Fashion Lovers, Support Fiber Designers!

The 2020s mark the era of ultra-fast fashion: massive orders of clothes arrive at your door within days, trends are born and quickly die off, and microtrends arise like bad weeds in grass. The idea of patiently stitching a garment by hand feels almost like a relic of the past. But for those who knit and crochet their own pieces, or support the artists who do, the process is anything but outdated. The art of fibers is intimate and incredibly time-consuming. And yes, it’s expensive.

When we shop, our minds quickly veer to the price tags without acknowledging what hand-knit and crochet garments truly represent. These items aren’t just clothes, they’re the product of hours of meticulous work done stitch by stitch, row by row, with no shortcuts and no room for error. Depending on the size, pattern complexity, and quality of yarn, a simple sweater could take 20-60 hours or more to complete. What results is the ultimate expression of creativity through carefully honed skill and practiced muscle memory. A machine can mass-produce garments in minutes, yet handmade pieces are as uniquely special as they are deeply personal. Rick Warren says in The Purpose Driven Life that the most precious gift you can give someone is your time. That handmade garment you’re holding is not only someone’s physical labor, it’s hours of their life dedicated to forming a vision, a process, an intention, and ultimately, a manifestation of themselves. This applies to any designer who specializes in handmade pieces, but I wanted to focus specifically on handmade knit and crochet, as those are the techniques I’m most experienced in.

You may have noticed that I specify knitwear as “handmade,” but I don’t say the same for crochet—that’s intentional; it’s already implied. Unlike knitting, crochet cannot be replicated by a machine. That means that every authentic crochet item, whether from a local artisan or a fast fashion company, was made by hand. Next time you come across one in a store, take a closer look. If it looks like crochet and the price is too good to be true, it’s either a mechanical knitting technique designed to mimic the look of crochet, or it was, in fact, handmade—likely by an underpaid and exploited worker. The reality is there’s no shortcut to crochet. Every stitch was done by someone, somewhere.

I’ve been working with fibers for five years now—crocheting, knitting, experimenting with color, texture, and form. It wasn’t until I engaged in this pastime that I truly understood the time and labor each piece demands. Before that, I had little awareness of the effort behind the knit and crochet items I saw in stores. Now, I can’t bring myself to buy anything crocheted or knitted from fast fashion brands, knowing I could make it myself if I really wanted to (even if I have no real intention of doing so). Just knowing what goes into it, how long it takes, and how fulfilling it feels to accomplish, makes it impossible to ignore the disconnect between how these items are manufactured and how they’re actually made. I think my 16-year-old self captured this realization best in a journal entry from 2022: 

Something about turning nothing into something is so rewarding… Nothing beats the satisfaction of completing something that once only existed in my mind—something I had to restart a million times because I kept messing up. I love having a vision in my mind and becoming totally engrossed in it until it’s finalized. I want to dedicate my life to that.

What I see in a handmade piece isn’t just miles and miles and yarn interwoven to form a pretty pattern; I see the mental and emotional investment. I imagine the artist getting stuck, walking away, coming back, and keeping going countless times. A mirror of myself working on my own designs. It's tangible proof of persistence through trial and error. It’s the joy of creation.

Author Susan Lydon once described this feeling beautifully in The Knitting Sutra, where she reflects on the spiritual and emotional value of handwork: “What I found in this tiny domestic world of knitting is endless; it runs broader and deeper than anyone might imagine. It is infinite and seemingly inexhaustible in its capacity to inspire, excite, and provoke creative insight”. Lydon saw knitting not just as a hobby, but as a way to honor livelihood, to find godliness in work that has been traditionally dismissed as “woman’s work.” Fiber art is quiet and slow, but there is room for both bliss and meaning. And perhaps, as Bell Hooks also suggests, a blissful home is one where love and care can flourish.

So, is handmade knitting and crochet worth the price? Why is it so expensive? The answer is yes, and it should be. I’m not asking you to spend an unfathomable amount of money; many of us simply aren’t even in a position to splurge on wearables. What I ask instead is to acknowledge the labor, the artistry, and the fact that someone chose to invest their time in creating a single thoughtful piece. Add the time and labor in with the cost of quality yarn (which I know, from experience, can easily surpass $50 per garment before labor is even factored in), and the numbers start to make sense. In truth, most small business vendors still undercharge, often pricing below minimum wage if they account for their time. 

These garments are naturally more sustainable as they are produced without industrial machinery, mass-waste systems, or unethical labor practices. They use better materials and hold emotional weight that fast fashion lacks. Supporting handmade knitwear means valuing slowness in a culture of speed. It means understanding that what you wear can have meaning beyond aesthetics or trendiness. In every stitch, there’s patience. In every finished piece, there’s pride.

Philly Yarn Crawl is a great resource for discovering yarn and craft stores across Pennsylvania. I also encourage you to explore platforms like Etsy and Depop, where many talented independent designers sell their work. And if you’re curious about the full creative potential of fiber design, take a look at runway collections. Many established fashion houses have embraced knit and crochet in their looks, proving just how expansive this craft can be. The images included here only scratch the surface.

I’ll leave with this: next time you see a price tag on a handmade top and think, why so much? Consider asking instead, why have we come to expect so little from our clothes?

Photo Sources:

Birgitta Bjerke (100% Birgitta), Wedding dress, 1972. Collection of Barbara Kayfetz, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. https://2024.schirn.de/fileadmin/SCHIRN/Magazin/Abbildungen_2017/Interview/Interview_Max_Hollein/5316.5316.L16.56.9_V3_8.jpg.

Black Onyx. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GFU73XCXAAA7veU.jpg.

Dolce & Gabbana. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b5/4e/d7/b54ed76f46612f902c07e92eb26d1828.jpg.

Erica Maish. https://www.nokillmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Erika2BMaish2Bcrochet2Bgarments.jpg.

Grace Gui. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9f/7e/bc/9f7ebc1957c3647ca1fa24e5d4d2165f.jpg.

Julie Colquitt Art. Etsy, https://i.etsystatic.com/14839447/r/il/e9853e/6601299997/il_1588xN.6601299997_4b1f.jpg.

Nong Rak. https://voguesg.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/18130405/Nong-Rak-Image-4-680x1020p.jpg.

Shiva Creation. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/14/8f/3e/148f3e7acf569dcf9d6b6c144b1a43d1.jpg.