to crochet soles for shoes and other
products.
References
A Living Mystery,
the International Art & History of Crochet.
Annie Louise Potter, A.J. Publishing International, 1990
CrochetHistory&Technique,Lis
Paludan, Interweave Press, 1995
Miss
Lambert, Hand-book of Needlework, New York City, 1842, p.92
Miss
Lambert, My Crochet Sampler, London, 1844, pp. 9-10
Nancy
Nehring, Learn Slip Stitch Crochet, Annie's Attic, Berne IN,
2008, ISBN 1596352159,
p.
Mlle. Riego
de la Branchardiere, Knitting, Crochet, and Netting, London, 1846,
p.57
Mrs.
Gaugain, The Lady's Assistant for Executing Useful and Fancy Designs in
Knitting, Netting, and Crotchet Work
Further reading
ambert, Miss
[Frances]. My Crochet Sampler, London: John Murray, Albemarle
Street, 1844.
Potter, Annie
Louise. A living mystery: the international art & history of
crochet
Riego de la
Branchardiere, Eléanor. Crochet Book 4th Series, London: Simpkin,
Marshall, and Co., 1848.
Riego de la
Branchardiere, Eléanor. Crochet Book 6th Series, containing D'Oyleys
and Anti-Macassars, London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1877. This is the
20th printing of this book; the original publishing date is probably about
1850.
Riego de la
Branchardiere, Eléanor. Crochet Book, 9th Series or Third Winter Book,
London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1850.
·
Warren, The Court Crochet Doyley Book,
London: Ackermann & Co, 1847.
