Patch refers to herself tongue-in-cheek as “the Crochet Crusader,” because, as she says, “knitting is very hip now, but crochet is definitely the stepsister – the underdog of the fiber world. People have a lot of bad connotations of it, and they think of hideous acrylic afghans or poodle-shaped bathroom-tissue covers. But crochet doesn’t have to be ugly; it can be beautiful if you use nice yarn and make nice, tasteful things. I mean, you can crochet with cashmere.”
And if someone really wants to “play with yarn,” she adds, “it’s good to know some knitting and some crochet, because they each have their advantages, and knowing both allows you to combine them or do whichever one is better for what you’re making.”
Combining different techniques into one project is all part of that “hodge podge” philosophy of Patch’s. One of her signature looks is a sewn top with a crocheted yoke neckline, and she sometimes crochets the yoke using strips of knit fabric that are handled as if they were yarn.
Patch grew up in Novelty, Ohio, a rural area outside of Cleveland. (“Cal” is a shortened version of Caroline.) She traces her love of crafting to being a child of the ’70s – a heyday for crafting in this country – saying that she has been “a maker” since she was very small. Girl Scouts were part of her “learning early on to make her own fun,” and Patch even sold her handmade wares door-to-door as a child from her hand-painted wagon.
She remembers watching her grandmother crochet, “wielding hook and yarn for hours on end while I played.” But she didn’t take it up in earnest until she was about 30, she says, teaching herself from a book – “although it came to me very easily and naturally, and my grandma, now 91, still gives me tips and advice.”
Patch teaches classes on sewing, patternmaking, crochet, embroidery, block printing and more at local shops and places like White Barn Farm Sheep and Wool in Gardiner. She teaches online through www.creativebug.com, where one can watch unlimited how-to videos for a monthly subscription price of $9.95, or purchase individual videos. Some of her offerings there include how to design and sew leggings or how to make an A-line skirt in a day. “I love knowing that by teaching online, people all over the world can take a class,” Patch says.
Patch also travels about four or five times a year to teach fiber arts at retreats around the country: three-to-five-day events in places like Boulder, Colorado (in April); the Squam Art Workshops in New Hampshire (June); the Shakerag Workshops in Sewanee, Tennessee (also in June); and the Lucky Star Art Camp in Hunt, Texas (November).
Down the road, Patch says that she’d like to do another book or two on patternmaking using one’s own measurements. “I have a lot more to say about that,” she says. “It’s not as intimidating as people think it is.” She plans to continue teaching at retreats, and would love to offer more local classes. “We just need a few more spots for them to happen,” she says.
The crafting movement does seem to be growing these days, Patch says. “I think we’re all craving a return to using our hands. Even if we don’t make everything, if we do it a few times we appreciate the process and make more conscious choices.”
She draws a parallel between the handmade movement and what has happened in the local food movement. “It’s been a big influence in people opening their eyes and seeing where things come from, and how they’re made and the process that something went through before it’s actually available for purchase. It’s taught consumers to be more thoughtful and educated.”
Patch laughs. “You know the slow food movement? We’re the slow cloth movement… I like that term a lot. The things that I make definitely take a long time, but I like the fact that slow can be considered an advantage and increase something’s value.”
