The Crochet Clich/ Much-maligned technique stages a comeback as

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 19, 2002 | by RACHEL SAUER

It's all about knitting, isn't it? All those fawning celebrity profiles that mention Julia Roberts knitting between takes. All those young hipsters gathering for coffee and knitting lessons. All that price inflation on hand-knit anything.

But what about crochet?

What about frilly toilet-paper covers and garish ruffled doll dresses and ripple-pattern afghans in shades of brown and orange? What about wedding gifts from great-aunts and mass-produced refrigerator magnets for the craft fair?

What about granny squares?

With knitting being touted as the hobby du jour of the trend elite, and with the general popular celebration of all things homey, it's time to step forward and acknowledge all that yarn given to the cause of crochet. It's time to acknowledge the love and time that went into the queen-sized, multihued monstrosity lurking in the back of the linen closet.

"Some of these crafts got a bad rap when they started showing up in church bazaars," said Julia Evans, who learned to crochet from her grandmother and teaches crochet classes at Green Valley Weavers in Colorado Springs.

It's the Red Heart stigma. Red Heart is the yarn brand known for its super-size acrylic skeins, affordable prices and bright colors, and has come to represent every crochet clich.

"I think you had this generation of people who would go to the five and dime or other big stores and were buying whatever was there, the acrylic yarns that are so stiff and scratchy," Evans said. "I think crochet is like painting: The outcome is going to depend on the tools you use."

With certain tools, crocheting produces the unusual Barbie doll toilet-paper cover that Kim Sebring's grandma made. The doll's legs go through the tube and the crocheted skirt fits over the roll. She's had it forever and can't get rid of it because her grandma made it. This might explain why she prefers knitting.

Mary Mraz , who teaches crochet classes at The Red Needle West, also has a unique crochet legacy: egg cozies her aunt produced by the hundreds and sold at craft fairs. The cozies fit over plastic eggs and were themed for each holiday.

Mraz also has an afghan her mother-in-law made that fits a queen- size bed "and is like a Brillo pad," she said. "It sounds like Velcro when you unfold it, and you can't use it because it's too scratchy."

It seems that crochet would be doomed as a cultural reference point that Hollywood employs when it wants to represent Middle America - a granny square afghan draped over the back of an ugly plaid couch, crocheted dolls in a car's rear window.

But wait. Many generations of crochet skills have been used to commit afghans, but two things save crochet from the ultimate kitsch bin: the fact that something hand-made implies it was made with love, and the inaccuracy of the crochet-is-ugly stereotype.

For every nuclear pink doll dress, there are delicate lace table runners and doilies. Evans has pieces her grandmother crocheted with ecru thread, pieces as diaphanous and lovely as spider webs. And her own crochet projects are tapestries of natural fibers and rich colors.

Even though knitting remains the most popular of recently revitalized handiwork, crochet is gradually getting more attention, said Mickey Landau , owner of The Red Needle West. More college students are visiting her shop to pick up yarn and hooks to make hats and scarves, and are teaching their friends.

"We'll see students in here before car trips home for the holidays, and they'll all pile out and come in here for yarn," Landau said. "Whoever in the car doesn't crochet will be crocheting by the end of the trip. And we're seeing guys do it, too."

Though crochet uses a third more yarn than knitting, Mraz said, it generally is easier to learn.

"It really is a versatile art form," she said. "You can do an afghan with 65 different squares in it and none of them will be the same. And it's relaxing. You can sit and watch TV while you do it, and have something to show for your time."

This season, crochet has emerged from basement church bazaars to appear on blouse trims and purses, and even in designer showrooms. At the recent runway show of Los Angeles designer Eduardo Lucero , an ivory crocheted blazer was paired with tapered silk trousers, and a crocheted tank was layered over a beaded bikini top and taffeta skirt.

"You can make beautiful pieces with crochet," Evans said. "It really is an art form."

And even if that art is orange and brown and ripple patterned, remember: It was made with love.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about crocheting, visit www.crochet.org , the Web site of the Crochet Guild of America. Other sites for crochet information and patterns include www.smartcrochet.com , www.crochetsites.com and www.crochetnmore.com

For advice on fibers and techniques, visit www.nd.edu/~mmeineke/ kelly/crochet/ideas.htm

Also, various Colorado Springs yarn shops periodically offer crochet classes. Call Green Valley Weavers at 448-9963 , The Red Needle West at 633-8008 or Needleworks by Holly Berry at 636-1002.