Chongqing - Liu Yihua, a 68-year-old Chongqing grandma, became a big fan of crochet in her 40s and successfully developed "Chongqing Yu-faction yarn-knitting" into Yuzhong District's intangible cultural heritage. Crochet is the art of creating fabric by looping yarn with a crochet hook. Liu's artworks have been exhibited at fashion weeks in Beijing, Shanghai, France, and the United States.

Liu said that she looks forward to bringing more artistry and fashion out of yarn and crochet and bringing them to millions of people and international stages.

Liu Yihua crochet with yarn and a crochet hook. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Crush on crochet for 40 years

In Liu Yihua's home, more than half of the area is occupied by crochet works. In addition to the clothes, hats, scarves, shawls, table napkins, screens, curtains, and cushions, all of which are made of yarn. Even when talking with her, she never put down the crochet in her hand and turned it rhythmically. "Crochet" seems to have become a part of her body. "If I don't crochet a few times each day, I will feel uncomfortable!" said Liu Yihua.

Forty years ago, Liu Yihua crocheted a pair of trousers for her son, which was her first "work." Seeing the happy expression of the child, she couldn't help falling in love with the craft handed down for generations. She formally picked up the crochet and yarn and began her "crochet" career.

Find inspiration in nature

When she was young, Liu Yihua was once engaged in literary and artistic work. When designing stage costumes, she picked up crochet to make beautiful costumes for ballet dancers, making the stage effect immediately eye-catching. She also crocheted a vivid flower on the ordinary plastic sandals, attracting passers-by. Her knitting skills make her works go beyond the common attributes of clothes and become unique handmade art.

Liu Yihua and her crochet work. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

While most women regard knitting as a hobby, Liu Yihua has already opened a shop on Datong Road, Yuzhong District. Customers often come to ask for advice, learn new styles and designs, and then go home to learn how to knit.

She is happy to communicate with other people and teach them skills. This repeated process also promoted her innovation in the crochet method and breakthrough in clothing style and color coordination.

Liu Yihua likes to crochet flowers, such as sunflowers, roses, and dandelions. When she goes to flower markets and shows, she thinks about how to use yarn and crochet to outline the shape of flowers -- nature gives her inspiration. In the next batch of works, she plans to crochet Marine life, appealing to everyone to protect the natural environment.

To the larger stage

To Liu Yihua's delight, in the past, most people who liked crochet works were middle-aged and elderly people. Still, now more and more young people want to learn crochet, the youngest is only in their teens, and there are even male students majoring in clothing in vocational schools. The style is also changing to fashionable and more youthful.

She believes that the charm of "crochet" is something factory machines cannot replace. "Where the machine can't reach, the crochet can reach." Liu Yihua added. In her view, crochet and yarn can show numerous changes.

When a dancer in Hangzhou went to the international award ceremony, she ordered a long skirt from Yang Yihua. Inspired by Van Gogh's "Sunflower," Yang Yihua expressed an unrestrained mood with yarn. The dancer donned it and received favorable comments. She also crocheted performance clothes for famous artists such as Yang Liping. She was recognized as part of the first Chongqing "Top Ten Fashion Designers" award.

Liu Yihua said crochet is not a "specialty" of the Sichuan and Chongqing regions. Many parts of China have crochet, which also presents different characteristics. In more than 40 years of crochet career, she has developed her style: she does not stick to a pattern, nor does she stick to diagrams, but relies more on creativity and imagination and is free to crochet whatever she wants.

She said that in the past, people liked crochet because of the lack of cultural life, but now they like crochet because there is a world hidden in every crochet and yarn. As long as you can think of it, you can use crochet and yarn to achieve it.

Liu Yihua has never stopped her crochet. She hopes the artistic "crochet" can step onto a larger international stage, enter a broader global market, and let more people enjoy the infinite scenery between crochet and yarn.

(Chen Qian, as an intern, also contributed to the report.)