Crusader for crochet
June 30, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A master of crochet fights to preserve the heritage of a special needlecraft indigenous to Minhang. It's an uphill battle amid disinterest among domestic consumers and disdain among young girls who think handicrafts are a waste of time. Meet Jin Longhua, who refuses to give up.
When Jin Longhua picked up crochet needles for the first time when she was two years old, her mother predicted she would someday be very good at knitting lace because of the way she held the needles.
Sixty years later, Jin is considered a master of the game.
She started crocheting much like all the other girls her age in Xinzhuang.
"At that time, almost all the women did crochet work," Jin said. "Most if it was used as lace on garments. Every little girl was taught crochet at an early age. By the time I was five or six, I could crochet simple patterns."
After leaving school, Jin helped out on the family farm, but she always took her knitting needles with her to use during lunch break.
Crochet was a matter of necessity for families struggling through tough economic times in the 1950s and following decades. For many families living in Xinzhuang, food, educational fees and even wedding costs all came from hands of women doing part-time crochet.
Jin is keen for the tradition not to die out.
She began by setting up crochet workshops to teach the craft to others. In 1994, when the job she had in a mental institution was axed, she decided to devote herself to crochet full-time.
"I thought: Why not take advantage of my specialty and do what I love to do?" she said.
Jin's small workshop attracted several women to work there and learn from her. She accumulated more than 600 pieces of Xinzhuang crochet.
The lacework is no longer limited to small pieces for headwear, table clothes and coasters. The workshop now produces dresses, bedspreads and indoor ornaments.
"You can do anything with crochet," she explained. "We can make elegant flowers and vivid reproductions of animals that look almost real."
One of her favorite craftworks is an elaborate bedspread that took her three months to crochet. A wedding present for her son, Jin crocheted more than 100 patterns in 18 colors into the spread.
"My son took a picture of the bedspread and put it online, and people were all amazed," she said.
Apart from making products, Jin also does research into the history of Xinzhuang crochet. In 2007, the art form was designated as a Shanghai Cultural Heritage, and Jin was selected the only "proprietor" of the culture.
Xinzhuang crochet is always been mainly a product for export, welcomed in Japan, Australia and the United States. It has never found a strong footing in the Chinese domestic market. That concerns Jin.
"Every month my colleagues and I crochet about 10,000 pieces, but seldom can you find them on the mainland," she said. "Recently I took a dress I designed and crocheted by myself to a tourism souvenir mart. I charged it 200 yuan (US$31), much cheaper than exported ones. And one customer there said she loved the dress but was only willing to pay 50 yuan."
At the same time, Jin worries about lack of interest in the art form by young people. Few bother to learn crochet at all.
"The pay is bad," she admitted. "People earn only 3 to 4 yuan an hour from crochet, so they cannot afford to do it full-time."
Where once an estimated 100,000 people worked in the Xinzhuang crochet industry, now there are less than 100, she said.
To protect the heritage, the Minhang District government has begun crochet lessons in primary and middle schools. Jin is among the teachers.
But young girls, she finds, just aren't interested in needlework.
"They are impatient," Jin said. "And their parents are far from supportive, believing that learning crochet is a waste of time."
All is not lost. Some post-graduate students majoring in folklore at East China Normal University are working up plans to preserve Xinzhuang crochet in China. Although the plans aren't finalized yet, their goal is to create a business involving Xinzhuang crochet.
"What we need is accurate market positioning and unique designs that meet modern tastes," said Yuan Jin, one of the students. "We believe that once a type of products wins the market, Xinzhuang crochet will be saved."
When Jin Longhua picked up crochet needles for the first time when she was two years old, her mother predicted she would someday be very good at knitting lace because of the way she held the needles.
Sixty years later, Jin is considered a master of the game.
She started crocheting much like all the other girls her age in Xinzhuang.
"At that time, almost all the women did crochet work," Jin said. "Most if it was used as lace on garments. Every little girl was taught crochet at an early age. By the time I was five or six, I could crochet simple patterns."
After leaving school, Jin helped out on the family farm, but she always took her knitting needles with her to use during lunch break.
Crochet was a matter of necessity for families struggling through tough economic times in the 1950s and following decades. For many families living in Xinzhuang, food, educational fees and even wedding costs all came from hands of women doing part-time crochet.
Jin is keen for the tradition not to die out.
She began by setting up crochet workshops to teach the craft to others. In 1994, when the job she had in a mental institution was axed, she decided to devote herself to crochet full-time.
"I thought: Why not take advantage of my specialty and do what I love to do?" she said.
Jin's small workshop attracted several women to work there and learn from her. She accumulated more than 600 pieces of Xinzhuang crochet.
The lacework is no longer limited to small pieces for headwear, table clothes and coasters. The workshop now produces dresses, bedspreads and indoor ornaments.
"You can do anything with crochet," she explained. "We can make elegant flowers and vivid reproductions of animals that look almost real."
One of her favorite craftworks is an elaborate bedspread that took her three months to crochet. A wedding present for her son, Jin crocheted more than 100 patterns in 18 colors into the spread.
"My son took a picture of the bedspread and put it online, and people were all amazed," she said.
Apart from making products, Jin also does research into the history of Xinzhuang crochet. In 2007, the art form was designated as a Shanghai Cultural Heritage, and Jin was selected the only "proprietor" of the culture.
Xinzhuang crochet is always been mainly a product for export, welcomed in Japan, Australia and the United States. It has never found a strong footing in the Chinese domestic market. That concerns Jin.
"Every month my colleagues and I crochet about 10,000 pieces, but seldom can you find them on the mainland," she said. "Recently I took a dress I designed and crocheted by myself to a tourism souvenir mart. I charged it 200 yuan (US$31), much cheaper than exported ones. And one customer there said she loved the dress but was only willing to pay 50 yuan."
At the same time, Jin worries about lack of interest in the art form by young people. Few bother to learn crochet at all.
"The pay is bad," she admitted. "People earn only 3 to 4 yuan an hour from crochet, so they cannot afford to do it full-time."
Where once an estimated 100,000 people worked in the Xinzhuang crochet industry, now there are less than 100, she said.
To protect the heritage, the Minhang District government has begun crochet lessons in primary and middle schools. Jin is among the teachers.
But young girls, she finds, just aren't interested in needlework.
"They are impatient," Jin said. "And their parents are far from supportive, believing that learning crochet is a waste of time."
All is not lost. Some post-graduate students majoring in folklore at East China Normal University are working up plans to preserve Xinzhuang crochet in China. Although the plans aren't finalized yet, their goal is to create a business involving Xinzhuang crochet.
"What we need is accurate market positioning and unique designs that meet modern tastes," said Yuan Jin, one of the students. "We believe that once a type of products wins the market, Xinzhuang crochet will be saved."
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