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The story behind Goa’s 18-foot crochet Christmas tree
The story behind Goa’s 18-foot crochet Christmas tree
How do you create a Christmas tree with crochet? Take notes from crochet artist Sheena Pereira, who co-founded Goa-based Crochet Collective with crocheter Sharmila Majumdar in 2025. Their artwork takes centre stage at the Where We Gather exhibit, which is part of Festivals of Goa, an ongoing exhibition hosted by the Museum of Goa. The collective's multi-hued, 18-foot crochet Christmas tree has been put together by 25 women from across the State. “I've always thought of doing an installation with crochet. So, we thought of doing something throughout the year that would culminate at the year end; something that would resonate with Christmas message — peace, hope, joy, love,” explains Sheena.
18-foot-tall crochet Christmas Tree | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Sharmila played host to the motley crew who often gathered to share songs, savouries, sweets and stories, as they crocheted 1,000 granny squares (a crochet pattern that starts as a circle and ends up a square, often used to create larger pieces). The self-funded project was made in three months with acrylic yarn that weathers Goa's humidity and monsoon better than traditional wool.
Crocheting as a collective: a few happy hands gather at a member's house, with snacks and song, as they create granny squares for the Christmas tree | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
A palette of contrasting colours was given to each participant, who could crochet at home, or choose to meet with others once a month across parts of North and South Goa. “Initially, all interaction was over Zoom and WhatsApp. When it came to assembling the tree, the camaraderie was amazing, especially because all 25 of us were meeting physically for the first time!” says Sharmila. She adds, the process had its pitfalls. “When the cyclonic weather hit us, we couldn't work. The deadline was fast approaching, but we were all confident that we would get things done in time. We had to place the squares on the tree, and the torrential rain made it difficult to work outside, forcing us to pause with the weather, and cover the structure in plastic.”
Sheena Pereira, co-founder of the Crochet Collective, attaches each of the 1,000 granny squares for a 3D effect. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The group played around with a few designs that could be interactive and provide a three-dimensional effect. Instead of tacking the squares together to form panels that would wrap around a metal tree structure, each of the 1,000 pieces was individually tethered to the frame, overlapping one another, like the branches of a tree would.
The crochet Christmas tree is on display at the Museum of Goa | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Sheena states, “We distributed the yarn, and once the squares were made, the frame was brought to Porvorim at one of the participant's compounds.” The group was working in tandem, “thinking of locations for display but nothing panned out. If we waited for a space we would lose time. Sharmila knew of the 10th anniversary celebration at the Museum of Goa, and the venue then presented itself, serendipitously through the Museum's team,” adds Sheena.
Each member of the Crochet Collective is wearing handcrafted crochet tops, scarves or earrings, as the art form is popular across the State | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Sharada Kerkar, director, Museum of Goa, says when Goans think of festivals, the celebrations are incomplete without the arts and crafts of local communities, including Goans coming together to build something for festivals. “Crochet is an art that came to Goa through the Portuguese nuns, who once practised it within their convents, and then took it to the surrounding villages. We all have crochet doilies and table linen to adorn our homes. A bride's trousseau usually has an extensive collection of crochet items handed down through generations,” says Sharada, reiterating, “we celebrate the collective spirit through crochet. Crochet is not a craft, it is art done with intention and skill. So ‘Where we Gather' highlights artforms that bring communities together transcending religion.”
One of the 1,000 squares being crocheted | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The crochet Christmas tree was supposed to be an “easy-peasy Christmas tree”, according to participant Sophy Sivaraman, or so she thought, when she learnt to crochet with Sheena. “But when the 1,000 squares were assembled on the tree in an early iteration, the collective regrouped to create larger squares. I worked on augmenting the squares from six to eight inches. Then we added the other crochet elements with snowflakes and stars,” says Sophy.
All the artists painstakingly attach squares to craft the 1,000-piece crochet tree, for the Where We Gather exhibit for the Festivals of Goa, MOG | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The highlight of this project has been, “how 25 women who had never met, worked seamlessly to put the tree together. Each one of us had a tremendous sense of ownership,” concludes Sharmila.
The members of the collective mount crochet squares on the frame of the tree | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The tree will be on display at the Museum of Goa from November 9 to January 18, after which the plan is to either use the squares to make blankets, which would be donated or to create a canopy for a street.
Published - December 12, 2025 03:59 pm IST
The Hindu Weekend / Christmas / christmas
Source: TheHindu
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