Meet the Maker: The Story Behind Crochelly
Every handmade business starts with a person and a moment. Discover how Crochelly began and the values behind every stitch.
Every handmade business starts with a person and a moment. A moment where something clicked — where a skill met a vision, or where a frustration with the world of mass-produced things became impossible to ignore. Crochelly started with both.
This is the story of how Crochelly came to exist — and why the principles that shaped those early days still guide every decision we make today.
The Crochelly Maker
Founder · Designer · Crocheter
Every piece in the Crochelly collection passes through the same hands — hands that learned to crochet from a grandmother, that have spent thousands of hours developing techniques, and that approach every project with the same standard of care regardless of whether it is a first piece or a five hundredth.
The Journey — How Crochelly Came to Be
The Beginning
A Hook and Some Yarn
The first crochet hook I ever held belonged to my grandmother. I was visiting her one winter afternoon — I could not have been more than eight years old — and she was sitting by the window with a skein of soft brown yarn in her lap, working on something I could not yet identify. She handed me the hook without ceremony and showed me how to make a chain. That was it. One simple chain of stitches, and I was completely absorbed.
That afternoon produced nothing finished. Just a long, uneven chain that my grandmother smiled at and called beautiful. But something had opened in me that did not close again.
Learning the Craft
Years of Practice, Hundreds of Projects
For years, crochet was something I did privately — late evenings, weekend mornings, during long train journeys. I worked through every pattern I could find, pulled apart finished pieces to understand how they were constructed, and slowly developed a sense for design that was my own rather than borrowed from patterns.
I made gifts compulsively. Blankets for every new baby in my circle, scarves for friends, household pieces for anyone who admired them. The response was always the same: How much would you charge for one of these? For years I answered: Nothing. I just like making them.
The Turning Point
From Hobby to Something More
The shift happened when I started paying attention to what I was actually wearing and bringing into my own home. I looked at the things I owned that I genuinely loved — the ones that had lasted years, that I reached for constantly, that felt good every time I used them. Almost all of them were handmade. Almost none of them had come from a shop.
At the same time, I was increasingly uncomfortable with fast fashion — with the disposability of it, with what I knew about its production, with the way it had made beautiful things feel cheap and forgettable. I wanted to make things that were the opposite of all of that. I wanted to make things people would keep.
Crochelly Is Born
The First Collection
Crochelly launched with a small collection of ten pieces — three cardigans, three blankets, two market bags, and two sets of baby accessories. Every piece was made in natural fibres. Every piece was blocked, inspected, and packaged with care instructions. Every piece told a story about how it was made and why the materials were chosen.
The response was more than I had expected. But what moved me most were not the sales — it was the messages. People writing to say they had never bought something handmade before and did not expect to feel so differently about it. People sending photographs of their children with the blankets. People asking if I could make something for their mother, their best friend, their own home.
Today
Still the Same Hands, Still the Same Standard
Crochelly is larger now than those first ten pieces. The collection has grown. The techniques have deepened. The sourcing has become more intentional. But the fundamental things remain unchanged: every piece is made by hand, with natural fibres chosen for their quality, finished with the same care as that first collection, and sent out into the world with the genuine hope that it becomes something the person who receives it keeps for a very long time.
The Values That Shape Everything
Made by Hand
Every stitch is placed individually, by a human hand, with attention. This is not a constraint — it is the whole point. Machine production is faster. Handmade is better.
Natural Materials
We use fibres that come from the earth and can return to it. Organic cotton, merino wool, alpaca, bamboo, and linen — chosen for their quality, their feel, and their honesty.
Built to Last
Nothing we make is designed to last a season. Every piece is finished to the standard of something that will be worn or used for years — and kept for decades.
Complete Transparency
We tell you what every piece is made of, who made it, and how to care for it. No vague labels. No hidden supply chains. Complete visibility into every decision.
Made with Care
Care is not a marketing word here. Every piece is inspected before packaging. Every end is woven in with a needle. Every piece is blocked. Nothing leaves the studio at less than its best.
Real Connection
We answer every message personally. We remember the stories our customers share. We are a real person making real things for real people — and we never want to lose that.
Questions I Get Asked Most Often
Why is your work priced the way it is?
Because the price reflects the actual cost of skilled handwork, quality materials, and the time required to make something properly. A cardigan that takes 18 hours to make, in yarn that costs $40, cannot honestly be sold for $60. When you buy a Crochelly piece, you are paying the true cost of something made well — and that price includes my labour at a rate that respects the skill involved in this work.
Do you make every piece yourself?
Yes. Every single piece in the Crochelly collection is made by my hands. This is a commitment I make to every customer — and it is also why the collection remains deliberately curated. I would rather make fewer pieces perfectly than more pieces at a compromised standard.
Can you make something custom?
Sometimes, depending on current capacity. I take a limited number of custom orders throughout the year — specific colours, sizes, or pieces designed for particular occasions. The best way to ask is through the contact page. I will always respond honestly about whether and when I can accommodate a request.
What do you love most about this work?
The moment a piece comes together. There is always a point in making — different for every project — where it stops looking like yarn and starts looking like the thing it was always meant to be. That moment does not get ordinary, no matter how many pieces I have made. It still feels like something every time.
What do you hope people feel when they receive a Crochelly piece?
That it was made for them. Not manufactured for a market, not produced in a factory to a price point — but made, stitch by stitch, with care, by someone who takes this work seriously. I hope they feel the difference. And I hope they keep it.
Follow the Making Process
Behind-the-scenes making content, works in progress, and finished pieces — follow along with the daily life of the studio.