La Crosse boy, 11, goes viral by crocheting
He began hobby at 5. He’s been creating hats, blankets since
La Crosse sixth-grader Jonah Larson has an unusual hobby. Well, unusual for an 11-year-old, at least.
He’s really into crocheting. And he’s really good at it. Like, he can speed crochet without even looking at his hands.
He got into crocheting back when he was 5 years old, and has been making hats, scarves, mittens and blankets for his own entertainment and for family members and neighbors ever since. His mom, Jennifer, even started an Instagram account, Jonah’s Hands, for him, to show off some of his amazing creations.
Jennifer said that as of about a month ago, Jonah had about 2,400 followers. And then, his hometown paper, the La Crosse Tribune, published an article about him, which was picked up by “Inside Edition,” “Good Morning America” and NPR, among others, and he went viral. Jonah’s Instagram account has more than 80,000 followers now, and he’s known throughout the world. He gets daily packages and gifts from admirers and fellow fiber artists. And he has a book deal. Abbie Nies, president of Wisconsin children’s book publishing company KWiL Publishing, announced that Jonah and his mom will co-author a picture book autobiography.
According to KWiL, the book is
slated to be released this fall, and Jonah will share the story of his life so far —”from his infancy in an Ethiopian orphanage to his adoption by the Larsons” to “a massive social media following that has led to sponsorship opportunities and a way for Larson to share his philosophy on life: Do what makes you happy.”
The publisher plans to do a series of picture book autobiographies, Rock Star Kids.
The therapeutic effects of crocheting
It’s definitely an offbeat success story. But it’s more than that. Jennifer said that Jonah’s interest in crocheting started as a fluke when her sister gave her a box of craft items she was getting rid of. Jonah noticed the shiny crochet hook, asked what it was used for, and a YouTube tutorial and an hour later, he had made his first dishcloth.
Jennifer explained that Jonah has always picked up on math really easily, learned to read when he was 3 and tested so high on an IQ test that he skipped a grade.
“I think his mind is just always very busy, and it turned out that crocheting is something that calms him down and makes him feel good,” Jennifer said. “I think of it as medicinal in some ways.”
The hobby is also something that helped him in elementary school, where his boredom and distraction would sometimes lead to behavioral problems.
“His fifth-grade teacher encouraged him to bring his crocheting into school, and after assignments he was allowed to crochet,” Jennifer said. “It was just wonderful because then he wasn’t bored anymore.”
Plus, Jonah’s classmates were fascinated with his hobby. They loved watching his flying hands as they worked, and started to ask him to make projects for them.
Jonah does make projects to order sometimes, and sells a few of them. Those orders have picked up since he went viral — from a few orders here and there to several thousand.
Jennifer said she’s not accepting most orders though. If Jonah sees something he’s interested in making, he might do so, but to fulfill all the orders would defeat the purpose of his calming hobby. “He only has two little hands,” Jennifer said, laughing. “I don’t want to overwhelm him, plus he likes to make things on his own terms.”
Here’s what Jonah has to say about his hobby.
Question: What’s your favorite thing about crocheting?
Answer: I’m a very busy thinker, and I’m always thinking of ways to do things differently. Crocheting, to me, is quiet time because it relaxes my mind. And everybody should have something to relax their mind.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to crochet?
A: That’s a really hard question because there are so many things. My favorite thing to work on is whatever I’m working on at the time. You can never master your technique in crochet because there’s always something new to try. Like, you can make up your own sketches and patterns. I do a good amount of that.
Q: Do you prefer making things to sell or just making whatever you want?
A: I enjoy both. It is always nice to have your wallet full. But crocheting just what people want to buy can get repetitive, and I always want to try new things. Plus, I need to do some things for family members too. Like, my dad is bald and needs a hat. It gets very cold here in Wisconsin, so I need to do that soon.