Syd Neff (senior) said he first picked up the art of crochet in the spring of his first year at Occidental when he was drawn to a bok choy stuffed animal that his hall mate, Talise Snyder (senior), had crocheted. Now, Neff said he is in his second year producing Occidental’s student-run fashion show, where he incorporates his unique crochet skills into the world of design.
“[He] very quickly took [crochet] and ran with it,” Snyder said. “I think one of [his] very first projects [he] made was this awesome bag, which is definitely a larger scale than anything I attempted when I was first learning.”
Snyder said in terms of crochet skills, Neff has learned more complicated techniques and can execute cohesive, larger projects. Neff said he has not only crocheted many more stuffed animals and garments, but has also shared his passion with the community.
“I’ve done crochet commissions, primarily stuffed animals and some hats as well, for almost all of my coworkers in the dining facilities,” Neff said.
Along with personal commissions, Neff said he has also sold his crochet work at the Los Feliz Flea Market, Silverlake Flea, Long Beach Antique Market and several on-campus flea markets.
“I had a lot of bigger days here [at Occidental] than I had at any of the other large city-wide flea markets in terms of the profits and engagement,” Neff said. “Some of the best engagement I’ve ever gotten was from doing the flea markets on campus.”
Despite Neff’s success in selling his crochet pieces, he said the real transaction is the joy it brings him to see people style his garments or to see a child’s reaction to having a crochet stuffed animal.
“For me, it’s really developed more into how I can get my work to be seen by people, and that is fulfilling enough for me,” Neff said.
Neff said he has found himself going between two realms of crochet art — either creating stuffed animals or crocheting fashion garments and accessories.
“Even if you’ve been doing it for a lifetime, which a lot of people have, you will never run out of new things to learn and new techniques and styles,” Neff said.
Neff said he is trying to create more garment pieces, similar to his crochet feature included in the 2024 student-run Flaneur Fashion Show. Neff said he created a crochet weapon-inspired garment for Chantell Thompson’s (senior) fashion brand, Kusari Gama.
“One of the final looks we did was inspired by Gogo Yubari from Kill Bill,” Neff said, “I had one of my best friends, Jai English [’24], come out on the runway with it, drag it behind her and swing it around. It was the coolest thing ever.”
On the fashion side of crochet, Neff said one of the biggest supporters of his creative work is his friend Shae Campbell (senior), who was inspired by Neff to begin crocheting themself over winter break.
“When I came back, Syd and I would sit and crochet with each other. [He] taught me how to do the magic circle so that I could make hats,” Campbell said.
Campbell said they were amazed by Neff’s ability to make beautiful sculptural pieces.
“[His] talent has no bounds,” Campbell said. “I really think that the way that [he moves] through the world is just inherently artful. [He sees] the beauty in the most mundane things and [transforms] it with [his] creativity.”
As a music production major, Neff said he often places grandiose expectations on himself and his art, feeling the pressure to live up to the standards he sets for himself.
“I was questioning my ability to be a musician and an artist,” Neff said.
Neff said the sense of fulfillment he experienced upon finishing his crochet projects became, during that period, a replacement for the creative outlet he was missing.
“My goal for the future is how can I incorporate crochet into my multidisciplinary goals?” Neff said. “How can I incorporate it with music? How can I incorporate it with fashion, with everything I love?”
Neff said that to him, crochet art is not merely a business but also a passion that he has developed an attachment to.
“It’s very labor intensive. It takes a long time,” Neff said. “But it’s a labor of love.”
Contact Amelia Gehlhaus and Ellie von Brachel at gehlhaus@oxy.edu and vonbrachel@oxy.edu
