Vic French Crochet

Ever since I was little, I have always been surrounded by handicrafts. My mum did a lot of knitting and sewing, and she was the one who made our clothes when my sisters and I were children.

So I grew up with this image of things made by hand, even though I didn’t yet know it would take such an important place in my life.

I discovered crochet in 2018, when I met my husband. He is the one who showed me this technique and taught me the basics. I was hooked straight away, even if my beginnings were far from perfect! I remember my first attempts, with squares that didn’t really look like squares. But I loved being able to create something with my own hands. I persevered, I learned little by little and I improved over time. Today, crochet has become a true passion that holds a very important place in my life.

I work a bit in both ways!

Sometimes I have a fairly precise idea of the garment I want to create, of its shape or the colours I want to use. But I also sometimes come across a ball of yarn whose colours inspire me immediately, and I build a whole project around it.

I love colours, blends and pieces with character. I don’t necessarily try to reproduce what already exists: I like to experiment, to try combinations you wouldn’t necessarily think of and to see how far I can go with a material.

Crochet allows an enormous amount of freedom.

The same yarn can give completely different results depending on the stitch used, the volume or the way the pieces are assembled. I think my world comes precisely from this wish not to limit myself and to leave room for improvisation. I may have a plan at the start, but I always let the creation evolve along the way.

I think my creations show a part of my personality that I don’t necessarily express with words. I love colours, originality and clothes that don’t go unnoticed. For me, a garment can say something about the person wearing it, and I love the idea of creating pieces that allow people to assert their personality.

Making a garment with my own hands also gives it a special dimension. It isn’t simply a piece of clothing you buy: there is time, patience, choices and a lot of energy behind every piece.

With Vic_French.Crochet, I want to show that crochet isn’t limited to traditional objects or accessories. It can be modern, creative, bold and perfectly suited to today’s fashion.

I love being able to change that image and to show all the possibilities this technique offers.

It’s true that crochet is still often associated with women, but personally, I think creativity has no gender. A yarn and a hook are accessible to everyone, and I find it a shame that an activity is still sometimes seen as reserved for one sex rather than another.

Being a man who crochets can attract curiosity, and I prefer to see that as an opportunity to introduce my work and to break a few preconceived ideas. I am proud of my passion and I don’t want to limit myself because of the clichés that may still exist.

What matters to me is the pleasure of creating, the quality of the work and the emotion that creations can stir. If my journey can make other men want to give it a try, or simply show that everyone can find their place in this world, then that is something very positive.

It’s quite incredible to think that a creation you spent hours on, stitch after stitch, can be seen by millions of people all over the world. At first, I crochet simply because I love it, because I have an idea in my head and I want to make it real. I don’t necessarily expect a creation to be so successful.

It’s both very rewarding and a little unreal. Social media lets you share your passion with people you would probably never have met otherwise. It motivates me to keep creating, to try new things and to share my world even more.

Living in Canada while being French allows me to be part of a truly international community. What I love about crochet is precisely that there are no borders: whatever the language or the country, we all share the same passion.

There are of course differences in styles, inspirations, colours and techniques depending on cultures. But I find that social media brings enthusiasts enormously closer together.

You can learn from someone who lives on the other side of the world, discover new ways of creating and inspire each other. It’s one of the most beautiful aspects of this community.

Behind every creation, there is much more than what you see in the final video. There is the time spent thinking about the project, choosing the colours, testing ideas, undoing rows when the result doesn’t match what I imagined, and then starting again.

There is also the whole part you don’t necessarily see: filming, taking photos, preparing posts and sharing your work on social media. And then there is the famous mess of yarn behind the screen! You see a lovely finished creation, but you don’t necessarily see the dozens of balls of yarn lying around me, the tangled threads and the mess that sometimes comes with creativity!

But above all, there is a lot of passion and patience. Crochet has taught me that you sometimes have to accept that not everything is perfect the first time. Every creation is an adventure, and that is also what makes this passion so enriching.

Without hesitation, I would choose my husband. He is the one who introduced me to crochet in 2018 and taught me the basics. Since then, this passion has taken a very important place in my life. I would love to share that moment with him anywhere in the world, in a place that makes us dream, with our hooks and our balls of wool. For me, the most important thing wouldn’t be the destination, but sharing that moment with the person who introduced me to this passion. It would be a beautiful way to remind him that, behind Vic_French.Crochet, there is also a little of our story.