Crochet

I learnt crochet from my grandmother, and to my impressionable eight-year-old mind, it was the best thing I ever learned. I could make clothes for my toys (my teddy really needed a scarf for every day of the week), blankets for the dog, and a variety of misshapen doilies and placemats. Best of all, I embarked on an epic project, an ever-increasing bedcover in an increasingly distorted square shape, made from any scrap of wool or yarn I could lay my hands on. The result was a comfort blanket with inbuilt memories which stayed with me well into my adult years, and saw me through all the major rites of passage in reliable and frayed style. Just when it left me, I can't recall, though I think it may have been purged during the preparations to emigrate. I still regret it. Whatever it looked like now, it would be something to pass onto my children. I like to think that it lives on, out there somewhere, giving comfort still to some needy child in Africa, or cushioning an elderly Labrador. Anyway, one day I am going to start a new one, one that all my children can contribute to. And I am going to be buried wrapped up in it?

So you get the picture, crochet is a great hobby suitable for a wide age range and any degree of fitness. It's actually enjoying a resurgence of interest, as I read in the Sunday paper last week. Apparently, it's something to do with the retro fashions of late; you remember those flamboyant 70s styles in squares of colour, edged in fringing. And it's also down to the relaxing effect crochet has, and the tactile satisfaction of the yarn and the hook slipping through your fingers. It's a great offset to a technology-saturated life, a quiet and convenient hobby that can be picked up in those quiet moments and settle the mind. The end result is great too, don't be fixated on all those stereotyped crochet nightmares you hankered after in your youth, or the ecru horrors filling the op- shops these days, there are endless possibilities in the crochet world. It is a very adaptable skill that will surprise you time and time again.

The skill we know as crochet originated in the 18th century and seems to be a development of lace making, though many cultures had similar crafts, so it is probably a product of many influences. The name derives from the French word "croche", meaning hook, which is usually made of metal or plastic these days, but would have originally been carved wood or bone.

The craft of crochet differs from other needle-work in that it always results in one loop remaining on the hook at the end of a stitch, although there may be several during the making of that stitch. The exception is in the making of Afghans, when a long hook with a knob on the end is used to stop the stitches sliding off. But generally, you begin your crochet with one slip knot on the hook, make another, and pull that one through the first, and so on to make a chain to your desired length. Then there is the choice to either turn around and work back along that row, or to join the ends and make a round. If it sounds complicated, don't be put off. It really is a very simple and methodical process which can create great results even for the beginner.

It's helpful to have some tuition in the form of a diagram in a book or magazine, but nothing beats hands-on lessons. You can ask at your local sewing, craft or wool shop, there are usually classes or groups going on which will speed your learning and spur your interest. There are often council-run course for all levels where you can hope to complete a project over a period of weeks. There are endless great books and magazines full of information and exciting patterns. There's nothing quite like the anticipation of choosing a pattern and finding just the right yarn, you simply cannot wait to get it home and find the time to begin. It is thrilling to see it take shape in your hands.

I am not a crochet freak, I don't work on it continually, and in fact I am knitting something at the moment. But crochet does hold a special place in my affections for sheer fun and simplicity. Whether you are a novice or an old hand, please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas here with us. We want to do a whole lot more about this enjoyably compulsive hobby.

Now would you excuse me while I look for that bag of wool oddments, I can feel a blanket coming on??