Jonah Larson is not one of the most kids that spend their time on electronics, watching videos and playing online games. But this 11-year-old from Wisconsin has found a rather uncharted way to spend his free time.
Meet Jonah Larson, the La Crosse kid who creates gorgeous crochets and has been doing so since he was 5.
La Crosse Boy Jonah Larson Dubbed a Crochet Prodigy
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Jonah Larson from La Crosse, Wisconsin, learned to crochet when he was just five years old. It started when he went through his aunt’s art bag and found a knitting hook. He then watched a crocheting tutorial video on YouTube and went on to crochet hundreds of hand-crafted masterpieces. Now he has his own Instagram page with over 170,000 followers who refer to him as a crochet prodigy.
Jonah was already knitting gorgeous items at the age of eight, which came as a surprise to everybody who’d heard of it. People would often say it was impossible for a young kid to master it in a short time when it took others at least a decade to do so. Others even claimed that his mom might be making them for him, but Mrs. Larson said that the only crocheting hooks she ever picked up are “the ones Jonah leaves around the house.”
The handmade afghans, shawls, scarves, and pillows in their home were all proudly made by Jonah, and at 11 years old, he continues to make crocheted items, which he gives to family and close friends. He also put up an online shop but had to temporarily close it because of the high volume of orders he received.
The crochet prodigy has a lot of fans from all over the world; he even got a yarn company that supplies his crochet tools and materials. But despite the fame, Jonah remains humble and appreciative of his supporters, including the people that raised him early on in his life. In fact, he never forgets to thank his fans on tape, making sure to send them a message at the end of interviews. Other than that, he recently raised more than $13,000 for the Ethiopian shelter he was adopted from.
Despite being an adoptive black child by a family belonging to a white community, he considers himself lucky as his adoption ushered the way to his newfound ability—crocheting. And since not everyone is given the opportunity same as he was, Jonah swears to use his gift for a good purpose. He’s even using it to prepare himself for a brighter future.
“I’m planning to attend West Point, the academy, and then becoming a surgeon,” Jonah shared. “This is kind of helping me prep for that.”