By Sheyla
Some of my earliest memories of Portugal are of looking down.
Not at my shoes, but at the swirling black-and-white waves beneath my feet.
As a child, spending holidays in Portugal to visit family, I would hold my mom’s hand while we walked through the streets of Lisbon, tracing the curves of the calçada portuguesa with my eyes. The stone waves seemed to move, even though they were completely still. I used to hop from one black curve to the next, imagining the pavement itself was the ocean.
Back then, I didn’t realise those famous wave patterns were connected to Portugal’s history at sea — to explorers, caravels, wind roses, and journeys across oceans. I just knew they fascinated me.
Years later, living my everyday life in South Africa, that fascination feels strangely personal.
Portuguese explorers once sailed around the Cape and reached the southern tip of Africa centuries before I was born. There’s something emotional about that connection for me — the idea that the same culture that shaped the streets I wandered as a child also shaped part of the history of the country where I grew up.
And somehow, crochet became part of that story too.
When I design tapestry crochet patterns, I often realise I’m doing exactly what those stone artisans — the calceteiros — were doing. They “painted” with pieces of limestone. I paint with yarn.
One stone at a time.
One stitch at a time.
Tapestry crochet feels very similar to calçada patterns to me:
- Both are built slowly from small repeated pieces that eventually become flowing geometric art.
- Both rely on rhythm, texture and contrast (I’m especially drawn to black-and-white crochet designs).
- And both have this beautiful balance between structure and movement.
What I love most is that neither calçada nor crochet is perfect in a machine-made way. You can always feel the human hands behind it. The tiny irregularities. The patience. The craftsmanship. The hours spent building something beautiful from simple materials.
Maybe that’s why I love crochet so much.
It reminds me of heritage.
Of movement.
Of creativity passed down quietly through generations.
Of following the waves.
Want more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram or Pinterest where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my calçada-inspired tapestry crochet projects!
