My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was little. It was some Saturday afternoon in 2010, and my parents didn’t feel like dealing with my incessant questioning while they ran errands, so I was passed off to my grandparents for the day. I was a creative kid and had always been curious about how my grandmother could make things out of balls of fluff. So on that day, I found myself in my grandparents' living room, surrounded by several cats and several more bins of yarn.

The first thing she taught me to make was a small turquoise and purple square. I decided that this would be a "thunder blanket" for Cricket–a bossy and mischievous Siamese cat who always had something to say. Despite her fickle attitude to most of my cousins, Cricket liked the blanket (and by extension, me) and would frequently curl up on top of it.

I think this was when I realized I could show the people in my life my love for them by making them things. As I passed through the rest of elementary school and middle school, I tried out other forms of art: painting, drawing, origami, and sewing. I eventually found my way back to crocheting during quarantine and decided to relearn because I couldn't find anything better to do. I made a crop top, which I don't think I ever wore. 

Whenever I watch anything on TV with my friends or my family, I need something to do with my hands, or else I will struggle to focus. I found that crocheting is something I could do with relative ease while still (mostly) paying attention to the plot. I worked my way through a number of poorly constructed projects before I got decent at crocheting. 

I had made a lot of lovely friends in my first semester of college and, last fall, I decided to crochet Christmas and Hanukkah presents for them. It was an ambitious project. Eventually, I finished presents for most of my friends. I made four beanies, three bucket hats, two tote bags, two bandanas, and a cat hat. After that, I worked on a few projects: a flower with a slightly terrifying face and a blanket that I gave up on about a third of the way done, among others. 

The beginning of this semester was challenging. I wasn't taking time to create and do things I enjoy doing. I went home for a weekend and was reminded of how much joy creating brings me. I found a pattern online for a mesh top and I made three tops in three days. I made one for myself and then two more for friends who had upcoming birthdays.

It is incredibly rewarding to wear something that I spent hours of my time and labor creating. In a time where efficiency ranks above all else and productivity is more important than quality, I find so much joy in spending deliberate time and energy to make wearable items for myself and my loved ones. Making things for people has become one of the ways that I express my love and appreciation for those in my life.

Clothes have more meaning when they are made by you or someone you know. Handmade clothing costs more than mass produced clothing because a real person used their hands to make the final product. Mass produced clothing is cheap, unsustainable, and doesn't have as long of a life as handmade clothing. And, crocheted textiles cannot be produced by a machine in the same way that knit textiles can be. Any item of crocheted clothing available from a fast fashion store had to have been handmade by a real person–someone who was probably not adequately paid for their labor considering the prices of these pieces.

I encourage you to spend time making something wearable for yourself or someone you love. If you prefer other creative outlets, consider finding someone who makes and sells wearable items to buy from. Fast fashion has sapped the intimacy out of the connection between a person and their clothes. As individuals, we can take small but deliberate steps to return this personal connection to our closets.