About Hooked by Cille
Behind the name Hooked by Cille is 27-year-old Cille Mølgaard, who has created a sea of different crochet patterns since 2023. Privately, Cille lives in Aarhus with her fiancé, Anton, and she is a trained social worker with a master's degree in educational anthropology.
Read more below and learn more about Cille and her journey! ♡
How did your interest in crocheting arise, and how long have you been a crochet enthusiast?
I've actually crocheted on and off most of my life. I learned to crochet from my beloved grandmother, who introduced me to both knitting and crocheting. When I was a child, I thought it was much more fun to crochet pretty flowers than to knit monotonous dishcloths, so I quickly preferred one craft over the other.
When I lost my little brother in 2021, I suddenly found myself in the worst grief of my life and needed something to find peace in. The loss of my brother led me back to the crochet hook, which gave me a break from everyday life and the overwhelming grief - and I haven't put it down since.
What motivated you to start your crochet universe, and how did the idea for Hooked by Cille come about?
When I started crocheting again, I posted some pictures of the finished projects on my social media, and there was a lot of interest in my stuff. I crochet freehand because I felt like there was something missing that spoke to my aesthetic. I like feminine, elegant and cute designs that are also classic and timeless. But I found that a lot of crochet tended to be quite stiff and holey, and I wanted to create something that had a more knitted look. When I posted some pictures of my creations, many people started asking for recipes, and I started making some. I am a creative person, and I quickly found the process of making recipes super fun.
At Christmas 2023, my older brother gave me a domain as a Christmas present and helped me with the initial setup of the website. He is also self-employed and thought it could be a fun idea for my hobby business, but he probably didn't imagine it would go as well as it did.
Can you comment on the choice of name for your webshop?
It was actually incredibly difficult to come up with a good name - because how do you choose the right one? So I wrote down a few different things on paper and played with the words, and suddenly it occurred to me that a crochet hook in English is called a “hook”, while being caught by something is called “hooked”. I thought it was fun and cozy with that double meaning, and that's why I chose the name "Hooked by Cille".
What do you dream of achieving with the webshop, and do you have a message you would like to convey to your customers?
I dream of creating a universe and a crochet community where crocheters and other creative minds can come to get inspired. I also dream of communicating to people that crochet can do at least as much as knitting - and almost even more. I want to show that clothing is not limited to knitting, but that you can easily get just as soft and beautiful expressions with crochet as you can with knitting. Crochet is not just about funny figures and teddy bears - it is also useful things.
What is the very best thing about crocheting?
Everything! I just love crocheting. But if I had to choose one thing to highlight, it would definitely be the feeling of peace that comes from sitting with your crocheted clothes. It is relaxing, stress-relieving and good for the soul to make something with your hands. It helped me a lot when I lost my brother, and I have also received many messages from people who have seen my designs and have started crocheting themselves after problems with stress, depression and unemployment. And it is great that you can combine that with making something functional and useful and at the same time have a space to de-stress in.
In addition, I can have a hard time concentrating when I'm not sitting with something in my hands, and I find that it can be easier for me to follow conversations, for example, when I crochet at the same time. It helps me stay focused. And it's also super cool to get something out of my time instead of sitting with my phone, so it's an excellent way to get away from the screens.
What is your own favorite recipe?
My own favorite pattern is my Stella Sweater because it's first and foremost really fun and quick to make. It's also very elegant and beautiful, and I think it goes well with different outfits and occasions.
If you are new to crochet, which of your patterns would you recommend starting with?
You need to have a knowledge of the basic stitches before you dive into my patterns, but once you have that, I would recommend my Alpine Headband - once you can make that, you can make many of my designs.
