Crocheting and Creativity

Explaining why I began crocheting would be a good beginning, as that will probably explain my stance on creativity and, possibly, shortage of it. I'm not going to pretend that there was some artistic force within me that needed to be set free and that the crochet hook was the key to my imagination. No. It was something way less poetic - a bet. A simple bet that required me to learn how to crochet in order to win it. Not a very ambitious beginning.

However, I was hooked (no pun intended) really quickly. There is something amazing about the fact that you start off with a single knot and you can end up with just about anything between your hands. A slip-knot, a chain, a row - it seems almost natural and organic. After the insufferably irritating process of mastering the basics, you become a crochet-counting obsessed crocheteer with a slight yarn fetish. At first you work following other people's patterns, then you begin to understand how to create specific shapes and sizes and then...

And then the yarn-ball hits the fan. Despite the fact that with enough time, patience and skill you can crochet every object or creature imaginable, there seems to be some strange tendency to constantly produce (or manufacture, if you prefer) the same things. Over and over and over again. I'm not talking about using some very popular and easy to make patterns, like the famous Amineko pattern, as they are simply fun to try out and it's  a natural way of improving our crocheting skills. I'm talking about the endless wave of Pokemon, My Little Pony, (insert your favourite here) crochet fan-art.

At this point I have to explain that it is not my intention to alienate, offend, ridicule or criticise anybody. I do understand the joy of fan-art crocheting. I myself loved every single second of making Prinny or Babeling. Also, the aim of this article is not to criticise the makers of Pokemon amigurumi. Actually, I feel that it is us, the audience, that I'd like to give something to think about.

We choose to like, fave, share, etc., patterns and amigurumis of things that we have already seen countless times. It seems that we neither emphasize nor promote the importance of original patterns and ideas or more obscure fan-art tributes. Despite all the possibilities that crocheting offers, we are stuck in this circle of making and re-making the same objects.

Though I have seen some amazingly fantastic Pikachus and absolutely charming Totoros, I would so much more appreciate a far less than perfect but original monstrosity. There are so many people who create their very own patterns, including Samuel Williamson, whose creatures are mind-blowingly and ridiculously creative; Natalia Ninomiya, who makes both original characters and really awesome fan-art. Also, there are people like June Gilbank, who not only constantly attempts to crochet something new, but also motivates others to explore their imagination and environment to find new crochet inspiration.

So, please, do not feel offended by this article. Instead, next time you browse through the yarny-crochety horde on the Internet, try not to focus only on the stuff you already recognise from other media, like TV or film characters, but give extra credit to the original ideas. Encourage the creativity behind all those wicked spawns of twisted imagination, those disgustingly sweet and cuddly monstrosities dwelling in our brains.

I think that it all comes down to one thing - we really should shift the focus a bit, because coming up with your own design is at least as difficult as a skillful reproduction of an already well-know character or image. And one piece of advice to all fellow crocheteers – be brave, be experimental and don't be afraid to crochet your own original ideas.

So, if you want to express your opinion on the subject (or just let me know that I'm a prick), leave a comment and let the world know.

Cheers,
Luke Crochet