Crochet

By Marni Elyse Katz
July 14, 2010

Roll over items for details

Chanel Spring/Summer 2010 (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Drew Barrymore in Alexander McQueen at the premiere of Whip It (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Paul Smith Fall/Winter 2010 (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Weitzner Limited "Currents" from the eco-friendly "Apropos" collection is woven from mulberry and salago fibers for loose, crochet-like effect

Kitchen String Pencil Holder designed by Emilie Puttrich

Crochet bedding

Crocheted Rubber Bowls, hand-made in Italy out of neoprene. Available at Gretel Home, an online boutique founded by British interior stylist Abby Kellett

Handmade Turkish lacework Daisy Oya Necklace

Stair Runner made especially for the Fun on the Floor house last year

Missoni Fall/Winter 2010 (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Crocheted necklaces at Club Monaco

Clutches from Jishike Social Couture

A sofa at Anthropologie

Garland on a bike rack in Boston created by the South End Knitters group

The Elizabeth Clutch from Jishike Social Couture was hand crocheted by Zuhura Lawerence Muschi (aka 'Mama Abel') in Rau Village in Tanzania

The Look: It might be all knit one, purl two, but your grandma’s afghan, this is definitely not. Crochet-style dresses, woven bags, knit shoes, and craft-fabulous jewelry—at once feminine and fresh—are popping up pretty much everywhere, from runways and red carpets to craft fairs and chain stores.

Seen In: Designers are enamored with the art of yarn, sending romantic pieces down recent runways. While Karl Lagerfeld evoked a Little Red Riding Hood feel at Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2010 show, for Fall/Winter 2010, Missoni showed more Goth-like high-necked dresses that resembled artistically pieced together doilies. Paul Smith went for a more straightforward interpretation of the trend for the upcoming season, simply adding sleeves to an asymmetric granny square afghan.

As for interiors, we’ve noticed afghans cropping up in the rooms of hip urbanites on sites like Flickr and Apartment Therapy. Two of our favorites include the ultra-bright spaces of a Brighton, England artist and collector Casper James, and a softer but no less appealing approach by Live Bohemian who expertly and invitingly incorporates a crocheted bedspread into her young daughter’s bedroom. Other sightings include a print ad for high-end, contemporary Italian furniture line Molteni & C that pictures a sleek modular sofa with a granny square afghan casually tossed across its firm cushions, and Anthropologie’s down-home aesthetic of knitted and crocheted throws and pillows layered on daybeds and sofas.

Loved By: PYTs are rocking granny chic style with crocheted dresses for day and night. Kate Bosworth wore a spidery TopShop crochet dress with black booties and shades, Malin Ackerman paired gladiator platforms and black leggings with a grey crochet dress by Odd Molly, and Julia Restoin Roifeld looked elegant in a body-baring navy blue web-like number at the Elle Style Awards in London. And unsurprisingly, the Olsen twins have been spotted with granny square scarves tied around their slender necks.

Items from Third World artisans, as well as cutting edge Italians are garnering attention from the design community. We adore the crocheted neoprene rubber bowls carried by Gretel Home, as well as the of crocheted clutches from Jishike Social Couture, an organization that uses fashion and style to fight poverty by empowering women to help themselves. Founder Sinead Fyda, a former Ralph Lauren accessories buyer, tells us how she taught 14 women in Kilimanjaro to crochet because they needed portable work they could accomplish between walking miles for fresh water, caring for children, and washing all clothes by hand. She says of their products, “We are trying to embrace the feminine and girly aspects of crochet rather than fitting into the stereotypical 'grandma' reputation that crochet tends to evoke.”

Tags: