Get To Know: Tobi Crochets

An exclusive interview in conversation with: the founder of Tobicrochets, a winner of The Sanxtuary Spotlight 10K Giveaway.

For Tobi, crochet has become a way of bringing imagination into the real world. Inspired by anime, cosplay and the limitless possibilities of fibre arts, they have built Tobicrochets (@tobicrochets) into a space where intricate craftsmanship meets bold self-expression. As a winner of The Sanxtuary Spotlight 10K Giveaway, Tobi speaks to us about growing up in Nigeria, finding comfort in crochet as an AuDHD creative, navigating underrepresentation as a Black queer maker, and why creating with authenticity will always matter more than chasing algorithms.

For readers who haven’t come across your work before, how would you describe Tobicrochets in three words?

Anime-inspired, intricate, fluid

Your work blends anime, fashion and craftsmanship. What drew you to those worlds, and why do they work so naturally together for you?

When I was younger I always wanted to be a fashion designer, especially growing up in Nigeria where there is big culture of dressing up in vibrant colours with elaborate embellishments for different occasions. However, I found out very quickly that I did not enjoy sewing! So I learnt how to crochet in boarding school and this was because we had no electronic gadgets. Everyone had to find something they loved to occupy their time. Initially I used to crochet out of boredom, but as I continued I found the repetitive hand movements very relaxing. During the pandemic when I decided to combine it with anime (which at that time was my hyperfixation) it made me fall in love with it even more due to how versatile it is. They work so naturally together for me because, you can create flowy pieces like cloaks or rigid structures like a sword or even a bow and arrow, which is my favourite thing about crochet.  There are also so many different stitches, techniques and ways to bring your ideas to life. Being able to combine that with anime which I love as well, really resonated with me and felt like a dream come true. As a AuDHD person it also makes it very easy to combine the things you love when one of them is your special interest.

As a Black queer creative, have there been moments where you’ve felt underrepresented within the craft space? And how has building your own community online changed that?

There have definitely been times where I feel underrepresented within the craft space, and to give an example I once attended a market where I was the only black vendor and they posted everyone on the events page after the event except me. They even posted the different dogs that were at the event, yet I was nowhere to be seen AND they also tagged me in the post too which was so confusing to me. While it’s true it could have just been a mistake on their part, it is not the first time something like that has happened to me. I have also had instances where I was a pattern tester and everyone was posted except me (the only black pattern tester), or times where I have been mixed up with other black crocheters. Building my own community online has meant that I’m able to make sure no one is made to feel how I did in these past situations because it really does fill you with self doubt sometimes. I double and triple check when posting my testers and their pictures and try to create a space that is BIPOC & LGBTQ+ safe. 

A lot of your audience discovered you through social media. How do you balance creating content that performs well with making pieces that genuinely excite you creatively?

The truth is I don't balance it! I simply create what I feel motivated to. While I do hop on video trends sometimes, I do not perform for social media as I like to do what feels authentic to me. However, I do balance commissions and brand work with what genuinely excites me creatively and by only working with brands & taking commissions that align with what I’m interested in. This also allows me to be able to give my best and not feel burnt out as well. I tend to take only a few commissions a year, and spend most of the time working on pieces that make me feel alive and incorporate that into my social media content and trends. 

Crochet is often associated with fast DIY trends online, but every piece represents hours of labour. Do you think audiences are beginning to value slow fashion differently?

I think people are to an extent because of different makers showing how long pieces take. For example, when I say my Madoka Magica cosplay for example took me 250 hours, people are usually like ‘wow, that is a long time’, however I feel like it only really means something when I say it took me over a year, because 250 is hard to quantify in a way. I think this is because someone can assume that if I crocheted 10 hours a day, then it took me 25 days to crochet the cosplay which isn’t too bad, but realistically I crochet maybe 2/3 hours a day if I’m lucky. This is why for some pieces like my full cosplays, I do not sell them because the price would be so high, that the likelihood of someone paying it is low. I think there is an understanding that it represents hours of labour but not a full fledged understanding. I think something that contributes to this is the nature of short form content. Months of work are reduced to mere seconds because of people’s attention spans which makes it harder to understand how long a piece actually took. This is why sometimes I do prefer long form content like YouTube videos, and is why I have started showing my full process through YouTube vlogs!

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Many queer people talk about fashion as a form of self-expression or even survival. Do you see crochet playing a similar role in helping people build confidence or communicate who they are?

Absolutely!! I think specifically for me crocheting and cosplaying (they go hand in hand for me), have helped me be more comfortable in expressing myself through my clothes and make up. My cosplays usually stand out compared to what everyone else is wearing out, which leads to me getting a lot of stares, especially when I take public transport. However, after a while you get used to it and realise it actually does not matter, which subconsciously made me more confident because I am now able to express myself without caring what other people think! Crochet is also so versatile, and the possibilities are endless so it’s quite easy to create pieces that help show your authentic self. I would also say it has helped me survive, during some hard times & difficult situations because the repetitive moments are so calming and grounding. So, I can definitely see it playing a role of helping people communicate who they are & build their confidence.

If you could create a crochet collaboration with any fashion house, anime franchise or celebrity, who would it be and what would you make?

I have to admit, I am not that knowledgeable on fashion houses, but if there’s one thing I definitely do know, it’s anime franchises. It is so hard to pick just one because I would love to work with so many of them but if I had to pick it would be Puella Magic Madoka Magica. I have currently crocheted a Madoka cosplay, but I would absolutely love to crochet the devil version of Homura’s cosplay. I’m talking crocheted rhinestoned wings that flap on their own, a crochet dress and handmade silver jewellery. I would love to combine it with her witch version, so it would include crochet red spider lilies (known as the red flower of death), covering half of her face with LED lights embedded in them and SFX make up. It would literally be my masterpiece, where I bring all my crochet and cosplay knowledge together. 

In terms of celebrities, I would absolutely love to crochet a Jujutsu Kaisen or My Hero Academia dress for Megan Thee Stallion. All of her anime inspired outfits are incredible and inspiring! However, I haven’t fully decided on the exact design yet, but once I do best believe I will be pitching myself. 

When someone wears one of your pieces or finishes one of your patterns, what’s the feeling you hope they leave with?

When someone finishes one of my patterns or wears one of my pieces, I hope they leave with the feeling of wonder and joy. Kind of like when a kid goes to a candy store and they get really excited. I hope to invoke that sort of happiness and child-like wonder with my craft!!

What does Sanxtuary mean to you?

Sanxtuary to me means a space where Queer BIPOC people can express themselves authentically and freely, which is something that seems to get increasing harder to do in our current climate. It almost feels like coming home because I’m able to see myself and my experiences in a lot of different stories which feels very comforting.