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Lost and Found (cont'd)
Tapestry Crochet: A Discussion with Carol Ventura
by L'Tanya Durante

The Caste System

Another motivating reason to introduce this technique is the apparent caste system in crafting; a hierarchy where knitting sits on top and crochet rests uncomfortably on the bottom. Unlike the Hindu social caste system, which is based on criteria such as birth, like and rank, craft’s caste system seems to be based on age – that is, grandma’s age.

“If you take very craft done, crochet is right down there at the bottom. It could be that a lot of people associate crochet with the more open work that usually grandmothers will do and for some reason, if a grandmother is doing it, I guess it’s not valuable.” It seems kind of weird.”

Changing that perception has proven to be a slow process for Dr. Ventura. Her attempts to bring tapestry crochet to a larger audience through television craft shows have been challenging. So she continues to concentrate her efforts to spread the word through her workshops, articles, and books.

Stitch It Forward

Although Dr. Ventura has developed her own special graph paper used to do flat tapestries, she’s quick to set the record straight about the origin of tapestry crochet.

“I’m not the one who invented it. I developed some of the things, like the flat graph paper, but it’s not like I’m saying ‘this is mine…I own it…don’t do it.’ I want other people to get excited about it and publish patterns and spread the whole thing.”

“I hope that people will really catch on to it and try to do their own thing. That’s why, in my books, I have a lot about how to design. I’m very conservative with what I’m doing, but I’m waiting for some wild and crazy person to just take it and show everybody what you can do with it.”

Editor’s Notes:¹This article was originally published in the January 2005 issue of Black Purl Magazine.
²Visit http://iweb.tntech.edu/cventura/rightstitches.html for basic tapestry crochet instructions.

L'Tanya is the Publisher and Editor of Black Purl Magazine.
She has a passion for needlecrafts, history, and all things ethnic. She lives in North Carolina
with her husband, two sons, and cat.

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