From a crocheted recreation of a sad hamster meme to a shell-pink lily bag, Adelaide Novia ‘28 continues to craft a name for herself through her business, Crochet Critters.
“It’s just been this amazing skill that I’ve gotten to build on, and I’ve been really happy with everything I’ve gotten out of it,” she said.
Novia produces shawls, blankets, purses, bandanas and stuffed animals (some of her favorites), and sells her creations at events such as art festivals or to customers who make requests.
Maliha Ali, a childhood friend of Novia’s, is also one of her customers. She called her commissioned lily bag “the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Novia said she had to follow a pattern on a 17-page file to make the purse, her personal favorite project, which has since accrued over 5,000 likes on Instagram.
The Instagram account @_crochetcritters_, marked with Novia’s hand-drawn rabbit logo, was launched to document her progress.
Ali said Novia has been very persistent with her crafts while pursuing school.
“I really admire that,” Ali said.
Novia currently does not list prices for her products — she determines those through careful consideration, dependent on the product the client is buying and the labor required.
Delaney Piccoli ‘28, a friend of Novia’s and “one of her biggest fans,” highlighted her enthusiasm and the high quality of her products.
“She makes things not even because people are asking her to, but because she wants to, because she enjoys it,” Piccoli said. “A lot of these projects are labors of love.”
Novia has been crocheting since the fall of 2019, taking advantage of the extra time she gained during the pandemic-induced quarantine.
“Through COVID, it was a great time to try new things,” Novia said.
She said her great-grandmother, who makes crochet blankets called afghans, inspired her own work. After asking her great-grandmother to make afghans for her, Novia decided to make them on her own, teaching herself to crochet through YouTube videos.
Novia advises people who are interested in crochet to practice small stitches before tackling more complicated projects.
“I would very much like to keep this up for as long as I can,” Novia said.