JONAH’S HANDS
“It was really on a fluke that I discovered crochet,” recounts 11-year-old crocheting Instastar Jonah Larson. “When I was five years old, my aunt gave us kids a bag of craft items she no longer wanted, and when I was looking through it I found a pointy thing. I asked Mom what it was and she told me it was a crochet hook. She didn’t know how to crochet so she helped me find a tutorial on YouTube. I made a dishcloth that day and was hooked on it from then on!” It’s unlikely Jonah or his mother Jennifer could have anticipated what would come next – a booming business selling custom crochet wares as fast as Jonah can make them, an Instagram account with tens of thousands of followers around the world, various awards, and newspaper articles dubbing him a ‘globally renowned crochet prodigy’.
So what’s he working on now? “Right now I am working on a braided cowl which some people have nicknamed the ‘Jonah Cowl’. I have made 50 cowls for orders this past holiday season and the orders continue. I can make them rather quickly but am picky that they are made perfectly. I am also working on soap sacks for donation in the community – I make two per day.”
Despite his successes, Jonah has his feet firmly on the ground: “My main priority is my education. One day, I hope to be a surgeon and am hoping the dexterity I have gained from crochet helps me with this.
“As far as crochet, I would like to make tutorials for others as I’ve had hundreds of requests for this. I have also been talking with a publishing company about writing a book for children on how to crochet. Especially so that boys of any age and colour know that it’s OK to crochet and do what you love.”
Find Jonah on Instagram @jonahhands.