you must crochet

I know what you’re thinking – Crochet is so lame. Your nanna does it. Your Great Aunt Sally does it. So why should a super-cool, awesome individual such as yourself give it the time of day?

Here are 5 fine reasons why:

Video game Amigurumi – Japanese art is amazing, and amigurumi is no exception. Ami – meaning yarn, and nuigurumi – meaning stuffed doll. Video games are ultra-cool and when Mario meets yarn, only good things can happen. Check out this amazing Legend of Zelda play set from Nerdigurumi, or this incredible Bowser by Janama at Cute Amigurumi! if you need more convincing.

Jack Rabbit's Knitted Atari Goodness courtesy of kotaku.com

Crochetdermy – What do you get when you cross the disgusting with the extraordinary? Crochetdermy, that’s what. Shauna Richardson has taken crochet to a new level with her awe-inspiring life-size yarned animals and you need to see them. Crochet is fast becoming a well respected fine art; artist Joana Vasconcelos has created some of the most intricate sculptures using traditional crochet patterns, while Jo Hamilton uses yarn to render realistic portraits of friends and family.

Its good enough to eat – another fantastic form of amigurumi is food. Everything edible has a woolly counterpart, a fact that CraftyAnna and Skymagenta prove beyond a doubt. If you can eat it, you can double-treble crochet it.

T.V. dinner by Nicole gastonguay ©2009

Guerrillas on the move – ever been walking down the street and noticed that boring streetlamp is now covered in a colourful assortment of yarn? No doubt your municipality has fallen victim to a yarn-bombing, or an act of guerrilla crochet. Gals and guys the world over are uniting in an effort to cover the most dull objects about town in a variety of yarny-goodness. Just ask the gals at Yarnarchy in the UK or check out the work of Yarnbombing from Vancouver, Canada, they’ll show you what’s what.

Photo courtesy of yarnbombing.com

There’s no place like home – unless you belong to a craft group. Home takes a temporary back seat once you join an online craft community like Ravelry or the Crochet Liberation Front. As you succumb to the addictive nature of crochet, share your new affliction with the many people you will meet online. Exchange ideas, patterns, trends and more with yarn-addicts the world over.

So there you have it, proof that crochet is not lame. From a humble beginning as your Grandma's fireside hobby, crochet has evolved into a modern pastime with a cult status. So why not pick up a hook at your local craft store and get started on that crocheted iPad cosy you never knew you wanted.