Arianwen Art - Crochet Series

Crochet Series

October - December 2025

I was inspired by Louise Bourgeois' work 'Maman' where she described a spider's instinct to repair webs as motherly, leading me to look into domestic crafting. I wanted to create doilies as they are often seen as delicate and feminine, reframing them into a powerful representation of the patience and skill required for crafting. For the smallest designs I used a 0.75mm micro-crochet hook. I was pleased with the outcome of this, despite how slow the process was it was satisfying to see the details gradually grow.

My visit to the Honiton Lace Museum encouraged my eagerness to learn the technique myself, especially as bobbin lace is listed on the Heritage List of Endangered Crafts. I used second-hand bobbins and learned how to do a cloth stitch, half stitch and cloth stitch and twist. This was tricky to get the hang of at first, but I decided to leave my mistakes in as evidence of my learning process.

Series of filet crochet, micro crochet doilies & bobbin lace work

I really enjoyed creating the filet crocheted spider, but wanted to create something that was slightly less on-the-nose. I re-read The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo, a children's book following the story of Arianwen (the Snow Spider) who weaves intricate webs showing imagery to help Gwyn reunite with his sister. The book contains a series of 5 objects that also help him on his journey: a silver pipe, broach, scarf, seaweed and a broken horse toy.

I wanted to translate this into my own practice by using craft tools that have been borrowed/handed down to me to emphasise the importance of keeping craft alive, and the community connections created through it. I chose bobbins with personalised beads from the previous owner, my mum's pin tin, my second-hand sewing machine, scissors and a sewing box from my granny. I used a variety of traditionally domestic craft techniques including filet crochet, freehand machine embroidery (on a dissolvable base) with hand-stitched details and bobbin lace. I chose to display these pinned on to the lace cushion as a demonstration of the importance of the tools used for their creation.

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Craft & Feminist Resistance: Haptic MakingShort Film - Documentation of the Slow Process of Crafting

For part of my dissertation project, I filmed close-ups of my hands documenting the making of my studio work with a voice over of me discussing my research on the question:

"What role does slow, repetitive craft play in feminist resistance to capitalist production and creating community connections?"

I felt that it was important to keep the videos in real-time to authentically represent the slowness of crafts, and how grounding the haptic relationship between the maker and materials can be. I wanted to give traditionally domestic and feminine crafts a voice showing their role in history and how the hand-made works against capitalist ideals. My research included the origins of 'craftivism', 'The Subversive Stitch' by Rosika Parker, 'Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity' by Emily Matchar and work by Louise Bourgeois and Anni Albers. These all helped strengthen my argument, all tied together by the visuals of my making. I aimed to convey the importance of reclaiming femininity through embracing these crafts and reviving traditional skills, proving their relevance today not only as a hobby, but as a form of political activism and community building.

Cutlery Crochet Hook CollectionWhen using the second-hand bobbins, I reflected on how important it is to pass down crafting tools to keep the skills alive, and how special the personalisation can be. I decided to create my own crafting tools and made a series of crochet hooks from cutlery found in a charity shop. I wanted these to still be recognisable but with a new purpose to give the hooks more of a story.
Handmade crochet hooks created from old cutlery

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