Check Out Petra Calderon’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Petra Calderon.

Hi Petra, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started crocheting while I was still in occupational therapy school, before I had formally started working. I’ve always been a really creative person and loved working with my hands. Growing up, I was always drawing, making jewelry, or finding some other random craft to get into. At some point, I became really interested in the idea of actually making my own clothes. I had tried knitting when I was younger, but I honestly didn’t know much about crochet at all. I started seeing crochet books and projects and got curious about what you could actually make with it.

That curiosity led me to YouTube, which is really where everything started for me. There were so many free tutorials and other crocheters sharing what yarn to buy, what hooks to use, and what beginners should start with. I basically learned by watching those videos and practicing over and over again.

I still remember making my first top and how satisfying it was to have something I could actually put on and wear outside. It was kind of crazy to me that I had made an actual piece of clothing with my own two hands. After that, I just wanted to keep making things. I started trying different techniques, experimenting with different types of clothing, and slowly getting more confident with what I could create.

Eventually, I thought, why not start sharing what I’m making and learning too? Since I had learned so much from free tutorials, I wanted my own patterns and tutorials to be free and accessible in the same way. I started sharing my projects and my process online, and it really just grew from there. What started as me wanting to make my own clothes turned into PetPetCrochets and a whole community that I never really expected when I first picked up a crochet hook. I really enjoy being able to share what I make, talk to other people who love crochet, and hopefully be part of someone else discovering it for the first time too.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t always been easy. In the beginning especially, I gave up so many times. I would get frustrated because I couldn’t figure something out or because what I was making didn’t look how I imagined it would. Then I would go online and see people making these incredible pieces, and I’d get way too in my head about it. I remember thinking maybe I just wasn’t good enough at crochet or that I would never be able to make the kinds of things I wanted to make.

I think with time I just started looking at it differently. Everyone starts somewhere, and everyone’s creative journey is going to look completely different. Instead of seeing someone else’s work and immediately comparing it to mine, I try to look at what I can learn from them. At the same time, I’ve been able to figure out my own style and what I personally enjoy making. I’ve also had to become a lot more okay with making mistakes because I still make them all the time.

And honestly, even now I go through periods where I feel discouraged or completely burnt out creatively. Sometimes I just don’t have any ideas, or I start questioning whether what I’m making is even good. A lot of the challenges for me have actually been getting past my own insecurities about my crochet abilities and not being so hard on myself. I’m still working on that, but I think that’s also been a big part of how I’ve grown creatively.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Professionally, I’m an occupational therapist and I work at a school specifically for autistic children. It’s obviously very different from what I do with crochet, but I actually feel like the two parts of my life work together in a lot of ways. Occupational therapy involves a lot of creativity, especially when you’re working with kids. You’re constantly trying to think of new activities or different ways to help a child work on things like fine motor skills, coordination, sensory processing, or just being more independent in their everyday life. You really have to think outside the box sometimes.

Working with kids also brings out a very playful and creative side of me. I’m always making things, adapting activities, using different textures and materials, and figuring out how to make something more engaging. Sometimes I’ll even bring crochet into my work with the kids, and then other times something I’ve learned through occupational therapy will make me think differently about crochet or the way I create something.

I think having that background has also made me appreciate working with my hands even more. I spend so much of my professional life thinking about how we use our hands, how we learn different skills, and how meaningful it can be to actually make or do something yourself. So even though being an occupational therapist and being a crochet creator might seem like two completely separate things, for me they actually overlap quite a bit. They both give me a way to be creative, work with my hands, problem solve, and hopefully make something that is meaningful to somebody else.

What makes you happy?
There are a lot of different things in my life that make me happy, and I don’t think it’s really just one thing. Creatively, I love being able to start with an idea in my head and eventually have something I can actually hold in my hands. There’s something really satisfying about looking at a finished piece and knowing that I made it and brought something new into the world that I can wear, enjoy, or share with someone else.

But happiness for me can also be really simple. Hearing a song I love, spending time with people I care about, traveling somewhere new, being surrounded by nature, or even just doing something that makes another person smile. I think I’ve learned that happiness doesn’t always have to come from something exciting or important.

Sometimes it’s honestly nothing at all. It’s just being at home, having nowhere I need to be, and feeling peaceful and content with where I am in that moment.

I think that’s probably what happiness means to me more than anything. Having the freedom to spend my time doing things I genuinely enjoy, whether that’s being creative, traveling, being with people I love, or just having time to myself. It’s that feeling of being content and whole without always needing to be working toward the next thing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petpetcrochets?stkn=bjVnaXF6MDRzenA3&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@petpetcrochets?si=nbVjnkSdsz0q8k2P
• Other: https://linktr.ee/petpetstudios?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=17c21630-ddee-4890-8b18-2d421e606f24