The Crocheting Way of Life

Looping a hook through a stitch, doing it again and again, starting another stitch, and doing everything all over again—creating crochet fashion, one loop at a time.

With a hook and some yarn, Natalia Guerrero, a second-year double major in Race, Indigeneity, and Migration and Mexican American Latino Studies with a minor in Law and Society, showcased her skills on the Haus of Hook’d runway, paying homage to her little kid self and bringing her designs to life.

A first-generation student, Natalia comes from a small town in the Rio Grande Valley. Her family hails from Mexico, so she identifies strongly with the culture, which influences how she lives her life.

“I started crocheting when I was around nine or 10 for fun because, as a kid, I was always picking up every hobby,” Natalia says. “I would just teach myself everything; I used to melt Perler Beads, I taught myself how to embroider, paint, arts and crafts, all that stuff, and then that’s how I started crocheting.”

Her family from Mexico knew that she was into crocheting, so they tried supporting her hobby by bringing her crochet supplies. However, they accidentally brought her knitting supplies, which led to her also teaching herself how to knit. She later went on to buy a sewing machine and teach herself how to sew. She found she was creative with many different outlets, but she had a soft spot for crochet. For her Hook’d designs, she says she wanted to have fun and showcase what she could do with crochet.

“I know bows are a big thing right now, and I really like it,” Natalia says. “Especially seeing how people make stuff cuter with bows. For one of my looks, I did bows down the shirt top in the front, so I kind of close the shirt, and with crocheting it, I feel it made it a little different.”

When Natalia first started crocheting, she says that people would constantly tell her that it was such a ‘grandma hobby’; now, she says that it's gotten more popular, and many people are branching out and changing it. She had been crocheting as she was growing up. However, she started getting back into it after quarantine and crocheting the Harry Styles Cardigan. She started crocheting more, making accessories for herself, and then selling them later.

“Crochet is what stuck to me, especially over quarantine,” Natalia says. " I got bored again, and then I was like, let me just pick it up again because now I have nothing to do, and that's when it became what it is now.”

Her inspiration is from current trends and what she claims as putting her twist on them.

“My looks for Hook’d were my latest designs,” Natalia says. “I'm always on Pinterest. So then I just go on there and get inspired by what I see. I asked myself, how would this look if it were in crochet? There are a lot of fashion designers that are crochet and knit-based, so then I take a lot of input from them and how they're turning this quote-unquote grandma hobby into what it is now, evolving it. “

Natalia has been in Hook’d for three semesters; she started as a general stylist working with Shelby, who she credits as learning a lot from, leading her to her current position in Hook’d as a print stylist. She was inspired to participate in the fashion show when she attended the Hook’d Fashion Show in the Spring of 2023. Seeing crochet designs showcased encouraged her to apply, catapulting her into showcasing her designs at this year’s show.

“I'm just really glad that they gave me the opportunity to do it kind of just to showcase  my skills, especially in crochet, and kind of show something a little different and put a little twist on  a pretty well-known hobby now.”

Crocheting and knitting single-handedly all of her designs by hand is tedious and can become laborious. However, Natalia has learned to appreciate the outcome in a process that took about three weeks, lasting until the weekend leading up to the fashion show. She is pleased with how far she's come with her designs and her crocheting skills.

“In the beginning, I was a little scared,” Natalia says. “Just because I felt like my looks were pretty simple compared to everybody else's, but everything's made from scratch, by hand, and it's all knit and crochet. I just have  a ball of yarn to work with and to make  all  the measurements and everything based on that ball of yarn, so there's so much work that went into this.”

Natalia claims that seeing all of the models put together wearing what she had created really brought the moment together, especially getting to see her designs showcased alongside the other designers.

“I really liked how everybody's looks for the show were completely different,” Natalia says. “I feel like it shows who they are as a person, especially all the different skills people bring to the table, which is nice to see.

Natalia says that her looks in the past have shown a representation of her and her likes, and in the future, she would like to implement more of her heritage into her designs.

“I feel like it's something I've always looked at,” Natalia says. “Especially cultural base and stuff, showcasing my heritage, and putting it out there. In the fashion industry, like almost every industry, I've noticed we're so underrepresented, and we're always looked down upon, so I feel implementing my culture into my work is very important to me to showcase the skills but also the person behind it and how diverse a person can be.”

Playing around with crochet and knitting, adding bows and fun tights under knitted dresses, Natalia claims that out of the three designs that she showcased, the skeletal ribcage design she created out of crochet was her favorite. 

“Because it’s crochet and because it's such a big part of me that I've grown up with and taught myself along the way,” Natalia says. “To be able to  see the jump from when I was nine to now and what I'm able to make is crazy to look back on.”