Boy learned how to crochet from YouTube at age 5. He's now 11 & his creations have gone viral

Jonah Larson, a sixth-grader from La Crosse, Wisconsin, has become a viral sensation with his incredible skill to crochet beautiful blankets, toys, scarfs and more at such a young age. He has fans from all around the world and had to stop taking orders after reaching over 3000 orders of his work.

While most 11-year-old find hobbies related to sports or video games, Jonah Larson enjoys his free time turning balls of yarn into beautiful crochet pieces.

The smart boy started to crochet at 5 after his aunt dropped a box with craft items she was getting rid off at his house. After rummaging through it, he found a crochet hook, and a few YouTube tutorial videos later, he had created his first dishcloth.

Jonah’s mother, Jennifer, says that while most people are surprised by her son’s skill and quickness with the hook, it makes sense that he picked on so quickly on the craft. “I think his mind is just always very busy, and it turned out that crocheting is something that calms him down and makes him feel good," Jennifer said. "I think of it as medicinal in some ways."

The hobby has been of help on Jonah’s classroom, where he used to get bored quickly after completing tasks, which led to some behavioral problems. Now, his teacher allows him to take the yarn to school, and he’s allowed to crochet after completing his assignments.

Jennifer confessed to the La Crosse Tribune that she was worried about other kids picking on Jonah for his unusual hobby, but instead, his classmates have been receptive to it and are fascinated by his skill, even asking him to teach them.

After his story was first published in the local newspaper, his Instagram account went from over 2,000 followers to more than 66k. Now, Jonah’s crocheting business, Jonah’s Hands, has received over 3,000 orders in the past weeks, and he had to stop taking orders momentarily.

When asked what his favorite thing about crocheting is, Jonah explained that, since he is a busy thinker, crocheting helps him to relax his mind. “And everybody should have something to relax their mind.”

He also loves creating new patterns and trying on new techniques. He said:

“My favorite thing to work on is whatever I'm working on at the time. You can never master your technique in crochet because there's always something new to try. Like, you can make up your own sketches and patterns. I do a good amount of that.”

Jonah has created beautiful blankets, mermaid tails for little girls and their dolls, sweaters for pets, cowls, scarfs, mittens, a toy snake, an octopus, and more. However, Jennifer says she doesn’t want to overwhelm the boy because he can get tired of creating what other people want instead of working for his own pleasure.

“It is always nice to have your wallet full. But crocheting just what people want to buy can get repetitive, and I always want to try new things,” he explained. “Plus, I need to do some things for family members too. Like, my dad is bald and needs a hat. It gets very cold here in Wisconsin, so I need to do that soon.”

Jonah is also managing his finances responsibly, investing in more yarn, saving up for his future in college where he plans to study medicine, and even donating money to an Ethiopian orphanage from which he was adopted as an infant.

“I’m going to be an old man crocheting,” Jonah said. “I’m an old soul in a young person.”