Using the art of crochet to create modern and unique pieces
WHEN the Pepperpot Magazine caught up with Colita Ishmile-Mohamed she was quite busy preparing a variety of pieces for the Easter holidays but stated that she was willing to share her experience and products.

“I was introduced to crochet by attending a two-week programme before I was 12 years old; I had not even started high school as yet. So, while this taught me what to do in terms of knitting some things I did not take it up seriously, in terms of making innovated pieces until 2012. At this point, I began simultaneously teaching myself as I worked on the pieces,” she said.

Mohamed completed her secondary education at the St. Joseph High school, where she studied accountancy and business. She is now 27 years old, married and a mother of a four- year old boy. She told the Pepperpot Magazine that in addition to being a full-time entrepreneur – making her lovely handmade pieces – she has also worked in several accounting and finance agencies.

“I started this journey of promoting and selling my handmade pieces on October 9, 2016, at the first Curlfest Natural Hair Show and exhibition, which was held the Promenade Gardens and that is when I officially launched my business as CIM Exotic Designs,” she stated.

According to Mohamed, since her launch in 2016, she realised that using the art of crochet to create modern and unique pieces captured the attention of many as it is not a craft that is marketed as a brand in Guyana. She added that she currently works from her home and offers delivery, as well as pickup options to her customers in and around Georgetown.

She explained that most of the items are from custom orders, noting that she has found that social media marketing works best for reaching potential customers.

Expansive ideas
Mohammed stated that despite the fact that she had been taught her to knit at an early age, yet a while passed without her touching a knitting needle. However, once she got back into it she was hooked, not only on knitting but also on crocheting, and posited that she is on her way to becoming a highly productive craftswoman.

“I have made countless ladies tops, short pants and skirts, bath suits, summer wear, a variety of underwear, knitted shoes for both adults and children; handbags and clutch purses, baby blankets, sweaters, vests, shawls, scarves, hats, mittens, caps, bedspreads and many more. I feel that when my hands are busy, my mind stays focused in a very productive way,” she stated.

Studies have shown that there is a resurgence of interest in needle and other handicraft, especially by women, even as some men are also showing more interest as well. Dr. Herbert Benson, a pioneer in mind and body medicine and author of “The Relaxation Response,” says that the repetitive action of needlework can induce a relaxed state like that associated with meditation and yoga. He added that once people get beyond the initial learning curve, knitting and crocheting can lower heart rate and blood pressure and reduce harmful blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Economic factor
However, while the health value of activities like knitting is being rated high, the rewards go well beyond replacing stress and anxiety with the satisfaction of creation. It is also being done for major gains economically.

Mohamed indicated that while she truly loves what she does – the job satisfaction, as well as the fine end-products that are there to look at- yet still her intention for making them is not just to sit and look at them, because there is a need to balance the cost of materials, cost of producing and profits.

“The raw materials are pretty expensive and because I desire to get the best quality materials to make the products I offer the customer, I look for and choose only the best…the better the materials, the better the outcome for whatever is being made.”

Other health benefits
Research has shown that some people find that craftwork helps them control their weight. Just as it is challenging to smoke while knitting when hands are holding needles and hooks, there’s less snacking and mindless eating out of boredom.

Further, many have found that doing handiwork with crochet thread or wool helps arthritic fingers remain more nimble as they age. A 2009 University of British Columbia study of 38 women with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, who were taught to knit, found that learning the craft led to significant improvements. Seventy-four percent of the women said the activity lessened their fears and kept them from ruminating about their problem.

Betsan Corkhill, a wellness coach in Bath, England, and author of the book “Knit for Health & Wellness,” established a website, Stitchlinks, to explore the value of what she calls therapeutic knitting. Among her respondents, 54 percent of those who were clinically depressed said that knitting made them feel happy or very happy.

In a study of 60 self-selected people with chronic pain, Corkhill and colleagues reported that knitting enabled them to redirect their focus, reducing their awareness of pain. She suggested that the brain can process just so much at once and that activities like knitting and crocheting make it harder for the brain to register pain signals. There are many more proven cases.

Mohamed also said that she has found knitting to be a very relaxing and creative activity so that while she has been gaining many customers as a result of her expansive ideas she believes that she has also been benefiting in terms of her health and wellness. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)