Crochet (French for hook) is a method of interlocking spools of thread into a chain pattern with the help of a slender rod which is hooked at one end. It differs from knitting in the type and number of needles used, and the number of loop active at a single time. It is similar to knitting in the method of looping yarn through a needle and pulling it out through other loops.

Not much information has been recorded about the historical significance of crocheting, although some of the documented information is as follows:-

Ancient cords that were used for purposes of tying, looping etc were made by finger crocheting. In the age of the Renaissance period, women folk including both peasant women and ladies of the court, displayed crocheted art work with the use of many strands of macramé thread resulting in the production of a lacelike fabric.

A study from the book, Crochet: History and Technique, by Lis Paludan, states that crocheting sprung up as an art form during the 1800s in the regions of Tibet, Spain, Arabia, China etc.

For any crochet item to be crocheted, it is started with a slip-knot (the most basic of knots in crochet) on the hook. Another loop is then pulled out through the first loop, the process repeating itself in a cycle, until the chain of needed length is obtained.  There are two possibilities from this stage. One, the chain being continued as a row, with a change in direction. Second, the chain being knotted to the beginning of the row with a slip stitch and continuing in rounds.

The only tool needed for Crocheting is the Crochet needle, which is available in many different sizes and materials.

Aluminium or plastic crochet hooks are of a hook range between 2.5 to 19 mm. Steel crocheting hooks are of a hook range between 3.5 to 0.4 mm. Crocheting needles that are made by artisans themselves use hand-turned wood material, which is sometimes embellished with colourful beads and semi-precious stones. A Tunisian crochet needle differs in design as they are more elongated in length and have a stopper at the end of the handle. Another crochet needle that has a double hooked apparatus is called a Cro-hook.

Modern crochet has better classified the stitches with different names. The differences are usually referred to the country of assigning them, i.e. UK/US. Some of the abbreviations and their differences are as follows:-

§                     UK: double crochet (DC) = US: single crochet (SC)

§                     UK: treble crochet (TR) = US: double crochet (DC)

The above system is supplemented with a standardised international notation consisting of unique shapes for the letters assigned to the stitches.

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Crochet took on a different semiotic meaning when it was introduced and popularized in fashion. With the end of the Victorian era in the 1890s, crochet patterns took on a drastic change. During the Edwardian era (1910-1920), crochet patterns became even more complicated and elaborate.

The use of colored yarn or string that was connotative of the Victorian era of crocheting, was replaced by the use of white thread and the trend still continues in practice to our current fashion trends.