Brazilian Crochet, Círculo Yarn and the Pattern That Starts with a Skein

A company history, not the origin of Brazilian crochet

Círculo’s official timeline says that Leopoldo Jorge Theodoro Schmalz learned about textile machinery in Germany before preparing to produce yarn in Brazil. The company credits Lucia Schmalz, her husband Júlio Schramm and business partner Willy Schossland with helping establish the factory in Gaspar. “Leopoldo Schmalz & Cia Ltda” was founded on 23 January 1938. The company’s early building photographs document that start; they do not establish Gaspar as the birthplace of crochet in Brazil. Crochet was already practiced in many places. [1]

Early products included mending thread called Cerzir, embroidery floss called Mouline and cord. Over time, the company expanded its yarn colors and types for crochet, knitting, weaving and sewing. A yarn manufacturer’s changing product line should not be mistaken for the invention history of crochet. Yet industrial production and a wider color range helped home makers and workshops return to named weights and shades. That repeatability made it easier for a magazine or pattern to specify materials by product name and number. [1]

The company timeline shows group photographs of early employees, expanding facilities, dyeing work, tool production, shop classes and television advertising. It also records a project that taught knitting and crochet free of charge in schools, and gives a date for the start of crochet-hook production. When a yarn company supplies lessons and patterns as well as materials, it can widen access to learning. It also creates a commercial relationship in which a pattern names a particular brand. Both effects belong in the story. [1]

A 2024 company report describes work not only in knitting and crochet but also in embroidery, macramé and industrial yarns. Its website also offers free step-by-step patterns. These are not all crochet. In Portuguese, tricô means knitting, while crochê means crochet. Technique and tool—not just the project’s name—tell us how to classify an object. This article follows one manufacturer’s public record to examine the links between yarn, patterns and teaching; it is not a substitute for the histories of makers across Brazil. [3]

The people a factory photograph cannot name

Leopoldo Schmalz is recorded as the company’s founder and as the person who arranged equipment for yarn production. The sources do not support naming him as the designer of the crochet table runner. The relationships among his family and business partners explain the factory’s context; they do not identify the people who designed later patterns. Individual workers are seldom named in the early group photographs and company records. Yet production also required people to build and operate equipment, dye and inspect yarn, and pack the goods. That is why a factory timeline should not be turned into a story of one individual inventing Brazilian crochet. [1]

The recipe page for “Trilho Mini Flores” lists materials and steps, but does not consistently identify the designer by name. The page confirms one white skein of Anne, four colorways of Cléa 125, two hook sizes and separate charts for the ground and flowers. It does not establish who first conceived the design or identify the hands in any product photograph. We can describe what the source names without filling the gaps with guesses. [2]

A 2025 Círculo article about Cléa emphasizes that generations of Brazilian makers have used the yarn and presents ten free patterns. That is the manufacturer’s promotional account. The connection between yarn sales and pattern publishing is directly visible, but “free pattern” means readers can view the original instructions; it does not give permission to republish the photographs or chart on another site. This journal links to the original page rather than copying its pattern. [4]

Reading the pattern: gauge, assembly and color

“Trilho Mini Flores” is a long table runner. The pattern begins with a chain of sixteen stitches in Anne and directs the maker to follow the first chart. Each flower is made separately in Cléa 125: chain six, join into a ring, and follow another chart. It specifies eleven red flowers, eleven purple, nine yellow-and-pink, and nine orange. The flowers are placed and sewn onto the runner afterwards, so this is not one continuous piece worked from end to end. The difference between the ground yarn and the finer flower yarn helps shape the finished texture. [2]

The pattern assigns the 1.75 mm hook to Anne and the 1.25 mm hook to Cléa. Reversing those sizes can change the width and firmness even if the chain count stays the same. A comfortable hook is not the only consideration: make a small swatch, compare the chart’s stated dimensions if available, and check how the fabric lies flat. Because the flowers are attached later, placement and sewing are part of the construction, not optional decoration. [2]

The chart also organizes a multicolor project into batches. Sorting the flower yarn by color before beginning can prevent a count error: eleven red, eleven purple, nine yellow-and-pink, nine orange. If the maker changes the palette, the underlying structure can remain while the balance of color shifts. A pattern’s yarn recommendation is a tested route, not proof that no substitution is possible; however, a substitute’s thickness, fiber and hook response should be sampled before the entire runner is made. The company’s product page is the source for the named yarns, not an independent review of their performance. [2] [6]

The product label and chart together are a small technical archive. A named yarn helps the reader identify the original material; the hook sizes explain how the designer expected the stitches to behave; the separate flower chart records assembly. When adapting the piece, keep those decisions visible: note your substitute yarn, measured gauge and finished dimensions. That makes the project reproducible without confusing the original instructions with your own revision. [2]

Image notes

Only the Jacutinga fair and the Museu Paulista domestic knitting machine directly depict knitting-related subjects. The three factory images show other sites and broader Brazilian textile-industry context; none is presented as a Círculo facility or proof that a factory used knitting machinery. Círculo’s own historical and recipe pages support the article’s account of its company and pattern.

When you open your next Brazilian crochet pattern

Rather than looking for one motif that represents all Brazilian crochet, start with the practical questions: which yarn, which hook, and in what order are the pieces made? A factory, a shop, a free chart and a maker’s hands meet in one project. Read that relationship carefully and the technique and labor behind the bright colors become visible.

Sources and image credits

Company milestones and product specifications are attributed to Círculo’s own materials. Each photograph caption links to its individual file record, image address and reuse terms.

1. Círculo, “Our history / Quem somos” — company timeline, products and education.
2. Círculo, “Trilho Mini Flores” — 2013 crochet pattern, yarns and hook sizes.
3. Círculo, 2024 Annual Report — company activity, education and community programs.
4. Círculo, “Cléa: conheça o clássico amado por todo Brasil” — company product feature and pattern collection.
5. Círculo, “Círculo: 76 anos” — company retrospective.
6. Círculo, “O clássico Anne” — company yarn information.
7. Py4nf, Jacutinga knitwear fair · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0.
8. José Rosael and Hélio Nobre / Museu Paulista, domestic knitting machine · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0.
9. Merrill, former Brasil-Industrial textile factory · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0.
10. Thaysnatani, former Brasital textile factory · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0.
11. Rejane Sarmento, São Luiz textile-factory steam machinery · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0.