Young mom turns her love for crochet into a budding business

Jan 14, 2024 Features / Columnists, News, Waterfalls Magazine

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By Alva Solomon

Waterfalls Magazine – She sits with her materials, crocheting, or as many Guyanese would say, “knitting” the threads of her newest product together. Sometimes you may see Ranette Simpson sitting in a popular eatery, twirling her fingers over her hooks and yarns as she sews a new outfit.

Such was the first encounter the Waterfalls Magazine had with Simpson, a mother of two and budding crotchet entrepreneur. At the time, she sat inside the Demico House snackette downtown, sewing her threads as she killed time one afternoon last week. “That would be lovely,” Ranette exclaimed when asked if she would like to be featured in the Waterfalls Magazine this weekend.

According to the ambitious young woman, she deems herself an “exclusive” crotchet designer. She said she always had a “like” for designing. “I always wanted to crochet,” she said.

Back in Fourth Form

It all started one day when she was in the fourth form of secondary school during a free period. At the time, Simpson said she gazed in amazement as her friend sewed together a centre piece fabric for a table. “Knowing that I always wanted to learn to do this, I took that opportunity that day to learn a few things from her,” she said.

Noting that she was very attentive that day as her friend demonstrated the sewing process to her, Simpson said she tried to catch on quickly. However, she said she wasn’t getting it right at the time. “Mind you only that day alone she showed me, and I went home and I practiced,” she said. But she grew frustrated that she was not mastering the art of sewing the threads at the time.

“I still wanted to learn the skill. I still felt like, I had a love for it,” she said. But the love was still there. Whenever she passed crochet items, Simpson’s heartbeat increased because she knew she had a hunger for mastering the art of crocheting.

Fired from the job

She recalled that at age 19, she became pregnant with her first child and later, she was laid off from her job. “I was fired I should say,” she said. But Simpson took that opportunity to follow her heart. “So, I took that time, and I would crochet baby dresses, I did blankets and in that same year my father asked me to crochet some bathing suits. I practiced and they came out nice,” she said.

Simpson said in 2021, she lost her job again, and the reason was similar to that when she lost her first job. “I was pregnant in 2021, I also got fired from my job again, and then I said, you know what, I should turn this thing {crocheting} into a business”, she explained.

Turned to social media

Simpson said as she continued to make her designs, she decided to utilize social media to market her products. She created Facebook, Instagram and Tik-Tok accounts and she also advertised her products on Facebook Marketplace.

She said her business kicked-off and her customer base, which comprised of mainly females at the time, grew.

Simpson designs a variety of outfits. She designs gowns, evening dresses, beachwear, baby outfits including baby hats, hats for men, ruffle hats for ladies, bags, among other items. “Crochet in so many forms, it is beyond the imagination,” she said of the various styles she masters.

Some of her most sought-after products are the evening gowns. Simpson said she took part in a Miss East Bank Demearra pageant and according to her, for the evening wear segment of the pageant, she donned one of her own, handmade evening gowns. The outfit was a hit and people were calling her frequently, requesting various styles of gowns.

To master her skills, she said she watches hours upon hours of YouTube videos. “So that is how I have learnt a lot, especially the name of the stitches, the name of the hooks, the yarns as well. I did not know these things until I started following the videos,” she said.’

She said it may be challenging when a customer makes a request. “Customers may see something online and they would send it to me. Remember I want the job and I may not know the direct pattern, but I try my best to give them what they want,” she said.

Simpson said crocheting, “is something very technical. It is done by hand, everybody uses different stitches, not all time you may be able to look at a photograph and know what stitch is being used and sometimes your final product turns out different from that in the photograph. So, you have to loosen it out and start all over again.”

With a smile, she said “crocheting is not for the weak.”

It can be done anywhere

Simpson said one of the many reasons she loves crocheting is that it can be done anywhere. “You can be travelling in a vehicle, and you can do your crochet, you could be sitting in the mall, anywhere. You just take along your hook and your yarn and you sit and crochet,” she said.

The young woman noted that on occasions when she has projects to complete and she isn’t finished, she would take her materials along with her, board the bus and since she lives on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, she utilises the one-hour drive to the city to complete her designs. She said crocheting is also “very relaxing.”

“It can relax the mind, because when you are crocheting you have to focus on what you are doing, especially when you are working with patterns because your mind cannot be anywhere else.”

To this end, she said if one makes a mistake, “you have to loose it out and there is this excitement in seeing your finished project.”  She also loves the fact that “crocheting is such a colourful art. You can use so many colours.”

Simpson said as time goes by, she is learning to make new styles and designs, and she plans to expand her business in the months ahead. “I just love to crochet,” she said with a smile.

Besides crocheting, Simpson also has a knack for learning and trying new things. “I love to learn new things, I love cooking, I love baking, I also have a love for sewing with the machine but not as much as crocheting,” she said with her symbolic smile.

The ambitious Simpson defines herself as resilient, ambitious, and courageous.

Anyone who is interested in Simpson’s designs can contact her and view her products on Facebook Stancolacrochet, on Instagram at stancolacrochetgy, and on Tik-Tok as Stancolacrochetgy.

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• Alva Solomon, business, crocheting, materials, mom, pageant

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