Ms Soo Qian Rong recently crocheted dolls of rabbit figure Miffy as farewell gifts for her colleagues after her first part-time job. <\/p>\n
The 18-year-old, who is currently waiting to enter university, loves customising and creating cute plushies as gifts. She had picked up the craft two years ago after being drawn by the cosy and whimsical aesthetic of crochet videos, and watched YouTube videos to learn how to do it herself.<\/p>\n
Crochet is a type of needlecraft where a hook is used to loop and connect yarn to create things like clothes and plushies. It used to be deemed the craft of grannies and older folk before seemingly enjoying a revival among young people today.<\/p>\n Ms Soo Qian Rong, 18, has been crocheting for two years. <\/p>\n PHOTO: COURTESY OF MS SOO QIAN RONG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n While Ms Soo picked up the hobby recently, some others her age had an earlier start.<\/p>\n Ms Angela Liu Yik, 19, who is waiting to enter university, has been crocheting for seven to eight years \u2013 from the time she was in Secondary 1.<\/p>\n She was inspired to crochet during the Covid-19 pandemic, and learnt the craft from YouTube tutorials for the student-initiated learning segment during Home-Based Learning days.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of the enjoyment of crochet is mindfully following a pattern, and I find that quite therapeutic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ms Liu Yik Angela, 19, has been crocheting for around seven years. <\/p>\n PHOTO: COURTESY OF MS LIU YIK ANGELA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cPandemic crocheters\u201d who have stuck with the hobby are now an entrenched part of the active crochet community here, observed Ms Jassandra Nay, 31, the owner of Memo\u2019s Art House. Her studio stocks craft materials for crochet and knitting, and offers classes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started crocheting 12 years ago, (crochet didn\u2019t really have a presence) in Singapore. People didn\u2019t know about it at all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, when Covid-19 hit and everyone was stuck at home, people started finding things to do and that\u2019s when crochet became a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n She noted that the crochet trend has slowly trickled down to a younger audience, observing that adults who took up the craft subsequently influenced their colleagues and children.<\/p>\n Crochet is sometimes mistaken for knitting, which is the process of interlooping yarn using two needles. However, crochet is more versatile and better for making 3D shapes, as it involves many different stitches that can produce items ranging from plushies to bags to clothes, said Ms Nay.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pointing to the many YouTube crochet tutorials available, she said that the barriers to entry to crochet have become much lower. Yarn manufacturers also now offer a wider range of materials, which makes it easier to create a greater variety of items.<\/p>\n Ms Jassandra Nay, 31, the founder of Memo’s Art House.<\/p>\n PHOTO: KAELYN FONG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Online personalities, including local ones, showing off their finished products has also piqued interest in crocheting.<\/p>\n Local celebrity Edwin Goh has worn his self-made crochet tops to events and started a crochet business around 2023 with his actress-influencer girlfriend Rachel Wan.<\/p>\n Local crochet content creator Arielle Tan Qi-xuan, 18, (@cl0udyches) boasts a following of more than 40,000 on Instagram. She mainly posts photos of her finished crochet plushies, which she sells, and one of her most popular posts has garnered 439,000 views. <\/p>\n She started learning to crochet in mid-2023, and later that year began her Instagram account to share her art with others and express her creativity. Over time, it became a platform for her small business as well. <\/p>\n At Nanyang Junior College (NYJC), the interest in crocheting even resulted in students forming an interest group in 2022. Since it started, it has drawn about 60 members a year.<\/p>\n Young Jun Ting, 17, president of NYCrochers, said that the group is a good way for students to bond together over a shared interest in crochet, and through crocheting, they can relieve the school stress they face.<\/p>\n As it is not a formal CCA, group members meet on an ad hoc basis.<\/p>\n They get together to share their skills \u2013 more experienced members teach beginners how to crochet \u2013 or to make items together based on themes such as \u201cfloral\u201d or \u201cocean\u201d.<\/p>\n They have also organised fund-raising projects, where they crocheted plushies for sale, with the proceeds going to charity. Students can also join a WhatsApp channel to be informed about upcoming volunteer projects or workshops.<\/p>\n In 2025, the group collaborated with the People\u2019s Association and non-profit organisation Hey, You Got Mail! to teach the elderly living in the Ang Mo Kio area this \u201cgranny\u2019s craft\u201d. <\/p>\n NYCrochers, a student interest group in Nanyang Junior College that was established in 2022.<\/p>\n PHOTO: COURTESY OF YOUNG JUN TING<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The students so far have held five such sessions at Housing Board void decks in Ang Mo Kio, and are looking to make these sessions more regular, once in two weeks, from May to July this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Said Jun Ting: \u201cInitially, the elderly were really sceptical, as they could not comprehend that they could finish crocheting a handbag in two hours.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, through our encouragement, some of them were even able to finish it in an hour\u2019s time, which was impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n In June, NYCrochers will be manning a booth at the carnival-themed Eat. Rest. Play. event at Toa Payoh for families with young children. Their booth will offer a craft activity for children to customise their own crochet keychain using pre-made bases and decor like googly eyes and felt pieces.<\/p>\n As for Ms Soo, she is looking towards crocheting a Smiski \u2013 a creature figure popular in blind boxes \u2013 as her next project. \u201cCrochet allows me to showcase my creativity, and it\u2019s a good off-screen activity that is therapeutic and helps me to relieve stress too.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>
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