FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Amazing crochet design pics | History Defined

The r/crochet subreddit is phenomenally well-known in hobbyist circles. It’s an online community where crocheters can share their work, support each other, swap ideas, and discuss anything and everything related to their beloved hobby. It’s all very wholesome and heartwarming. The moderator team invites the community to start engaging with one another: “We like fun contributions and discussion. So, what's on your hook?”

Originally, the online group was founded in early September 2008. These days, that feels so long ago, it’s practically a mythical era. Currently, the r/crochet forum gets around 411k weekly visitors, as well as 13k contributions.

Though we’ve tried our hands at crochet, knitting, and sewing, at the time, it wasn’t immediately obvious what the difference between all three of them was.

During an earlier interview with Bored Panda, one of the friendly moderators helping run the massive community was kind enough to answer our questions about all of this.

According to them, crochet and knitting are both yarn crafts that create fabric. “Other similarities include knowing how to count stitches and read written patterns.” However, “there is no real crossover with sewing, except perhaps that advanced sewers may have an advantage in understanding how garments drape and fit.”

“Crochet is definitely the most beginner-friendly between crochet, knitting, and sewing. This is because, in part, it’s the easiest to rip apart (called frogging) and go back to fix a mistake,” they said.

Of course, crocheting isn’t without its challenges! “Most beginners often find difficulty in knowing where to place the hook in each stitch and figuring out how to coordinate holding the yarn, hook, and work all at the same time!"

Starting crochet as a hobby is actually quite easy. The barrier to entry is absolutely minimal. “Learning to crochet, like everything else, has a learning curve! Luckily, it’s pretty easy to get started—all you really need is a hook and a skein of yarn.”

There are lots of resources to be found online and in person (videos, articles, books, tutorials, etc.) if you want to learn new stitches and patterns. You can also visit r/crochet to get even more inspiration.

The moderator explained to Bored Panda that the r/crochet community prides itself on maintaining a kind and helpful subreddit. They welcome crocheters “of all skill levels and experience.” At the time, they opened up to us that nobody on the then-moderation team knew how the subreddit began in 2008.

One recent post on the ‘Martha Stewart’ blog points out that both crocheting and knitting are different styles of stitching yarn together.

“In knitting, the stitches form a ‘V’ shape. In crochet, the stitches are more like knots. Knitting uses a pair of long needles to form the loops, moving a set of loops from one needle to another; the stitches are held on the needle. Crochet uses a single hook to hook the loops together directly on the piece.”

Crochet hooks come in a range of different sizes, and unlike knitting, crochet stitches actually resemble a chain of small knots.

Generally speaking, you have to think about the weight of the yarn with regard to the size of your hook. For instance, small hooks aren’t the best fit for heavier yarn and vice versa.

If you want a more beginner-friendly experience, you’ll probably want to pick up crochet rather than knitting.

There’s less focus on different techniques, so it’s a more accessible hobby.

However, if you want to challenge yourself from the get-go, learning to use a wider range of tools, then knitting might be more up your alley.

During another in-depth interview with the friendly r/crochet moderator team, Bored Panda found out even more about the community. One moderator explained to us that they’re all volunteers. They help the community out because they love the craft so much.

“We're fortunate to have multiple sweet moderators who can spend anywhere from 7-14 hours/week moderating r/crochet," they said, complimenting their hardworking colleagues.

"Our greatest challenges are keeping up with community-voted rules and encouraging people to follow them so everyone can enjoy time spent in the sub,” they said, describing what their biggest issues at the time were.

Getting frustrated after repeated failures is very human. Luckily, places like r/crochet are very supportive. “Whenever a novice crocheter expresses frustration with learning, we have lots of suggestions! While video tutorials are popular, like any other subject, there are fabulous written, photo, and individual (hands-on) learning resources. All they need to do is search, ask, and keep trying to connect with their own creativity!” the moderator suggested.

“There are so many facets of crochet, it takes time and effort to get all of these in sync.” They explained that the hobby is incredibly broad and layered. "Crocheting customized items for family, friends, charity, and ourselves involves limitless aspects from wearables to home decor to toys and many practical patterns, too."

We’d love to hear your thoughts about all of these brilliant designs, Pandas! If you have a moment, scroll down to the comments to tell us what you think. Which of these projects impressed you the most? Have you ever tried crochet or a similar hobby before? If so, what’s the coolest thing you’ve ever made?

And if you feel very social, consider sharing a photo of your awesome designs in the comments as well. We’re sure you’re going to impress a lot of the other readers with your creativity.