Can Crochet Be Done By Machine? 

Apart from the fact that my grandmother taught me to crochet and every time I do it I feel like she is here with me, I love that a crocheted item is 100% handmade every time. It's truly an art that can't be taken away from us by a soulless machine. I could take a stack of crochet hats and tell you exactly which of my friends made each one. Every artist leaves our own signature in our work in subtle ways. Every item carries a piece of our hearts in it.

Thanks for sharing this video. I have been saying this to people for a long time. Those cheaply priced crochet store bought items are made at the cost of exploitation of the workers.

I’m currently working on a lace bedspread as a wedding gift for a friend. It’s made with 4 ply yarn on a 3.5mm hook. A friend saw it and gushed about how lovely it was and that I should sell blankets like that. I asked her how much she thought it would sell for, and she said “£250 - £300, easy!” I then pointed out that the yarn cost over £100 and I’ve been working on it evenings and weekends since October. So probably 15-ish hours a week for 4 months, and if I sold it for that price I would be paying myself less than £1 an hour and undercutting people trying to make a living as fibre artists.

I have always wondered this!! I found it soooo hard to believe that TJ Maxx could have a crochet top for $10 and wondered how they did it. I suspected sweatshops but now I know. Loved this video, I am definitely going to share it around.

Thank you for touching on this topic. There are instances where not only the work is outsourced to poverty stricken countries, but also here within the USA. There are a great MANY products labled "Made in USA" but what theybfail to tell you is they were made by prison workers who are told "this is part of a work release program" and then many of those prisoners never actually getbreleased or if they do, those skills don't help them in any way because of that "felony" hanging over their heads they still find it incredibly difficult to find work on the outside. And getting paid 1/10 of a cent because "thats still a profit" to the prisoner, while the owners of the private prisons are getting money off the backs of "slave labor". I have a friend from India who was employed by a company similar to Darn Good Yarns, where the company says they help women find work. But theybdon't help them find work. They keep them employed with slave wages and they have to work (against their will) because they have to feed their family....and there is no childcare, so often their children are subject to being around machinery and sweat shop environments...its really sad. I was happy my friend got out of that situation, but not everyone is going to get get married and whisked away to another country. Thats just so incredibly uncommon. **also, I am saving this video for future reference every time I hear someone say "oh its probably done on machine and we do it by hand so its not the same quality" Because I hear that misinformation a LOT

You hit the nail on the head!!! Buy small and/or local business. STOP SWEAT SHOPS!!! Thank you for sharing such an honest commentary! Absolutely adore you 🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶💚

I was talking about this the other day with my husband! We passed some crochet bikini tops in Target and I explained that someone had to make it by hand and since the top was only ten bucks, the person who made it probably didn’t get paid nearly enough for their work. And it’s frustrating, too, to think that something we can enjoy and do for our own pleasure is a necessity for someone else. That we could sell our work for a fair price and that they can’t. And whoever did those tops had really excellent, even stitches! I really appreciate that you made a video about that.

That is exactly why I love crochet. It can’t be done by machine. One item can look totally different by changing type of thread and fiber content, needle size, stitches, even the color of the yarn i.e. variegated, self striping, ombre, I could go on forever.

I love to crochet and I looked into making and selling my creations, I found that what most people are willing to pay often doesn't even cover the cost of the yarn. I now only gift my items to friends and family.

Great video. This is the first time I’ve seen a crocheter talk about the issues in the textile industry. I’d love to see a more comprehensive discussion of sweatshop labour and damage to the environment caused by textiles (and sadly, our beloved crochet)

Greetings from Texas! Thanks for this valuable information. As a crochet artist, I struggled with the transition from hobby to full-time business. Many friends/family do not support me as a business, but yet look for me to continually give away gifts or reduce my prices. I also appreciate this information because I know big companies can be our greatest competitions. I wish nothing but success for you and all the small business owners out there working diligently to stay afloat. Best wishes in 2022 and beyond!😊

Great video! I've been telling people this for years and I'm glad there isn't a machine that can crochet. I never understood why crochet takes a back seat to knit when knit is so easily replicated with machines? I'm in love with the hands on process of crocheting. It's calming and therapeutic for me and I hope they never crack the code to mass produce crochet. 😍

This information is very affirming Alysha. I've seen crochet hats, gloves and scarves that cost a fraction of what I would charge (if I was charging) for my hand crafted projects. How would I ever be able to compete with their price and intricate details? Wow! Just wow!

Absolutely agree with every point! Great video! If only influencers stop promoting such sweat shops and start promoting real small businesses. Unfortunately it’s true! Please repost this video, everyone!!!! It’s very important for crochet community! Thank you, Alysha!

I LOVE crocheting. It's my therapy. I can pretend to be counting stitches so my husband knows to "shut up" 🤣🤣Thanks for the interesting video. 🥰🥰

i saw a crochet hat in target and my mouth literally dropped ! i’m a SAHM with a very small crochet business, something like a mass produced hat could put me out of business faster than i could yarn over. definitely gave me a fright

Thank you! SWEAT SHOP! "People don't crochet free" followed by your subtle pause, Bless You! It breaks my heart when I see handmade or hand assembled items selling for One Dollar. I tell my friends the only way these were shipped here to USA for that price, from China, is slave labor by "political prisoners". Please share more about the true manner in which these helpless people are treated.

Loved the video. My Mom taught me how to crochet when I was 10 years old. It is a craft that I will always be grateful to her for teaching me. She passed away several years ago, but a part of her still lives on in the craft that she taught me.

Yes do support these individuals that work on these items with love and integrity (which is having good work ethics)!

Wow, I feel so much more connected to the women in my ancestry knowing that as of yet it’s impossible to crochet using machinery.

Love that there is no crochet machine crochet is made by love

Thank you for shining a light on this blight and giving a voice to the voiceless. My heart hurts for all these humans beings caught in an endless circle of abuse. It has always been valuable to me that no machine can replicate the beauty of crochet. Buy less, but buy local 🌞

Great video. These companies selling crocheted items for super cheap are DISGUSTING!! Thank you for making this video to spread awareness. ❤❤❤❤

Short, sweet, and spicy. Perfect kick in the head for 2022. Love!

After working with only tubes and flat panels which makes a not so large piece of fabric I have upped my “STEEK” game where all things are now possible. Steeked flat panels are made from tubes but are full size minus 3 rows that takes up the steeking and cut leaving a full 15” of width. You can create actual yardage and you can do curves, cool necklines, add zips or open up a sweater so it’s a cardigan. Using tunisian crochet knit stitch is handy for rubbings and collars etc. I agree with the commercial sale of sweat labor items but we’ve become so dependent on other countries to feed our need to over consume that sweatshops will never disappear. If there was no demand there would be no sweatshops.

Very informative, It's amazing to know that crocheting is to difficult for a machine, because it's so relaxing for me to do. It's a wonderful thing to support small business as well as crafters selling at local events. Sweat shops are a cruel environment.

I knit and crochet to relax, not to hurry! No machine needed here ❤❤❤

I crochet grocery bags or market bags, but only for my family. I've taken them into stores like Trader Joe's and Aldi, where you generally bag for yourself and always get comments on how good they look, then typically something along the lines of you should sell them. No one understands the cost most people want to buy these for wouldn't even cover the cost of yarn, let alone the 5-10 hours it takes to make. So I never make things that I don't want to; it's too heartbreaking when people suggest that they will buy something I've made then cringe when I give them a price.

I fully love that this video went from Informative (fun) to Informative (you're gonna learn about sweatshops). Thank you so much for bringing this to people's attention! I knew it couldn't be done by machine and hate seeing crochet pieces in big chain stores!

Amen! Let's expose them for what they REALLY are. Sad, but true! Thx, sister! 👍🏻🧶

I feel like crochet clothes have become a sort of fad recently, and people don't understand how time consuming it is. Or because so many people know how to do it, that it's seen as easy, and therefore not worth much. But there's something just so special about looking at a project and KNOWING a real person touched every single stich with their hands when creating it.

Please, please, please do a dedicated video on sweatshops! I know it's heartbreaking, but it needs to be talked about more.

People need to appreciate other's work and talent and support them.

Great informative video! I've told people that crochet has to be handmade, unlike knitting, although working on the Addi (especially making different stitches and patterns) is still alot of handwork. Crochet is keeping me sane while working for an insane employer during these trying times.

I knew about sweatshops but. I thought "oh well if we having knitting machines, we must have crochet machines too" :x Never buying crochet items in stores again. >_< Thanks for letting us know

Im glad their is no crochet machines. This is how valuable our crochet items is.

totally agree with all you said. I buy my Fair Trade items only from verifiable sources like the Leprosy Mission, which has been doing this kind of work for decades. And yes, I would love a video all about the Sweat Shop scourge - which not only damages those who work there, but also the small business person who wants to make a living from their work.

Thank you for pointing out the existence of sweatshops and the connection between low cost/high profits and exploited labor.

I had no idea crochet couldn't be made on machine! But it makes total sense now! I'm just now going to start getting into crocheting, my grandmother used to make beautiful throw blankets! 💚 And that's disgusting how big chains get their products. Wish we could all come together and change it!

I absolutely love that crochet cannot be automated. I actually stopped going further with my knitting because once the knitting machines started getting more affordable my knitting time lost that special feel.

That's one of the things I love about Crochet, that you know it was hand made.

Hey, thanks for making awareness to the sweatshops and child labor. It's a very sad situation, and you're absolutely right that 'feeding the beast' is not a good solution. Im a 38yo man in law enforcement, and I've seen some terrible things that kids go through to make money for someone else. Stay safe and your kiddos under your wing.

No matter if people actually want a fast fashion video, I think you should make it. It's a very important topic not only in crochet but in general. Many people simply have no idea, what happens in those fast fashion companies.

I am a crocheter - self-taught many years ago. I also have a circular knitting machine (new acquisition ) where I combine the two and make beautiful things! Thank you for this video to show people that crochet is indeed an art and cannot be duplicated by machine!

I have known any crochet machine. If they had a crochet machine they would be selling them just like the knitting machines. Great video!!!😁😁

I was just having this conversation with my daughter yesterday about the "machine crochet", but then I said; " I wonder if like 50 different people piece together one garment like an assembly line?. I was thinking like a couple people start the chain ⛓️ then they pass it to the others who may do the front panels while others work back panels and lastly they put it together or something. I swear we just spoke this up... you just read our minds.

Thank you so, so much for this video, Alysha. I don't know how many times over the past decade I've had people--generally, acquaintances, but not always--ask me how much I'd charge for something. Even though I wouldn't be making anything close to minimum wage for what I would quote them, they'd be *furious*, saying they could get a scarf at Walmart or whatever for like $10, instead of $30 which I know, I know, is too low! It's really disheartening.

Thank you Alisha for bringing the truth forward about sweat shops. I saw this in person 30 years ago and it's so hard to bring this to attention of the average person. God bless you. This is a worldwide problem.

This is literally the perfect youtube video. Straightforward answer within the first minute, then the rest of it is absolutely packed with details and alternatives. I'm obsessed, thank you for making this!!

Thank you for this video! It breaks my heart every time I see a crocheted item in a store!

I very much agree to what you said. I stopped shopping so many years ago I can't even remember. I am self taught crocheter and sewer. I recently taught myself macrame. I only support smal business. I believe this society is doing everything in their power to destroy small business. They talk alot of shit at the end of the day. They bail out these big companies. We as a people have no idea what go on behind closed doors. If you are rolling in dough you can get anyone to do your bidding.

Thank you, Dear Sister for taking the time to care by doing a very unselfish and informative video! You are truly blessed! And may the LORD JESUS continue to bless you, your family and business!

Oh yeah, I am a knitter (who dabbles in crochet) and I tell EVERA’BODY that crochet is the only craft that can’t be done on machine. If they find it in the store, some person made it by hand. Crochet is hard. Crochet is amazing. I am the only knitter in a family of crocheters. We ooo and aaahh over each other’s handiwork. Be proud of your work crocheters, you are one of a kind!

I am new to crochet and new to your Channel. I want you to thank you for bringing attention to the problem of sweatshops. Thank you for also pointing out that crochet and other handcrafted items come not only from the hands but also from the heart of the crafter🥰

Ok everyone share this ! Make this go Viral !

Very interesting video! And to be honest, I'm glad crochet can't be done by a machine. It makes crocheting the more special.

I wish I could hit the thumbs-up button a dozen times! Thank you for this reality check.

I only just started crocheting, I haven’t even finished my first project (a single stitch scarf) and you’ve already got me feeling pride in what I’m doing, the fact it can’t be done by machine just hyped me up lol. Thanks! Definitely getting my like and subscribe! Have a great day!!

Exactly this !!! There is no machine on earth that can crochet. Knit yes. I can't "hand knit" but I do Machine knit. And I do basic crochet. You are SPOT on with the cost of crafting. I have spent as little as $20 and over $1000.00 for MACHINES to knit with. Are they hard to learn - YES. is Crochet hard to learn YES. But if you combine the two - you can make some amazing things. Thank you for pointing out the Horror of the sweat shops and the Whole reason we need to shop local. The only reason Yarn costs so much is because the "big industries" do not want the little guys taking their business. So we are forced to pay the high price for the yarns we use. I am so tired of people low balling what I do, if my yarn cost me $5.00/600 yards - and I need 5 balls for 1 project - that stating cost is $25.00, my time is not free. WHO is going to pay what it's worth? It's disgusting to me when my own relatives do not understand that I personally spend more on them - then they did on me. I started with one of the machines in your video - then I moved up.

Love the video! And I myself taught myself to knit first, but then I took up crochet. Why? Because I don’t think one is better than the other. I thoroughly believe that knitting and crochet are sisters in the crafting world. Both are beautiful and take just as much skill.

Thank you for speaking about this

I'm always stunned every time I see a crochet item at a retail store, because I know it's not possible on machine. One thing I've noticed is that the stitches are all simple and loose, the type of project that would work up very quickly. It's clear that even the stitches chosen are geared towards being easy to mass produce and not because they're the best fit for the object. I was starting to suspect that this was a side effect of whatever new machine was just recently invented, because how could anyone be making money at the prices it was selling for if it wasn't made by a machine? I'm very fast at crochet and wouldn't even be able to get a dollar an hour if I sold my work the same way. Knowing for certain that it's a sweatshop just makes me more angry. I suspected it, and so I've never once bought anything crochet. I've been seeing more and more crocheted items for sale, it's concerning. It means that enough people are buying these things to make it worth it for these big companies to expand.

Glad I found your channel. This video is really informative. Love seeing other Black women doing art crafts. I knit and crochet.

Yes! Please do the dedicated video! Thank you sooo much for bringing up sweatshops so more can wake up to reality and rethink their purchasing habits. You're the first yarn channel i've come across to highlight this issue. Big like and absolutely subbing you now! x

You had me dyin’ with the “no, Karen” 🤣🤣🤣

Thank you for talking about this important question!

This answered my exact questions on the topic. Thank you!

I bought my great niece a pair of little unicorn booties from Target a few years ago. They had crochet bottoms and knitted top/sides. I feel so bad for buying them now, after knowing that someone was probably forced to make those and paid nothing. I know sometimes we have to purchase items from places we really don't care to support. But I'll never buy a crochet item from a "store." I crochet myself but I like to buy from local makers in my area also. ❣️

Thank you for speaking about how mass produced crochet relies on exploitative labor practices! I just finished making a granny square jacket for a friend. It took 40 hours of my time. To buy a jacket like that for even $100 or $200 with a modest 4x cost price, we're talking labor of less than 70¢ an hour. We know many of these sweatshops pay far less than that in many cases.

Thank you!!! I’m sharing this one.

You are correct when it comes to the sweatshops. When is done out of the US is very difficult to physically see and audit. For a few years, I make sure I get all the crochet or knitting items from small business.

Crochet RULES 😎

Yes! It is such a shame that us crocheters start trends and get recognition on social media...Then big brands trying to capitalize on the trend, wind up supporting sweatshops.

I have to say that I don't want a crochet machine to exist. I'm proud of the fact that crochet items have to be handmade. That being said, a video about mass crochet sweatshops would be beneficial. You should definitely make a video on that. I'd share the heck out of that along with this video.

I am so glad that CROCHET can't be done on a machine. I love making items by hand. I can knit and LOOM KNIT. But CROCHET is my passion

I hope to one day make the crochet machine to conquer yet another art with souless machines 🙏 perhaps even it will know many different techniques and can leave complex "signatures" and can pretend to put love into the sweater too

Incredible video, thank you for talking on this subject

Accidentally run into this video,! so excited to hear this, I listened twice ! Amen to you..I hope this goes out to everyone. Never really thought about it like this!!! yes I crochet, since I was 20 a young mother. I'm so pleased to have listen to you!!! I subscribed..and 👍 give you a big thumbs up!

I've only been crocheting for a few months and my friends want me to sell them items. It's intimidating to price things at their value when you know they can be bought for much cheaper. For now I think this will stay in the hobby category.

YES! 🙌🏻 This video is so good and I hope it goes viral because this topic infuriates me and so many people don’t realize that this is what’s happening and there aren’t many resources about it. So thank you! And I’ll be sharing it to as many people as I can ❤️

I love this video!😍 Thank you so much!!

Thank you for making us aware of the conditions and poor countries and for doing something about it in your way

Thank you for this post not only informative but entertaining.

Super interesting this topic !! I knew it, a machine doesn't can make crochet !! Crochet is unique, is an art !!!

I always thought about that!! I couldn’t understand how stores could mass produce and sell for a fraction of what I sell my crochet products for.. I always just assumed there was some kind of machine. I’m so glad you put this video out!! Now I can help make people aware that it’s better to spend the money and buy from small businesses that make their own pieces that buying cheap and supporting sweatshops.

i love to crochet and when i found out it cannot be done by machine, i loved it even more! thank you for making this great fact known to educate/remind people of! tfs!

Wow ! Thank you for sharing this information

Just subscribed because of this video! I love being taught to by well informed people, who not only know their craft but are socially aware as well Very well done!!!

Crochet is the only needlecraft that cannot be machine duplicated whatsoever. I find that amazing and quite special aa what you see crocheted is done all by hand just for you!

I love your honesty!

Amen! Love this expose!

I so appreciate that you gave a moral lesson out of an interesting question! Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

Just started following you. I have bought some repurchased Sari skirts from Darn Good Yarn. They help families from India and are open about it on their website. Anyways, I have a couple of sweaters I wonder about. Pretty sure its crocheted but purchased years ago before I educated myself more. Definitely more conscience about what I purchase.

Nicely done!❤️

absolutely loved your videos on crochet and sweatshop labor. As some one who has been crocheting over 6 years I know how much goes into a single piece. I am sending these videos to all my friends especially those who recently have made purchases from fast fashion brands.

Wow!!! This video is on 🔥. So much info . You really said a lot and taught me a lot. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

Very informative. Thank you

Love you & this vid Alysha. So informative. I'm definitely sharing this. Happy Prosperous New Year. Love, Peace, & Crochet Be safe and well 💌🥀😘

You had me at 'Every like goes to feeding my own dirty habits'. So glad I found your channel!

So glad to hear you're calling out big box stores with their ruthless business practices! Shop local, shop handmade in USA🥰 🇺🇸