Rainbow Dandelion Crochet | Darlington, UK
Inclusive Culture Initiative

I’m Sarah, the person behind Rainbow Dandelion Crochet, and what I’ve built didn’t come from a business plan. It came from trying to survive things that most people never experience.

There have been points in my life where everything felt relentless. I've survived traumas that many don't survive. I’ve also had to protect my children from similar fates.
I’ve lived with the kind of pressure where you don’t get to fall apart, grieve or heal because others depend on you so much.

Alongside this, I’ve dealt with an eating disorder and everything that comes with that and I’ve navigated life as a parent to 2 children with additional needs, including one with Sandifer syndrome. That brings a level of exhaustion and constant vigilance that doesn’t switch off. You learn to function on very little, to keep going because you have to.

But, crochet came into my life in the middle of all of that. It wasn’t a business idea at first, it was something to focus on when my brain wouldn’t stop. Something repetitive, steady, predictable. Something I could teach my patients on the ward. Something to help them slow down and navigate the world of mental health inpatients.

What I realised with the help of my patients was that crochet isn't just crochet.
Crochet is about having something to come back to when everything else feels out of control, crochet allows you to express yourself.
Crochet helps with regulation and grounding, and gived your mind somewhere to rest without forcing it to be completely still. It engages you enough to focus only on that but not too much that it becomes a chore.

That’s when I became Rainbow Dandelion Crochet.

What I’ve achieved is not just teaching people how to crochet. I’ve created a space where people can come in overwhelmed and not have to hide it. I've created a space where there is no pressure to perform, no expectation to be okay, and no requirement to fit into a certain way of learning or being.
I know what it feels like to constantly adjust yourself to be accepted, so I built the opposite.

In my space, LGBTQ+ people don’t have to question whether they are safe. Neurodivergent people don’t have to apologise for how they think or learn. People don’t have to mask, rush, or keep up. They can take breaks, go quiet, stim, or just exist, and it’s all welcomed with me.

Inclusivity isn’t something I added later, it's not a ploy to attract people. It comes directly from lived experience, my lived experience. It’s in how I teach, how I communicate, and how I hold space without judgement.

I’ve grown this from nothing, I had no money so I had to navigate the scary scammy world of crowd funding where I managed to raise £1000 for the first few bundles, some of which I donated to sexual violence units.

There’s no polished version of my story. I still have very difficult days. What I’ve achieved is taking everything I’ve been through, the overwhelm, the pressure, the survival and I've turned it into something that allows myself other people to breathe.
I've created bundles and lessons to help others slow down and find calmness in their chaotic lives.