Crochet workshop · Málaga
We crochet beside a window looking out to sea
Ovillo & Co. is a small workshop: one big table, baskets of yarn sorted by colour and the best light in the house. No factory, no warehouse. Everything you buy here is made by hand, from start to finish, in Málaga: almost all of it crocheted and, when a piece calls for it (a hat, a bonnet), knitted on two needles.
- pieces made
- 1,260
- orders shipped
- 830
- years with the hook
- 7
A teddy like this: five hours
How it started
A sleepy little fawn and a waiting list
Ovillo & Co. began in 2019 with one small commission: a crochet fawn with its eyes closed, for a baby who simply wouldn’t go to sleep. We don’t know if it was the fawn or pure chance, but it worked.
Then came another fawn, and a blanket, and a waiting list pencilled on the fridge door. When the list no longer fitted on the door, we set up the workshop.
There are still only a few of us, and we still crochet at the same table. We’ve changed hooks, yarns and levels of patience, but not the way we work.
Why we don’t do it faster
Every now and then someone asks whether we couldn’t “industrialise it a bit”. We could, of course. But then this would be something else.
A blanket takes twelve hours. A medium amigurumi, four or five. If we say ten days, it’s because it really is ten days, not a padded deadline to cover ourselves.
No mystery
What we work with
We buy little, and we buy well. It costs more per piece, but it’s what makes a blanket last ten years instead of two.
Combed cotton
For amigurumis, blankets and accessories. It stands up to washing, keeps its shape and has just the right sheen.
Extra-fine merino
For hats, bonnets and booties. It doesn’t itch, not even on a baby’s skin, and it’s wonderfully warm for how little it weighs.
Hypoallergenic stuffing
Siliconised hollow fibre: it washes without going lumpy and doesn’t bother anyone with allergies.
Recycled T-shirt yarn
For baskets and rugs. It’s made from textile industry offcuts: we use what others throw away.
Embroidered eyes
On our amigurumis and everything for babies, the eyes are embroidered, never plastic. No small parts that could be pulled off.
Paper and cardboard
We wrap in tissue paper and a cardboard box, with no plastic. All the packaging can be recycled.
From yarn to your home
How each piece comes to life
Always in the same order, whether it’s something from the catalogue or one of the more unusual custom orders.
- We choose the yarn and crochet a 10 × 10 cm swatch to work out the tension.
- Each piece is made from start to finish by the same person: two different pairs of hands give two different tensions, and it shows.
- We wash it and block it with pins so it settles into its final shape.
- We check the seams and finishing with a magnifying glass. If anything is loose, it’s undone and crocheted again.
- We embroider initials, names or dates, if you’ve asked us to.
- We wrap it in tissue paper with handwritten washing instructions.
So there are no misunderstandings
What we do and what we don’t
We’d rather say it before you order anything, so neither of us ends up disappointed. If you’re unsure about something specific, just ask.
We do
- Change the colours of any piece in the catalogue, at no extra cost.
- Embroider names, initials or dates.
- Amigurumis based on photos of your pet.
- Adjust the sizes of hats, scarves and booties.
- Made-to-order gift sets, with any message you like.
- Repair any of our pieces that has come loose, free of charge, for ever.
We don’t
- Copy another maker’s or a brand’s design.
- More than 15 identical pieces in one order: we can’t manage it, and we’d rather say so.
- Garments with complex patterns, such as cardigans or dresses.
- New custom orders in less than a week.
- Sell patterns: ours live in our heads and in a notebook full of crossings-out.
Shall we tell you whether we can make what you have in mind?
Write to us with no obligation. We’ll tell you the truth, even if the truth is that we can’t manage it.