Did you know that although automated knitting machines have existing for a long time, to this day it hasn’t been possible to build a machine that automates crochet due to the variety and complexity of crochet stitches and all of the ways that they can be created?

In crochet, each stitch is created individually, unlike knitting, where multiple stitches can be created simultaneously on a machine. Crochet involves pulling loops through other loops, which requires a high degree of dexterity and precision. The variety and intricacy of crochet stitches, such as single crochet, double crochet and treble crochet, add to this complexity.

It’s theoretically possible but has never been economically feasible to invest in the research to make it so. Also, the demand for machine-made crochet items might not be as high as it is for knitted items, and may not justify the investment in developing and manufacturing those mythical crochet machines.

There are some machines that can mimic certain aspects of crochet, such as a warp knitting machine. However, these machines do not fully replicate the wide range of traditional crochet techniques.

Crochet technique and method of creation has remained remarkably stable since its inception almost 200 years ago, even in this age of technological advance and mechanisation. So, for now at least, crochet is the quintessential craft, made by hand and in defiance of machines.
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Postscript
White we’re on the subject of crochet, we think you should know about the Crochet Coral Reef (since 2005), an ongoing project by Australian-born twin-sisters Margaret Wertheim and Christine Wertheim and their Los Angeles based Institute For Figuring. Responding to anthropogenic crises, the work simulates living reefs using techniques of crochet to mimic in yarn the curling crenelated forms of actual reef organisms. At once figurative and fantastical, the Crochet Coral Reef offers an impassioned response to dual calamities devastating marine life: climate change and plastic rubbish.

Story Idea: Carolyn Dennis
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References

littleworldofwhimsy.com/are-there-crochet-machines-i-asked-an-expert
reddit.com/r/crochet/comments/11ka7cv/why_its_impossible_to_build_a_crochet_machine
knittingparadise.com/threads/why-its-impossible-to-build-a-crochet-machine
margaretwertheim.com/crochet-coral-reef
Video: "Why It’s Impossible to Build a Crochet Machine", Half as Interesting, 2023

Images

1. Crochet. Photo credit: gathered.how.
2. Blanket made from classic crochet squares
3. Knitting machine
4. Crochet diagram
5. Comez warp knitting machine
6. Warp knitting machine creating a crochet chain
7. Margaret Wertheim with a section of Crochet Coral Reef, 2005
8. Video: "Margaret Wertheim: The beautiful math of coral (and crochet)" TED 2009