Quotes from Debbie Stoller

In a book published at the time, a lace manufacturer admitted that he expected his workers to turn a few tricks on the side to make up for his not paying them a living wage. Soon lace, including crocheted lace, began to be seen as morally tainted—it's made by prostitutes! As Donna Kooler suggests in The Encyclopedia of Crochet, this may even explain how the word "hooker" came to have such wayward connotations.

Similarly, in Britain, the future bride of a fisherman began knitting this special sweater as soon as she was engaged—and not a moment before.