Did you know you can get a Masters in crochet? You can get certified by the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA).
For those of us unfamiliar with CGOA, it's a national nonprofit crochet organization that has been around since 1994. It's the only organization that is exclusive to crocheters, which I think is pretty neat.
“The mission of CGOA shall be to create an environment which provides education, networking, resources, and a national standard for the quality, art, and skill of crochet through creative endeavors which preserve the heritage of crochet.”
Two types of programs are offered: The Fundamentals of Crochet, and Advanced Stitches and Techniques. The entire program costs between $150 and $175, depending on how you want to purchase your materials.
The best part about either Masters program is that you can do it all in the comfort of your own home. You just need to purchase a "textbook" (that's less than 50 pages), crochet swatches from instructions in the textbook, and submit your portfolio back to CGOA for review by qualified volunteers.
Also, there is no time limit for finishing your portfolio.
Once your swatches are graded within 2 months and pass the criteria -- congratulations, you are a crochet Masters graduate! You get to frame a nice certificate on your wall and a pin for your shirt!
Receiving a Masters certificate does not automatically consider you a CGOA crochet professional, though. That has its own application process and its own set of benefits, including being more easily found in the crochet community and a place in their professionals' database.
But that doesn't make going for a crochet Masters any less fun! It never hurts to want to take your crochet skills to the next level and making it official. :)
Click on the picture above for a personal account of what it's like to go through the crochet Masters program and why this person thinks you should do it. But to quote her briefly:
The Masters program is definitely not for beginners, but if you’ve been crocheting for a few years, I highly recommend it. [...] As a professional, completing the program helps show a serious commitment to the craft, and the program itself is also a great venue for networking!
There are 3 other sources I can think of that also provide some kind of professional certification in crochet. And each have their own benefits, depending on what you wish to achieve:
Craft Yarn Council allows you to become a certified instructor and you get added to their teachers' database network
Interweave provides a "crochet college," that offer hours of video content from professional designers to hone your skills
Centre of Excellence offers a diploma course that takes you thoroughly from the basics all the way to design, mastering the more popular applications of crochet, and finally setting you up to start your own crochet business
So, if you've been crocheting for a while, and you feel like you want to get that extra edge (no pun intended!), just know that you can always go for a Masters in crochet. Whether that is for honing your skills, or networking with like-minded people, or just to say that you tried it -- it will definitely be a one of a kind accomplishment!
Happy making, friends!
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