Knot your average craft: Pakistani Gen Z and the crochet comeback

I’ve always had an interest in arts and crafts; painting, clay, origami, you name it. But one day, the trajectory of my life changed at eight years old — not to be dramatic, but it really did — when my grandmother introduced me to crochet one summer.

Soon, I was found everywhere with a hook and yarn in hand making pouches and pillow cases, which has now, nine years later, evolved into flowers, bags, and plushies.

Everyone’s story is different. Take the founder of Nayab By Nayab Gohar, a knitwear and crochet brand based in Punjab’s Mian Channu. An interest sparked by a crocheted vest from Pinterest during her second semester of university led her down the path of watching anything she could on YouTube to learn how to crochet. However, soon after, her family found out that her younger brother was diagnosed with leukemia. “My brother was shifted to Karachi for treatment…so during [that] time…I started learning crochet and different crafts to keep myself busy,” she told me.

The financial burden of hospital bills and treatment eventually led to the inception of her eponymous brand which has flourished into a sustainable and successful business.

No matter how someone has learned, it leads to the same thing — a passion (and obsession) with creating and crocheting.

What I think is so interesting, looking back, is that for years I didn’t really know anyone else in my age group who crocheted, but now everyone does. If I tell someone I crochet, they tell me three other people they know who do as well.

While more and more people are beginning to try out crocheting these days, many are still intimidated by their first attempt going badly, which is why it’s really important to encourage those around you to pick up hobbies.

Originating from French, crochet translates to ‘hook,’ and is quite self-explanatory. The farthest this craft seems to date back is 16th century Europe, specifically in England, Scotland, and of course, France. Historians believe it was then introduced in the Middle East, then Tibet, next to Spain, and eventually found its way to South Asia, mostly through trade routes.

With the rise of DIY and handmade crafts in the 21st century, crochet became a mainstream craft many adopted. A Lahore-based mother-daughter duo who turned a hobby into a business with their crochet store Knotches highlighted that “[m]ost of the young generation is influenced by social media,” which is why people have been able to remotely pick up any skill due to the countless online resources across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

However, you may notice that Gen Z is taking a different approach to crochet than the past generations. The skill our mothers and grandmothers used to make blankets, doilies and coasters has evolved into stuffed toys, crop tops, makeup bags, and bikinis. This is a prime example of how crafts and skills don’t need to die, they just need a resurgence that aligns with modern trends and style.

An important note: whenever I crochet in public, I’m usually met with questions on whether I’m knitting or crocheting because most people find it difficult to differentiate between the two, but it’s actually pretty simple. To crochet, you need a singular hook, and for knitting, you need two long needles.

Technically, you can knit with any two long sticks. Crochet, on the other hand, is a little harder to improvise with random tools because of how integral the curved hook is.

Something that makes crochet so special is that it cannot be truly replicated by machines, so any crochet products you purchase are either handmade, or an imitation made by a knitting machine. This is why you’re more likely to come across knit sweaters in stores than crochet ones, because they can be factory manufactured and mass produced.

The craft is known by countless names in different languages and cultures. In France, it’s known as ‘crochet lace,’ in regions of England as ‘chain lace,’ and in Chitral it’s called ‘khushneel’ or ‘e chumri.’

In recent years, crocheting has become increasingly popular in Pakistan, especially among the younger generation, leading to many more small crochet businesses popping up across the country. However, many of these businesses are faced with the challenge of minimal community support. “In my city, I haven’t received any moral, financial, or resource support,” says Gohar.

Although opportunities in smaller communities are limited, they are slowly growing in major cities, giving artisans and small businesses a chance to promote their work, however, it is worth noting that stalls at events are quite expensive for most businesses, as pointed out by the team at Knotches.

Many of the small crochet businesses, specifically the ones in Pakistan, have made community development a huge part of their business model.

At Knotches, they firmly believe that hiring women from underprivileged communities will “empower them” and are aiming to be a fully sustainable brand.

Early on in her business, Gohar identified a similar issue in her hometown of Mian Channu; that the women in the community were “very oppressed” and had zero financial independence. She then trained and employed them, providing them with a livelihood and income. On top of that, a portion of their profits go to local animal rescue centres, “so mixing all this together…makes something that can serve the community.”

At the core of these two businesses is the hope of helping others learn and giving back to the community, and that is one of the many reasons these two brands in particular are doing so well.

So what do you need to start crocheting? Just a hook and some yarn.

There are millions of tutorials all over the internet to teach you basics so you too can go from pouches and pillow cases to flowers, bags, and plushies.