Why more men are turning to crocheting

Mumbai-based Kunal Chaurasia started crocheting during COVID, which resulted in him launching his Instagram business, Crochet by Kunal. He says crocheting helps him with this anxiety, and his repertoire includes lip balm holders, sunflowers to bucket hats, and Amigurumi (those crocheted stuffed toys, popular in Japan). He also runs workshops to teach crocheting. Pic/Shadab Khan

Kunal Chourasia picked up the needle and some yarn when he was 10 years old. Spending afternoons sitting beside his nani, he learnt different stitches and got hooked.

The Bhandup West resident now runs an Instagram business with the moniker Crochet By Kunal and can craft everything from lip balm holders and sunflowers, to bucket hats and Amigurumi (crocheted stuffed toys, popular in Japan). The business started as a side hustle and grew after Chourasia decided to make the COVID-19-induced lockdown productive by watching YouTube tutorials to master different techniques.

Kunal Chourasia believes that crochet can be practiced regardless of gender. The craft has helped him battle his anxiety as well

Chourasia is not the only guy out there crafting something out of yarn. In Kashmir, Nazar Nasir Naik has been crocheting since 2016. Touted as the "male crocheter of Kashmir" across social media, Naik picked up the skill after learning how to knit from his aunt during unrest in Srinagar. He soon developed his technique, merging old-age knotting to create modern-day products. His business Knotty Crafts now sells flowers, brooches, stuffed animals, beanies and more, all crocheted.

But have these men ever borne the brunt of breaking a stereotype, with crochet often considered an art predominantly pursued by women? "Once I was crocheting at school, and a teacher punished me. She asked me to kneel even though I hadn't one anything wrong. Apart from that incident, I have never been bullied, I have only received a lot of love on social media," says Chourasia.

The common image associated with crochet usually involves an old grandmother knotting away. But the craft's history says otherwise. "I don't think crochet or knitting has anything to do with gender," says Chourasia, "Men used to knit fishing nets. Later on, this hobby was passed on to the grandmas. There was also a time when crochet was considered a luxury."

While the original homeland of crochet is unknown, many cultures have claimed its history including France, South Africa, England, Italy, Arabia, and China. But it seems to have been an off-shoot of nålebinding and knitting. The earliest evidence of a crochet-like art dates back to 1000 AD in Egypt, where researchers found socks that were created by nålebinding, a technique that predates crochet and knitting.

A shelf full of yarn at Kunal Chourasia's Bhandup West residence, from where he runs a small business selling items made with crochet. Pics/Shadab Khan

What's more interesting is that in the Middle Ages, when knitted garments were fashionable, men picked up needles to meet the demand. The demand led to the establishment of knitting guilds in the early 1400s, and members were exclusively men. Young European men in this era had one ambition: To be a master knitter in a guild. To achieve the title, one had to devote six years to training. This included three years of apprenticeship with a master, while three more were spent travelling the world to learn foreign techniques and patterns. At the end of the training, knitters had to prove their mastery through a rigorous exam that involved knitting a cap, a pair of stockings or embroidered gloves, a shirt or waistcoat and, finally, a knitted carpet - all in the span of 13 weeks.

It shouldn't be surprising then that Chourasia and Naik have taken over the needle and yarn and established their businesses. For, Rahul Jadhav, a content specialist based in Bengaluru, it's more of a hobby. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was looking for a hobby to pass the time and watched YouTube tutorials on crocheting. Jadhav went on to create bookmarks and coasters, as well as a shawl for his mother and a Spiderman mask. It helps him with his mental health, says Jadhav.

Nazar Nasir Naik and Denver Saldanha

"It helps you calm down if you're feeling anxious. And, at the end, you get something out of it too," he says, "I usually crochet something and gift my friends."
Chourasia agrees, sharing that it was crocheting that helped him tackle the stress that came with his last job, which he eventually quit to pursue the skill full-time.
Jadhav's friends have been supportive and have even coaxed him to teach them how to crochet. It's what led him to organise the Cubbon crochet picnic at Bengaluru's Cubbon Park. The small meet-up has grown into a community of people who come at will to crochet, embroider, and knit together under the shade of trees. "I used to work at a [co-working space] WeWork nearby and got talking to a Frenchman there who ended up joining the community. He had zero idea on how to proceed, but the first week he created a rough bookmark. Next week, he made a passport cover and, two weeks later, he crafted a cover for his tablet. The meet-ups see eight to 10 people each session, of which two or three men are regulars," Jadhav says.

Rahul Jadhav has crafted everything from shawls to petwear and toys

A member of the community, Denver Saldanha is only five sessions old, but says that crochet has helped him break away from work on the weekend. Saldanha works in administration at a payment aggregator and was looking to explore a new hobby. Eventually, crochet ended up helping him make new like-minded friends in the city as well. At Chourasia's workshops, the setting is similar. He says that he has been seeing more men picking up the craft. "I read somewhere that a doctor began to crochet because it helped him steady his hands for surgery. I see all over social media that more and more people are getting interested. Initially, I thought this would be a trend, and it will pass. Instead, it's growing," he says, adding that the beauty of the craft is that you can make everything, from stuffed toys to home decor to garments. Its versatility is enough to attract more people to try out the craft, regardless of gender.

Saldanha puts it well: "It's very peaceful. It's a forgiving craft; if you make a mistake, you can always go back to where you started."