The smell of books fills the air; the scent itself implies a book full of knowledge and magical adventure, if you dare to disturb the book’s bindings and begin the story. The sound of mausoleum-soft footsteps, the sigh of books sliding from their allotted shelves, and the click of the librarian’s keyboard are the soundtrack to someone demonstrating how to loop and stitch.
People sitting in a rectangle around a yellow, wooden table observe and attempt to emulate the speaker, who shows enviable ease in turning a ball of mint green yarn into a miniature monster. Using only a crochet hook, she takes on HP Lovecraft’s most well-known villain, Cthulhu. This cosmic horror, with the face of an octopus, the wings of a dragon, and the body of a man, was first introduced in Lovecraft’s story, ‘The Call of Cthulhu’, and has since inspired many horror writers, including Stephen King. What better place is there than a library when you are learning to create one of literature’s most loved leviathans?
The ‘Cthulhu Crochet’ event is part of the Thought Bubble Festival, a week-long celebration of comics, graphic novels, and animation. It is a pre-Christmas treat for the City of Leeds which has come every November since 2007.
Now in its sixth year, the festival is covering a much wider range of art. Sarah Alderson, an academic GP at the University of Leeds who is also the exhibitor co-ordinator for Thought Bubble’s weekend comic convention, has been teaching people to knit zombies and crocheting amigurumi Cthulhus. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. Sarah, a knitwear and crochet designer, says that crocheting is actually easier than knitting. However, for someone who finds hand-sewing a straight line of running stitch a challenge, it still seems fairly complex.
Fortunately, Sarah is very patient and repeats the demonstration until I can create something resembling a line of stitches. She says: “There are some people who have had a bit of crochet experience before and got a little bit further along which is what you expect really, whereas for people who have never held yarn in their hands it is much harder.” This is especially true for me, as I seem unable to stop myself referring to yarn as wool.
There is a fairly wide gap in ability between the thirteen of us taking part; from the woman sitting next to me, who creates a line of stitches the first time she picks up her hook, to those of us who had to unpick our work twice. Despite this, the session is set up so that everyone learns something, regardless of the differing levels of ability. We all left the library with, at the very least, a rudimentary knowledge of crochet.
Sarah says that crocheting has become much more popular in the last ten years, “There are lots of classes, lots of books out now: they have got loads of books on crochet which you would not have found ten years ago.” Sarah believes that people want handmade things which they can “cherish” rather than shop-bought items which are easily disposable. She says: “People want more things that can actually have meaning to them rather than just something that is bought. People want something that they can keep rather than just throw away”.
Sarah also mentioned that heirlooms are very popular, and that people want objects which they can pass down to their families, “Like baby blankets, having one that is homemade is much nicer than a shop bought one”. According to the UK Hand Knitting Association, John Lewis sold 93,000 balls of yarn in one week in the period before Christmas. Evidently, textile-related presents are no longer just for grannies.
Sadly, it appears that none of my friends or relatives will be receiving a Cthulhu this year, or even a crocheted scarf. As the tentacled creature belonging to the woman beside me begins to take shape, with a body, head, and two little eyes, my line of stitches begins to resemble a very holey line of knots. Unfortunately, it has become obvious that I do not have any secret textile-related skills, and my crocheting is about as good as my cross-stitch. However, it is still an enjoyable and fairly novel experience to learn to use a crochet hook under the watchful eye of a Cthulhu. This character makes for an odd and unashamedly geeky crochet pattern.
Sarah is well-versed in her Lovecraft; she is a fan of the Cthulhu mythos and has even visited Providence, Rhode Island, where Lovecraft grew up. She chose Cthulhu for the project, as he is quite well-known and is a fun and easy character to craft. She says: “A lot of people here might not have heard of Cthulhu and might be coming along to crochet, but he is one that you might have just seen in popular literature.” The class is designed to teach people the art of crochet, and it is definitely not necessary to be a fan to attend the event, but if you are it makes it even more enjoyable.
Clark Burscough, Thought Bubble Festival’s assistant director, says: “We at Thought Bubble think that comics are one of the most creative storytelling mediums out there at the moment and that the UK scene is one of the most vibrant in the world”. He describes the community of artists in Yorkshire as a “hotbed of talent”, and says: “It is nice to be able to turn our favourite city in the world into a comic’s hub for a week”.
Watching the other crochets gradually turn into bodies, heads and wings has inspired me, so I am planning to practice my fledgling skill until I can wield my hook with finesse. This Christmas, I do not think that my ball of yarn will be turning into homemade gifts, though next year I may be presenting people with their very own Cthulhus. As Sarah says: “Who doesn’t want something with tentacles?”