Monday, Jun 5, 2023

Himabindu Manchala’s yearning for the yarn

Crocheter Himabindu Manchala helps revive the age-old handicraft through her ‘Crochet Now’

By Shweta Watson

Published Date - 11:53 PM, Sun - 9 May 21

Himabindu Manchala’s yearning for the yarn

Hyderabad: When was the last time you saw your mom or grandma crocheting a cute sweater or a scarf for you? You’ll probably have to scratch your head to recollect a memory from your childhood. But thanks to Hyderabad-based artist Himabindu Manchala, the age-old handicraft is finding new fans.

Through her company Crochet Now India, she sells a variety of crochet products, provides online workshops, and even supplies raw material and tools to artists across the country.

“It all started as a hobby for me three years ago. After crocheting continuously for six months, I thought of starting a business,” says the 26-year-old and adds, “The idea came to me when a crochet wall hanging in my house caught my attention. When I asked my mom about it, she told me that she had made it long ago. Then I decided to learn the skill from her.”

Bindu, who pursued an MBA and an MA in English, would earlier work as an English teacher at a school. She used the savings from her job to open her business about two and half years ago.

“My father has been my rock and he always encourages me to pursue something new. My uncle has a cotton industry, so I get my raw material from him and I have other suppliers as well. Now, I get about 80 plus orders from our city as well as Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and even from Assam and Meghalaya,” she says.

Online store

Not only can you buy different types of yarn, weaving kits, crochet hooks, dowels and knitting needles on her website crochetnow.in, but you can also shop a variety of products including beautiful earrings, hair bands, baby hats, sweaters, crop tops, footwear, handbags and even rakhis! You can request her and her team of three for a customised product on her Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/crochetnow.in/.

Bindu has so far taught crocheting to around 200 students through her online and offline workshops.

“Next, I’m collaborating with other crocheters in India so that they can find a platform to sell their products. I understand how difficult it can get to get into this market,” shares Bindu, who exhibited her products at a variety of flea markets and has put up art installations at Begumpet, Necklace Road and Hitec city.

The youngster feels that handmade products are making a huge comeback, especially after Covid-19 as people are looking to learn new art and order online. “We put up two installations at Maker Faire Hyderabad and did yarn bombing in 2020. Yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art where an object is covered with crocheted or knitted material. It was a great experience,” concludes Bindu.