Page 336 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

326 History and Science of Knots

insatiable desire of the middle class for cheap lacework, and to the Indian up-
per class as Indian women began to imitate European fashions. This trade
continues, and is an important source of revenue for the region. Unfortu-
nately, a major and increasing portion of the revenue for the work produced
finds its way into the hands of middle-men and exporters, rather than going
directly to the women who create the lace. Since the women are forced to
create lace more quickly in order to maintain their already marginal standard
of living, the quality of the lace has declined [13]. In an effort to change the
exploitative nature of crochet work in this area and to allow the women to gain
more control over their livelihoods, the Godavari Delta Women Lace Artisans
Cooperative has been formed. This association can pay significantly higher
prices for crochet work by buying directly from the women who produce it,
and marketing the lace abroad through charity or aid organizations.
In Mexico, crochet work has only recently achieved commercial impor-
tance. The American counterculture movement of the 1960s and early 1970s
created a large demand for `ethnic' garb, particularly of the ideologically cor-
rect `peasant' type. Female Mexican handworkers began producing traditional
hand-decorated peasant blouses for the increasing tourist trade and for export.
While the majority of the handwork in these blouses is embroidery, crochet-
ing is used for edging and lace insertions. Ironically, the popularity of these
blouses abroad has occurred after they were no longer worn in Mexico itself
[18].
At present, the most significant exporters of crochet work are China (pri-
marily lace tablecloths, pillows, and other household goods) and the Philip-
pines (primarily lace clothing). Surprisingly, for such a long-lived industry, it
is difficult to obtain solid figures on the economic importance of the crochet
industry in these countries and worldwide. Part of the problem lies in the
fact that crochet work is often a cottage industry, and cottage industries are
difficult to regulate or to accumulate statistics on.
At the hobby end of the scale, a number of businesses have come into
existence to support the crochet craft. A seemingly endless stream of crochet
instruction manuals, pattern books, magazines, and broadsheets have been
produced and purchased since the 1840s. Special crochet threads-usually in
cotton-are manufactured, in a variety of thicknesses and colors. Special pur-
pose yarns occasionally enjoy a brief fad: raffia for creating crocheted summer
hats or purses, imitation fur yarn for furry trims on hats, and so forth. Novelty
items abound, such as frames for hairpin crochet, rings for moulded crochet,
and beads or decorative items to be crocheted into a piece. The old- fashioned
doilies that once covered the Western world's furniture (and sometimes still
do!) could be stiffened by a simple sugar syrup, or by a patented doily stiffen-
ing solution. And finally, the simple crochet hook has been and continues to
be available in a number of forms: with varying degrees of cleft in the hook,