Craft in Culture: Hooked by Sutton Foster

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In Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life, Broadway and tv star Sutton Foster weaves an account of her personal and professional history using the medium of crafts. In Hooked by Sutton Foster, we see how crafting became an always-available stress-reliever that carried her through challenges with work and relationships.

Who is Sutton Foster?

You may have heard of Sutton Foster, though not because of any of her crafts. Foster has won seven Tony awards for her Broadway work and has starred in two tv shows: first in the one-year run of Bunheads (by showrunner Amy Sherman-Paladino). Her second lead role in Younger led to a seven-year run. On the show, she plays a 40-something who poses as a 20-something to get into publishing in New York City.

Even before I picked up Hooked, I was a Sutton Foster fan. I’ve watched her shows and have recommended them often. Foster is charming and a touch awkward. She’s earnest but not overly so. You trust her, even when you’re watching her portray a woman whose life is shaped by a big lie about her age. You root for her. You want to be her friend, despite the way her innocent friends are hurt by her actions.

Crafts and Conversations

I came to Hooked wanting to hear more of her voice, particularly since she’d be talking about crafting. I’ve been a crocheter, cross stitcher, sewist, painter, collager, and more since I was a kid. I didn’t come to Hooked expecting to learn anything about any of these crafts, though. On one level, I wanted to hear what a famous person had to say about hobbies I also enjoy. (Though I know that celebrities are just people too, it’s rare to hear a famous person talk about hobbies like needle, yarn, and paper crafts.)

Hooked is really about the people who shaped Foster’s life. Her mother is a complicated figure whose agoraphobia kept her from supporting her daughter in the ways a mother usually would. We meet Foster’s friends and romantic partners too, and she’s generous with her appreciation for the people who have joined her on her journey.

We also get to meet stage and screen legend Patti LuPone in Hooked. Foster shares an interview between the two late in the book. LuPone was an idol for Foster, and eventually they met and became close. The interview transcript shows two women who generously praise and appreciate one another.

Hooked is a heartwarming book which will appeal to anyone who is already a little caught up in Sutton Foster’s charms. You’ll learn more about her, and you’ll even come away with a pattern for your own crochet project. Order your copy today.

Interested in other books about hand crafts? Check out our review of Make, Sew and Mend by Bernadette Banner.