Timeless Crochet Comfort

Editors' Note: We asked Interweave Crochet’s project editor, not to mention amazingly talented crocheter, Sarah Read, to share her thoughts about PieceWork’s new eBook, 7 Captivating Kimonos from 1918 to Crochet.

When mind and body both need a bit of comfort, I find there’s nothing better than to crochet a simple garment. Long swaths of basic crochet stitches—nothing too taxing on the mind, just letting the yarn do its thing, pulling the troubles out of your head and tying them up in knots. All the better if, at the end, you can wrap yourself up in those stitches and settle in to the warm thing you’ve made and have a cuppa.

The seven designs in this ebook serve that purpose perfectly, in addition to being cute enough that I can wear most them out-and-about when my cuppa’s done and I’m feeling ready to conquer the world again.

There’s also something enriching about working from vintage patterns, knowing that you’re following the path of crocheters a century ago. These women sat and stitched their garments from the same words on these pages for the same reasons we do today. There’s something that binds us all together in this continuity of craft and gives us a sense that we’re preserving a heritage. For me, that makes a garment crocheted from a vintage pattern more than just a garment—it’s an heirloom made new again. These flowing kimonos no doubt comforted the women of 1918 as they stitched their way through the climax and close of World War I, maybe pulling their troubles out of their minds and tying them up in these long, soft rows of stitches.

So put the kettle on and settle in for some comfort-crochet. I’ll be a space away on the map, doing the same, finding comfort in knowing we’re all a part of this heritage.