FIFA 2026: Brazil
So, as I’m sure most of you probably know by now, the World Cup has become a pretty big deal these days. For me personally, this was pretty much the first year I really paid attention to it - partly because it was played here in the U.S. for the first time in a while.
And mainly because of this summer crochet project:
I was tasked with making a custom crochet shirt for my friend, Erick, at the hospital gift shop!
Context:
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it here yet, but last fall I threw my hat into the volunteer circuit around town to see what would shake out. Apparently there’s a lot of extra help needed here, so I decided to settle on just 2 for the time being.
One of them is actually at my old stomping-grounds at the University hospital; they’re always in the market for extra help, and the gift shops were where I really got settled into my working-life.
One day, I was chatting it up with a new coworker, Erick, and while discussing hobbies one thing lead to another, and then… while, I whipped out my phone to show him the studio's website.
A few weeks later he inquired if I take orders or requests, with a particular project in mind:
So I gave him an honest answer: I think I could create something like that. With a few personal adjustments of course…
The whirlwind Process:
Now when he inquired about the shirt I was actually getting ready to head over to Spain with my mother for a fun historic adventure with Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday. I already went for the last 2 years and managed to rope (nag) my mom into going as a belated retirement-celebration.
All that to say we’d already planned to discuss the project more at length when I got back and we were scheduled for the same shop again.
Now when I got back, I had no idea I was in for a speedy crocheting process.
When we were setting the deadline for his shirt, my friend mentioned he wanted to be able to wear it for an event he and his husband were attending at the end of June… we reconnected the last week of May.
To be honest, I was already sweating it a little because of the time-crunch already present: having learned from my last major project, I knew it could be tricky to find the right colored yarn in cotton or cotton-blend (the selection is still pretty limited at our local Michael’s Craft Store, despite the company now owning Joann’s inventory).
I warned Erick ahead of time that 5 weeks was gonna be tight, but it was possible if I could find his yarn in time.
And fortunately, I did…
Though you may be ashamed of me from the supplier I purchased from…
Materials (of a Controversial-nature):
Yes, I went back to Hobbii overseas to find the yarn I needed.
For those who don’t know, it was around that time that Hobbii found themselves in some pretty hot water after openly admitting to embracing A.I. generated content; some officious “open-mouth-insert-foot” statement about being able to save time and money when they don’t have to hire models or photographers for their products…
Ya’ll, this is the same company that was founded and operated by, essentially four techno-bros - yet have I found any evidence that any of them actual practice any handicraft.
Anyhoo…
While some boycotts were in full swing, Hobbii kept coming up as my best option due to their wide selection - especially for specialty yarns - and the estimated arrival time if I purchased in those in first few days. I couldn’t find much outside of acrylic yarn, not even in the right colors, and struck out my local yarn shop. I knew if I asked the owner they could probably track down the right yarn for me, but I had no way of knowing how much or little time it would take to get it.
So, I begrudgingly went with Hobbii - and prayed that the yarn wouldn’t go the round-about-way again!
Fortunately, it did not - it actually arrived a day early! - and we were all set to get started.
4 hours at a time:
Now the design for the shirt is very simple, especially for a male-wearer; pretty much two rectangles sewn together, with the sleeves and collar shaped later.
But because the yarn was such a small gauge, it meant that I needed to actually slow my roll and break up my time crocheting. Recently I’ve been getting more stress injuries in my dominate hand - I threw my shoulder recently. It took 2 days for it to recover.
The ergonomic hooks have really helped take the edge off, but even though those the lighter yarns still create more tension in my hands. I think it’s because I keep locking up my joints without meaning to; it could also be that I just need a better chair for better posture.
Either way, for this project I decided to slow down and work only 4 hours a day, with a decisively long lunch-break in between.
It brought my progress down to something of a crawl, especially because I had other projects and commissions to work on in between. But the lack of stress injuries - and smaller “bible busters” in my wrists - made it all worth it.
Final Thoughts:
This project was so much fun! Slow-going, yes, but so much fun. It really gave me the chance to spread my wings a little more, and take on something I had never made before.
The icing on the cake is that it not only turned out so beautifully, but my friend absolutely loves it. He even told me recently that he’s gotten so many compliments every time he’s worn it. I’ve been walking on cloud 9 ever since!