Queen Victoria supported the Irish Crochet cottage industries, which had been established to help Potato Famine (1845-1851) victims,
by dressing herself and her children in Irish crochet. She eventually learned to crochet herself, further fueling crochet's popularity.
Picture copied from Potter, Annie Louise. A Living Mystery: The International Art & History of Crochet, Texas, A.J.Publishing International, 1990; with gracious permission from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.