AIBU to remind you that crochet is hand made?

[StripyHorse]

I am currently crocheting a top for DD. It's taken me a few evenings so far and I am not even half way. In the meantime, I keep getting adverts on social media for various crochet items like this top https://www.hollisterco.com/shop/uk/p/crochet-v-neck-halter-top-51495819?faceout=model&seq=02

Unlike knitting, crochet can ONLY be made my hand so this top will have taken someone hours to make.

AIBU to ask you to consider this before buying crochet items on the High Street? If the price seems cheap (remembering materials costs / shipping and company profits) someone is being paid peanuts for all their hard work.

I suppose that's a good point. I suppose it is only by consumers paying more / not buying the cheaper made items that change will come - but that is no good to individuals caught up in it.

@woopdedoodle that's a really good point. I like to at least consider if it's totally unreasonable or not though - fast fashion t-shirts won't have the same amount of work put into them than a crochet top. If the price for both is similar, something is going wrong.

I suspect most people who crochet tend to get value from the enjoyment they have in creating something and don't worry too much about the value of what they produce. I tend to crochet partly for the sake of having something to do with my hands when I'm watching TV or just chatting to people, as a result of which I've now made more than my friends and relatives could possibly want by way of presents and I'm mostly giving what I make to charity. Even if they sell it I suspect it's at a considerable undervalue, but so far as I'm concerned I've had my fun making whatever it is and that's enough.

I saw blankets/throws like these on sale on Ebay recently for around £500. I suspect they are more than worth it for the work put in, the value of the yarn, and because they're beautiful, but I seriously wonder who pays that much in reality.

Crocheting can take hours of work but it's easy once you get the hang of it. It is hobby sellers that sell things at a ridiculous low price that makes others think they shouldn't pay a decent amount. I made this top made to measure.

I always recall an interview with a woman whose job it was to inspect working conditions in countries where garments are made for export to the UK. She said the label on clothing tags that she hated the most was, 'hand embroidered, ' because it
implied artisan skill and a handmade cachet but usually really meant it was made by children because their eyesight is good and they're too young to be relied on to operate machines.

@Twyford I did one of those in blue/ purple. Yarn was acrilic about 30 pounds with pattern. Took me two months to finish about 50- 60 hours. On a minimum wage plus taxes etc that price is fair.
Hand made stuff take time, a lot of time.
Did it for my mum as present.

@indianwoman wow, that top is beautiful. Well done👏👏

As I said, I fully agree that the price is justifiable, but what I question is whether anyone is really going to be prepared to pay that sort of money. Ultimately, if you're selling things, they are only worth what people will pay.

I crochet and knit. A lot of stuff that’s on sale in shops labelled as crochet actually isn’t. Often items are machine knitted in a lace pattern that looks like, crochet. Machines can’t make crochet, the stitches just can’t be replicated mechanically.

I've noticed that some of the items in shops have maybe a granny square or crochet border, in which case OP, you are right that people who make them are being exploited

Or was made for him. DSs partner hand made him some link chain mail for LARPing...

Man in a granny square crocheted black jumpsuit.
Got to admire the fashion industry, they take the challenge of turning something people would point and laugh at into the new hot trend very seriously and it must take so much work...

My step-brother wanted chain mail for a costume when he was still at primary school so he asked my mum if she could make him some. She bought him some silver metallic looking yarn and a crochet hook. I'll have to ask him if he can still crochet

I didnt realise a machine cannot replicate crochet. Why isn't it possible?

I was pondering this very thing yesterday, whilst putting a crocheted blanket on a dog that I'd just anaethetised for dental work. We get a few donated to us and I was admiring the neatness of the work, wondering if it was actually machine made and how a machine would do it (I haven't knitted since I was about 11, wasn't any good at it and have never tried crochet) . I thought it was probably handmade and wondered how many hours it to to do, and how many years it took to get that good at it, and felt a bit sorry that it ended up in a vet clinic.

They are good for the purpose though. I put one on, perhaps doubled over, and a solid towel or fleecy blanket on top to trap the air in the holes- makes a great insulator. Baby socks on the feet, heat pad and vetbed or two under the dog and bob's your uncle, toasty pet. It's a bit of a come-down in life for the crocheted blanket, but better keeping somebody's beloved pet warm under GA than stuffed in a binbag in the attic.

Another amazing item from the granny-house clearout is the good old fashioned bedspread- the one in the stiff heavy fabric with the floral pattern on it that used to go on top of all the blankets on the double bed in the good guest room. Nothing better for throwing over a savage dog, getting somebody to trap most of the dog in it while you expose a hind leg and jab it with sedatives. I have one that can encapsule an entire writhing collie with ease . (Less frequently used now we have the magic gaba+trazadone pre vet visit cocktail...but still nice to have).

It makes me so angry that I can’t crochet. I am desperate to learn. I have tried and tried with videos etc and I just can’t do it.

A lot of the high street tops including the Hollister one are made of "crochet material" which is mass produced material made to look like crochet, but the blue bits at the bottom will be handmade.

Same - I've really tried but can't get the hang of it. I don't have any patience anymore, which doesn't help.

When I found out I was going to be a granny last year my DP bought me, as a joke, what he thought was a knitting set. Turned out it was actually a.crochet set. I'd never crocheted in my life but thought I'd have a go. Turned out I had a real aptitude for it and I haven't stopped crocheting since! By the time my little grandson was born in April this year i'd made pram blankets , crib blankets, cardigans, hats, comforters and toys. I've made Yoda slippers for my adult son ( he loved them 😁). I then branched out into Tunisian crochet and Japanese amigurami. All done with the help of a few YouTube videos .
I love it, I do it at night while watching tv. I'm currently making some adult size throws and blankets for family and friends. I daren't add up what I've spent on yarn. I've been told I should sell them as a side hustle but as PP have said , by the time you factor in the cost of yarn and man hours it wouldn't be worth it....I doubt people would pay the full worth. I do it for the love of it and when ive finished my current batch of blankets I'll do some things for charity. I was researching and there are.lots of places that would be happy to receive items.... little hats and cardies for prem babies , baby blankets for charity shops etc.😁
My partner laughs...he says I'm far away from a typical wee granny sitting crocheting ..... I'm like a granny in a Grim fairy tale. I like to do it while I'm binge watching my fave shows....anything supernatural with witches , vampires and the like. 😁

Tis just too complicated to crochet by machine - you're pulling a loop through a loop, one needle has to go through the piece, grab the working yarn, come back through the piece, go over top of the piece, grab the working yarn again and then pull that loop through the two loops already sat on the needle. Thats for the simplest stitch that 'builds' fabric.

You need fingers to manipulate that.

For clothing, you need to do far more complex stitches (I haven't learned them yet, I lose track!) involving yarn overs as well as the basic steps above, creating multiple chains before moving to the next stitch.

For the 'what can't machines do' nerds - they can't do double handed saddlers stitch either. Because the stitch requires two needles that pass through the same hole in opposite directions, switching sides of the piece each pass, creating a stitch that, if one loop is cut, still holds (whereas machine sewing the threads stay on the same side but are caught by the opposite sides thread, so if you cut one, the whole lot can be pulled free).

It is a valid point though - whilst some people are indeed being exploited by being paid what is to US a pittance, for work that is then being sold at a far higher price... what do those people live on if that work is taken away? They should be paid more, but how much are they being paid in comparison to other similarly skilled trades in their country? Is it still a pittance?

Sigh.

Yes, the fashion industry pays its workers a pittance - and that is by the standards of the countries in which they are living:

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/usa-blog/how-much-garment-workers-really-make/

https://www.elle.com.au/fashion/ethical-fashion-wages-27836

https://goodonyou.eco/the-impact-of-a-living-wage-for-garment-workers/

I'm also going to say this again: "machine-made" still involves a huge amount of worker exploitation. Sewing and knitting machines are not autonomous; they must be operated by people. Those people are not any less exploited because they are using a machine rather than a crochet hook.

Knitting machines can produce something resembling a granny square (see pic below - looks crocheted, is actually produced on a knitting machine). If you look closely you can see how the stitches are stacked.

I’m on holiday at the moment and there are lots of ‘crochet’ cover ups round the pool.

Im a crocheter and I made myself one for this holiday. I commented to DH the other day that if I sold it, I’d have to charge around £100 just for the time it took.

im totally biased but I do think my hand made one looks better.

Thank you!

Most fashion (whether cheap or expensive) is unfortunately extremely exploitative.

My gran was almost blind yet she could crotchet the most beautiful delicate doilies etc out of sewing thread, using the finest crochet hook I’ve ever seen. She stood at the window with the reel of thread in her apron pocket, she counted the stitches as she went, if she went wrong she could feel the change in the pattern through her finger tips. My job was to pull it out and start it again while she had a cuppa. I was six. I’d do a few rows for her. She’d then take over and carry on. I still have some of her work.

That green striped piece doesn't look remotely like crochet, are they selling it as such??

Yup. From a distance it looks like it could be trebles, but up closer you can see its not .