Good afternoon
I hear all the time how crochet cannot be produced by machine. If you see a crocheted item, it is hand made.
Why? There are knitting machines and as a crafter, I don’t see that much difference between the two.
Thanks

These pages explain why:

https://www.crochetconcupiscence.com/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-crochet-machine/

https://littleworldofwhimsy.com/are-there-crochet-machines-i-asked-an-expert/

I don’t doubt that a machine can be made for more accurate crochet, it is just that the demand isn’t there.

roughbarked said:

I don’t doubt that a machine can be made for more accurate crochet, it is just that the demand isn’t there.

When you see what was done in the name of ‘crochet’ in the 70s, the wonder is not that there’s no demand for it, but that it isn’t a capital offence.

thanks Michael :)

captain_spalding said:

roughbarked said:

I don’t doubt that a machine can be made for more accurate crochet, it is just that the demand isn’t there.

When you see what was done in the name of ‘crochet’ in the 70s, the wonder is not that there’s no demand for it, but that it isn’t a capital offence.

My Sarah crochets.

Sarah has done done some truly awesome work SM!

sarahs mum said:

captain_spalding said:

roughbarked said:

I don’t doubt that a machine can be made for more accurate crochet, it is just that the demand isn’t there.

When you see what was done in the name of ‘crochet’ in the 70s, the wonder is not that there’s no demand for it, but that it isn’t a capital offence.

My Sarah crochets.

Does she tat as well?

purple said:

Sarah has done done some truly awesome work SM!

i think so too. Sometimes I arranging crochet lessons for her was one of the best things I did.

Michael V said:

sarahs mum said:

captain_spalding said:

When you see what was done in the name of ‘crochet’ in the 70s, the wonder is not that there’s no demand for it, but that it isn’t a capital offence.

My Sarah crochets.

Does she tat as well?

No. And she doesn’t even knit. (Aside from some squares…)

sarahs mum said:

Michael V said:

sarahs mum said:

My Sarah crochets.

Does she tat as well?

No. And she doesn’t even knit. (Aside from some squares…)

Oh, that’s a pity. I like tatted stuff.

My second granddaughter (the one that started uni this year) has taken up crocheting. Mum had several boxes of crochet squares and lots of hand-spun wool so those, the crochet hooks and most of the knitting needles went to a good home.

:)

Oh thats wonderful to hear Michael.
I heartily approve of mum/grandmas stuff being used :)

I looked at those links and I still don’t really understand why not.
I think maybe a computer would have to be involved as it’s not just a matter of hooking needles like on a knitting machine, and maybe it would just cost too much (or there isn’t the interest)

I knit as well but have no interest in a knitting machine.
(I tried tatting…it’s hard!)

Michael V said:

sarahs mum said:

Michael V said:

Does she tat as well?

No. And she doesn’t even knit. (Aside from some squares…)

Oh, that’s a pity. I like tatted stuff.

My second granddaughter (the one that started uni this year) has taken up crocheting. Mum had several boxes of crochet squares and lots of hand-spun wool so those, the crochet hooks and most of the knitting needles went to a good home.

:)

I gave Sarah a set of ergonomic hooks for christmas a few years ago. They were a bit pricey but they were what she wanted and it it made her happy.

Mum’s needles (including tatting stuff) went to my sister.

purple said:

Oh thats wonderful to hear Michael.
I heartily approve of mum/grandmas stuff being used :)

I looked at those links and I still don’t really understand why not.
I think maybe a computer would have to be involved as it’s not just a matter of hooking needles like on a knitting machine, and maybe it would just cost too much (or there isn’t the interest)

I knit as well but have no interest in a knitting machine.
(I tried tatting…it’s hard!)

Mum had a knitting machine in the late 1950s and used it for a few years, but went back to normal knitting, when they started growing their own coloured wool. She took up spinning and weaving then, too. The sheep were basically free in the early 1970s, as commercial sheep farmers didn’t want coloured wool genes in their flocks.

Grandma used to do similar, and coloured her wool using vibrant natural dyes obtained from chewing up things like lichen, leaves, fruit etc. She continued even after she became blind. She could also weave baskets (and taught me too, when I was a kid). When she lost her sight, the Royal Blind Society got her to teach these skills to others. We have a couple of grandma’s coloured, crocheted bedspreads still. (And yours, too.)

:)

purple said:

Sarah has done done some truly awesome work SM!

She has.

Michael V said:

purple said:

Oh thats wonderful to hear Michael.
I heartily approve of mum/grandmas stuff being used :)

I looked at those links and I still don’t really understand why not.
I think maybe a computer would have to be involved as it’s not just a matter of hooking needles like on a knitting machine, and maybe it would just cost too much (or there isn’t the interest)

I knit as well but have no interest in a knitting machine.
(I tried tatting…it’s hard!)

Mum had a knitting machine in the late 1950s and used it for a few years, but went back to normal knitting, when they started growing their own coloured wool. She took up spinning and weaving then, too. The sheep were basically free in the early 1970s, as commercial sheep farmers didn’t want coloured wool genes in their flocks.

Grandma used to do similar, and coloured her wool using vibrant natural dyes obtained from chewing up things like lichen, leaves, fruit etc. She continued even after she became blind. She could also weave baskets (and taught me too, when I was a kid). When she lost her sight, the Royal Blind Society got her to teach these skills to others. We have a couple of grandma’s coloured, crocheted bedspreads still. (And yours, too.)

:)

Yes. I used to spin and knit and weave back in the 70’s. I’d get dark coloured wool for free.

purple said:

Oh thats wonderful to hear Michael.
I heartily approve of mum/grandmas stuff being used :)

I looked at those links and I still don’t really understand why not.
I think maybe a computer would have to be involved as it’s not just a matter of hooking needles like on a knitting machine, and maybe it would just cost too much (or there isn’t the interest)

I knit as well but have no interest in a knitting machine.
(I tried tatting…it’s hard!)

It is because the machine would need to be as complex as one of those spring making machines I’ve watched at work.

Michael V said:

purple said:

Oh thats wonderful to hear Michael.
I heartily approve of mum/grandmas stuff being used :)

I looked at those links and I still don’t really understand why not.
I think maybe a computer would have to be involved as it’s not just a matter of hooking needles like on a knitting machine, and maybe it would just cost too much (or there isn’t the interest)

I knit as well but have no interest in a knitting machine.
(I tried tatting…it’s hard!)

Mum had a knitting machine in the late 1950s and used it for a few years, but went back to normal knitting, when they started growing their own coloured wool. She took up spinning and weaving then, too. The sheep were basically free in the early 1970s, as commercial sheep farmers didn’t want coloured wool genes in their flocks.

Grandma used to do similar, and coloured her wool using vibrant natural dyes obtained from chewing up things like lichen, leaves, fruit etc. She continued even after she became blind. She could also weave baskets (and taught me too, when I was a kid). When she lost her sight, the Royal Blind Society got her to teach these skills to others. We have a couple of grandma’s coloured, crocheted bedspreads still. (And yours, too.)

:)

My sister won a knitting machine on Temptation. It came with lessons and Mum did the lessons and attempted to get the hang of it. One day her cardigan got caught up on the hooks ans she found that she had knitted herself on to the machine.

She went back to hand knitting. (Mum could make a half dozen pairs of bootees in an evening. The whole family got a new jumper each year. Dad was 6’3 and weighed 17 stone. Mum would complain about knitting for him.

she would knit without a pattern. During hippy times she made me some great pieces. She also knitted some great stuff through the new romantic era including a jumper with lacey collar and puff leg of mutton sleeves that she said she never wanted to make anything like that again. she made great vests.

I spun and knitted a coarse grey Border Leicester jumper without washing the wool so that it was indeed water resistant.
I was spending the whole winter out in the rain and mud digging up fruit and nut trees then grading trimming and tying in bundles at the time.

roughbarked said:

I spun and knitted a coarse grey Border Leicester jumper without washing the wool so that it was indeed water resistant.
I was spending the whole winter out in the rain and mud digging up fruit and nut trees then grading trimming and tying in bundles at the time.

My Sarah had coarse grey hand knits pilchers when she was a baby. They were made in a few sizes for her by someone like you when she was born.
the rumoured benefits of little nappy rash seemed to be true.

roughbarked said:

I spun and knitted a coarse grey Border Leicester jumper without washing the wool so that it was indeed water resistant.
I was spending the whole winter out in the rain and mud digging up fruit and nut trees then grading trimming and tying in bundles at the time.

Good on you. :)

I tried to learn knitting without success.

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

I spun and knitted a coarse grey Border Leicester jumper without washing the wool so that it was indeed water resistant.
I was spending the whole winter out in the rain and mud digging up fruit and nut trees then grading trimming and tying in bundles at the time.

Good on you. :)

I tried to learn knitting without success.

I was out of action at the time and healing from having contracted atypical TB. Mycobacterium Avium Complex.

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

I spun and knitted a coarse grey Border Leicester jumper without washing the wool so that it was indeed water resistant.
I was spending the whole winter out in the rain and mud digging up fruit and nut trees then grading trimming and tying in bundles at the time.

Good on you. :)

I tried to learn knitting without success.

I bought a loom. and then i got bored and sold it.

I bought a spinning wheel. But never spun. and so I sold it.

I thought..

Ian said:

I thought..

That’s more like Jim Crochet

Ian said:

I thought..

I thought that originally, too. But I then opened and read purple’s post…

Michael V said:

Ian said:

I thought..

I thought that originally, too. But I then opened and read purple’s post…

Must be in tune

Now that’s useful

Ian said:

Michael V said:

Ian said:

I thought..

I thought that originally, too. But I then opened and read purple’s post…

Must be in tune

:)

sarahs mum said:

captain_spalding said:

roughbarked said:

I don’t doubt that a machine can be made for more accurate crochet, it is just that the demand isn’t there.

When you see what was done in the name of ‘crochet’ in the 70s, the wonder is not that there’s no demand for it, but that it isn’t a capital offence.

My Sarah crochets.

I like the green one.

sarahs mum said:

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

I spun and knitted a coarse grey Border Leicester jumper without washing the wool so that it was indeed water resistant.
I was spending the whole winter out in the rain and mud digging up fruit and nut trees then grading trimming and tying in bundles at the time.

Good on you. :)

I tried to learn knitting without success.

I bought a loom. and then i got bored and sold it.

I bought a spinning wheel. But never spun. and so I sold it.

Still have a couple of looms and a spinning wheel.

Michael V said:

purple said:

Oh thats wonderful to hear Michael.
I heartily approve of mum/grandmas stuff being used :)

I looked at those links and I still don’t really understand why not.
I think maybe a computer would have to be involved as it’s not just a matter of hooking needles like on a knitting machine, and maybe it would just cost too much (or there isn’t the interest)

I knit as well but have no interest in a knitting machine.
(I tried tatting…it’s hard!)

Mum had a knitting machine in the late 1950s and used it for a few years, but went back to normal knitting, when they started growing their own coloured wool. She took up spinning and weaving then, too. The sheep were basically free in the early 1970s, as commercial sheep farmers didn’t want coloured wool genes in their flocks.

Grandma used to do similar, and coloured her wool using vibrant natural dyes obtained from chewing up things like lichen, leaves, fruit etc. She continued even after she became blind. She could also weave baskets (and taught me too, when I was a kid). When she lost her sight, the Royal Blind Society got her to teach these skills to others. We have a couple of grandma’s coloured, crocheted bedspreads still. (And yours, too.)

:)

I would love to have access (and skill) to raw fleece. :)

roughbarked said:

I spun and knitted a coarse grey Border Leicester jumper without washing the wool so that it was indeed water resistant.
I was spending the whole winter out in the rain and mud digging up fruit and nut trees then grading trimming and tying in bundles at the time.

Awesome!

purple said:

Michael V said:

purple said:

Oh thats wonderful to hear Michael.
I heartily approve of mum/grandmas stuff being used :)

I looked at those links and I still don’t really understand why not.
I think maybe a computer would have to be involved as it’s not just a matter of hooking needles like on a knitting machine, and maybe it would just cost too much (or there isn’t the interest)

I knit as well but have no interest in a knitting machine.
(I tried tatting…it’s hard!)

Mum had a knitting machine in the late 1950s and used it for a few years, but went back to normal knitting, when they started growing their own coloured wool. She took up spinning and weaving then, too. The sheep were basically free in the early 1970s, as commercial sheep farmers didn’t want coloured wool genes in their flocks.

Grandma used to do similar, and coloured her wool using vibrant natural dyes obtained from chewing up things like lichen, leaves, fruit etc. She continued even after she became blind. She could also weave baskets (and taught me too, when I was a kid). When she lost her sight, the Royal Blind Society got her to teach these skills to others. We have a couple of grandma’s coloured, crocheted bedspreads still. (And yours, too.)

:)

I would love to have access (and skill) to raw fleece. :)

Do they sell it at various Royal Show type events

Cymek said:

purple said:

Michael V said:

Mum had a knitting machine in the late 1950s and used it for a few years, but went back to normal knitting, when they started growing their own coloured wool. She took up spinning and weaving then, too. The sheep were basically free in the early 1970s, as commercial sheep farmers didn’t want coloured wool genes in their flocks.

Grandma used to do similar, and coloured her wool using vibrant natural dyes obtained from chewing up things like lichen, leaves, fruit etc. She continued even after she became blind. She could also weave baskets (and taught me too, when I was a kid). When she lost her sight, the Royal Blind Society got her to teach these skills to others. We have a couple of grandma’s coloured, crocheted bedspreads still. (And yours, too.)

:)

I would love to have access (and skill) to raw fleece. :)

Do they sell it at various Royal Show type events

It’s getting harder to find. You have to look for small holding farmers. Also, I think I’d be in divorce court if I bought a spinning wheel and loom. I also don’t have huge amounts of patience. I tried to learn to snow ski in my early 20s. I fell over twice and decided skiing was dumb. that level of patience.

Michael V, which quilt did I make for you and Mrs V? I can’t recall

WAVES to Aunty P.

It is my proper Aunty P isn’t it? You know, the real one? Authentic, genuine and the one and only? Dinky die, true blue and original Aunty P?

Is it?

Hi Woodie, it is indeed. Do you still have your train blanket? I was thinking about that recently.
waves madly back

purple said:

Michael V, which quilt did I make for you and Mrs V? I can’t recall

A green (red and yellow) one that changes colour between diagonally opposite corners, a bit like Escher’s Metamorphosis. Made of triangles about 10 cm across, arranged in octagons and hexagons.

Michael V said:

purple said:

Michael V, which quilt did I make for you and Mrs V? I can’t recall

A green (red and yellow) one that changes colour between diagonally opposite corners, a bit like Escher’s Metamorphosis. Made of triangles about 10 cm across, arranged in octagons and hexagons.

Oh, wow, I don’t really remember, It was ages ago I think.

purple said:

Michael V said:

purple said:

Michael V, which quilt did I make for you and Mrs V? I can’t recall

A green (red and yellow) one that changes colour between diagonally opposite corners, a bit like Escher’s Metamorphosis. Made of triangles about 10 cm across, arranged in octagons and hexagons squares.

Oh, wow, I don’t really remember, It was ages ago I think.

Hexagons should have been squares (fixed). Brain not working.

I’ll get it out (likely not today), photograph it and put a photo in this thread.

I’m pretty sure I saw the train bedspread when we visited Woodie at Christmas.

purple said:

Hi Woodie, it is indeed. Do you still have your train blanket? I was thinking about that recently.
waves madly back

I do indeed I do. TOOT TOOT!! It currently graces over the lounge on which I am currently lounging on. 😁

Some imaginative crocheted items, from bored panda

There are surgical and manufacturing robots that operate at micron-level precision. The idea that the reason there aren’t machines doing crocheting is because no machine could have the required “dexterity amd technique” is preposterous on its face.

There are machines that produce products that are similar to those that produced in crochet … but they use knitting rather than human-style crochet to produce them because the latter would not be cost-efficient.

fresh off the hook by Sarah.

sarahs mum said:

fresh off the hook by Sarah.

It’s got bobbles on it!

sarahs mum said:

fresh off the hook by Sarah.

great work. How long did it take?

buffy said:

sarahs mum said:

fresh off the hook by Sarah.

It’s got bobbles on it!

The colour choices remind me of colours Mum knitted for her when she was small. Which also remind me of the fairisle selections of dad’s mum.

party_pants said:

sarahs mum said:

fresh off the hook by Sarah.

great work. How long did it take?

Dunno. she does knock a lot of them out. And she only crochets with red wine when she sits down for the evening.

sarahs mum said:

party_pants said:

sarahs mum said:

fresh off the hook by Sarah.

great work. How long did it take?

Dunno. she does knock a lot of them out. And she only crochets with red wine when she sits down for the evening.

she has done well not to spill any red wine on her work :)