KOCHI: Whether making floral on crochet or other colourful designs, this arts educator knows how to create beautiful designs from her thread and yarn and if one want to learn the basics of thread and yarn crochet with a modern touch, Rohini Sen, a curriculum designer from Bengaluru currently residing in Thiruvananthapuram is the person to be approached.
The workshop sessions began the other day near SAP camp in Peroorkada starting with basic crochet stitches, with one session focusing on crochet projects, materials and professional equipment. With step-by-step guidance, participants are taught how to read and interpret writing crochet patterns and they are also free to choose an individual project out of a variety of patterns.
“ I am an arts educator. I wanted to create a new set of women crafters whether it is using crochet or other materials. Few women know about crochet but most of them don’t know to read the crochet patterns. So, I wanted them to understand how they can read the crochet patterns too,” says Rohini. The crochet workshop is aimed at teaching the beginner-intermediate level participants how to create floral crochet designs and other designs using thread and yarn.
Crochet is a craft that she initially picked on her own and later acquired formal guidance to master an array of skills. She says, “I wanted to use my fingers in some kind of craft instead of using it in scrolling down my Facebook page. This is how I started learning crochet and now I am training women to learn this craft.” In the workshop, this arts educator gives ample opportunity to women to try different modern materials apart from traditional knitting methods that were followed. Now the materials used are different such as hooks made of rubber, which doesn’t hurt fingers, magnifying lamps and distinctive type of threads are brought by this contemporary artist from places like Turkey, UK.
It’s been a year since Rohini started working with crochet and now she rules the business. For the workshop, 10 women have registered. She says, “Though the course of the workshop is crochet pattern, some women are also making traditional dollies and baby blankets. I am looking at this workshop as a stress buster and if you don’t concentrate while doing it, the stitches will break.”
She holds a Masters degree from Rhode Islan School of Design, USA and has exhibited her artworks in India and abroad in the US, Belgium, Japan. She has taught in international schools in Indian and the United States. Rohini is currently involved in curriculum design and teacher training workshops and also work on projects that examine the way fine arts and craft communicate differently. The workshop will be on till May 20 from 2 pm to 5 pm.
