Making a difference with crochet

I learnt to crochet when I was eight, in my first year of junior secondary school. It wasn't any kind of formal training; we didn't know the basic stitches had standard names like single crochet or double crochet, nor did we have a clue that there was a whole world of crochet books and patterns we were missing out on. It was just a fun tradition passed down from senior girls to junior girls and so on.

I loved it though; the idea of being able to create garments and other lovely things for friends and family from a mere piece of yarn and a hook was so fascinating to me. Before long I was putting my own spin on things and creating my own designs. Sadly however, crochet wasn't as popular in my secondary school years as it is today in Nigeria, and so with no clear idea of what a career in fibre arts would look like, and teachers and parents breathing down my back to quit these childish distractions and focus on the real task ahead - getting into university to study a respectable course, I shelved that passion.

Years passed. Crochet started to gain traction in Nigeria, and I began thinking about picking it up again. Coincidentally, my younger brother had ripped his school sweater and my mother bought an identical ball of yarn and a hook and asked if I could fix it. I fixed it, and still had a lot of yarn left. Curious, and now better equipped with the internet at my fingertips, I googled 'crochet ideas' and discovered a whole different world. It was like embracing an old friend I hadn’t seen for years, and discovering exciting new things about them.

I relearned this beloved handcraft quickly via youtube and came up with my first design for a baby sandal some two weeks later. My best friend and her roommates went crazy over it and asked me why I'd been hiding this talent all along. This encouraged me. I gifted the sandals to a new mother in my church and she was literally jumping up and down with eyes sparkling in excitement when she saw them. That did something to my heart that I can't quite explain. I felt such a sense of pride to see her baby wearing the sandals and before long, younger girls in church were asking me to teach them too. Crochet became a way to spread beauty, love and warmth in my environment, as well as empower young girls with skills and teach them confidence in themselves and their abilities. It has also helped me get a grip on mindfulness and calm my often anxious mind.

Over the past four months, I've accidentally started an outreach named hats with love, which basically has to do with gifting hats to less privileged children who could really use a gift specially handmade for them. I say accidentally because while I've always wanted to do it, lack of resources and the fear of starting held me back. During the lockdown however, I found myself crocheting several hats to give away and hats with love just sort off...took off. I'm currently working on my first pattern collection too, as well as teaching, and trying to figure out a very trying aspect of pattern writing which is drawing chart diagrams. I've often had to pause because of academic obligations and finances, but there is always some kind of strength from within to soldier on.

Like in the movie ballerina, where the dance teacher tells Felicie that she needs to answer the question 'why do you dance?' I've found the answer to 'why do you crochet?' in the sense of purpose this handcraft gives me. I often think back to my younger years when I couldn't point to anyone in a fulfilling fibre arts career, and I hope that I can now be a source of inspiration for some other little girl.