Nimble fingers keep ancient folk craft alive
By Victoria Fei |
December 29, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Xinzhuang Handicraft Knitting Center in Xinzhuang Town of Minhang District is a popular place, bustling with people who appreciate, practice and promote the art of knitwear.
The woven works of Mao Jingfang, owner of the center, have become especially popular with South Korean suppliers, with a recent order for more than 11,000 collar pieces.
Naturally, Mao is delighted, and she is happy to share the profit with her work colleagues.
Pinching the threads in her left hand while she holds a crochet hook in the right, Mao makes the creation of a cream-colored cotton bear head look so easy.
That's the design for the collars ordered by the South Korean customer. Residents from Zhuanqiao, Maqiao, Meilong and Jiuting Towns from across Shanghai are helping Mao fill the order, which has to be completed in 25 days.
"The client has very high criteria," said Mao. "The size of each little bear head on the collar must be uniform. That's hard to do in manual work, but we will try our very best."
Nowadays, people who have the skill of hooking and knitting are becoming fewer and fewer. Through this project, Mao hopes interest in the traditional Xinzhuang handicraft will be rekindled somewhat.
"Since living conditions have improved, local people no longer depend on hooking and knitting for a living," she said. "But in their spare time, they will pick up their needlework."
Most of the handicraft practitioners are people in their 40s and 50s, she said.
"I would like to cultivate interest among younger people so that these skills get passed on," she said.
Mao has developed a knitwear network of 12 teams, each comprising 10 people. The oldest among them is 92.
Mao displays many of her own designs at the center. She said she feels a swell of pride with each new piece she makes.
"It has always been my biggest wish to make my handmade works and the center famous around the world," she said. "In that way, I hope to keep this cultural skill alive."
She established the center in 1998 after she was laid off from her job.
She said she always strives for new, innovative creations to develop the center. Her handicrafts are now sold all over the world, including the UK, US, France, Spain and Japan.
Born in Xinzhuang, Mao learned handicrafts from her mother when she was a small child.
"I loved hand knitting," she said. "But I never thought the hook needle and thread would keep me company for the majority of my life. Now that I am turning 60, I am still reluctant to give it up. I think of handicraft weaving as my career."
Hooking and knitting has more than a 100-year history in Xinzhuang. It is now officially recognized as a heritage cultural icon of the district.
"I have collected and treasured all kinds of hand-knitted material in Xinzhuang for the last 30 years," Mao said.
Her center has catalogued 3,000 individual pieces, many of them quite old, she said. "Some are from the past, some are modern," she said. "Every needle and thread has formed part of an eternal love for me."
The woven works of Mao Jingfang, owner of the center, have become especially popular with South Korean suppliers, with a recent order for more than 11,000 collar pieces.
Naturally, Mao is delighted, and she is happy to share the profit with her work colleagues.
Pinching the threads in her left hand while she holds a crochet hook in the right, Mao makes the creation of a cream-colored cotton bear head look so easy.
That's the design for the collars ordered by the South Korean customer. Residents from Zhuanqiao, Maqiao, Meilong and Jiuting Towns from across Shanghai are helping Mao fill the order, which has to be completed in 25 days.
"The client has very high criteria," said Mao. "The size of each little bear head on the collar must be uniform. That's hard to do in manual work, but we will try our very best."
Nowadays, people who have the skill of hooking and knitting are becoming fewer and fewer. Through this project, Mao hopes interest in the traditional Xinzhuang handicraft will be rekindled somewhat.
"Since living conditions have improved, local people no longer depend on hooking and knitting for a living," she said. "But in their spare time, they will pick up their needlework."
Most of the handicraft practitioners are people in their 40s and 50s, she said.
"I would like to cultivate interest among younger people so that these skills get passed on," she said.
Mao has developed a knitwear network of 12 teams, each comprising 10 people. The oldest among them is 92.
Mao displays many of her own designs at the center. She said she feels a swell of pride with each new piece she makes.
"It has always been my biggest wish to make my handmade works and the center famous around the world," she said. "In that way, I hope to keep this cultural skill alive."
She established the center in 1998 after she was laid off from her job.
She said she always strives for new, innovative creations to develop the center. Her handicrafts are now sold all over the world, including the UK, US, France, Spain and Japan.
Born in Xinzhuang, Mao learned handicrafts from her mother when she was a small child.
"I loved hand knitting," she said. "But I never thought the hook needle and thread would keep me company for the majority of my life. Now that I am turning 60, I am still reluctant to give it up. I think of handicraft weaving as my career."
Hooking and knitting has more than a 100-year history in Xinzhuang. It is now officially recognized as a heritage cultural icon of the district.
"I have collected and treasured all kinds of hand-knitted material in Xinzhuang for the last 30 years," Mao said.
Her center has catalogued 3,000 individual pieces, many of them quite old, she said. "Some are from the past, some are modern," she said. "Every needle and thread has formed part of an eternal love for me."
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