24 | http://www.crochetnow.co.uk
Interview
Nolan Top and the Brixton Sweater. I love
just running with my creativity and seeing
what ends up happening. Lately, it has been
a lot of assigned work where I get to pick
the project and sometimes the yarn, but
they tend to be smaller projects due to time
constraints. I can’t wait to make some
more garments!
When designing, I try to make the
hours spent crocheting something
worthwhile. I want my time investment
to be an experience and a learning
opportunity. My look/feel is simply
wanting to be cosy, fashionable, and
bring a slightly elevated level of elegance
to the craft. I love working on things
that don’t require too much maths or
focus, because when I am able to work
mindlessly, it allows me to ‘unravel’ my
thoughts and work through things I’ve
shoved away or haven’t had time to give
proper thought to just yet. But bright,
pretty, luxe and multiple textures are my
favourite things. Our home is fi lled with lots
of different materials!Choosing what project to work on next is
always a little tricky amidst deadlines, but
it will usually depend on my mood and if I
want to make something quick like a scarf,
or have the time, energy and materials to
make a cardigan. Sometimes I’ll choose
things that I specifi cally want for myself, like
dish cloths. I’m a one-project-at-a-time kind
of maker.You’ve recently released your
own collection! Could you tell
us a bit about this?
Yes I did! I have been working with
American Crafts since summer/autumn
2018 in secret to create a new line of
crochet and fi bre-related products including
yarn, crochet hooks, a Yarn Passport, Skein
Savers, interchangeable crochet hook, plus
lots more. It has always been a dream of
mine to design products and to be able
to have it fi nally out in the world is such a
surreal feeling. I worked with my team at
American Crafts turning ideas into a digital
design into physical samples and into
packaged products that are now available
at select JOANN Stores across the United
States and in my online shop.I fi rst had an idea to create the Yarn
Passport, which is essentially a journal of
sorts for fi bre artists. I wanted to create
something that I would be able to tangibly
store and save pieces of my favourite yarns
and write the story of why I’m saving it –
whether it was a gift, is a special fi bre, from
another country or continent, or even if it’s
just a yarn I use often and want to be able
to remember which colour and dye lot I was
using. It’s also a great space to keep record
of your makes for each year. There is space
for photos, folders and dividers, and even
graph paper to sketch designs or ideas.
To create this product, it was quite an
endeavour to pursue on my own, so I was
so fortunate to be able to not only create
the one item I was really excited about,
but to create so many different kinds of
products that appeal to our new generation
of creatives and fi bre artists.Are there any bloggers or
designers that inspire you?
One of my absolute best friends is Vincent
from knot.bad. He inspires me because
he’s so true to himself and doesn’t letstereotypes or diffi cult conversation
stop him from being himself. Toni from
tlyarncrafts is also a huge inspiration.
She’s so kind, helpful and insanely talented
when it comes to design. Also, Vickie
Howell at vickiehowell has been an
inspiration for me for several years and is
the reason I created the dream to make my
own line of products after I saw her Sheep-
ish yarn in JOANN Stores. You can fi nd
them all on Instagram. Seeing others make
huge strides allows others to feel like they
can reach for big dreams, too!Do you have any tips for
readers who might want to
start their own collections?
For anyone wanting to create their own
collections or blogs or whatever it may
be, I highly suggest to always stay true to
yourself. Do things, make things, dream
things that feel right to you. Find a problem
and explore how to solve it. Always strive
to pursue passions intentionally and follow
where your heart leads you, even if it’s down
a different path than those around you.
We each have a special opportunity to be
creative and motivated in different ways and
we can only discover those things once we
start testing the waters.What is your favourite pattern
or design?
There are two designs I’ve made that I am
most proud of – my Nolan Top and Jessica
Top. Nolan because it was the fi rst garment
design I ever made and it ignited something
within me that hasn’t been dulled since.
The Jessica Top was made after I decided
to focus on doing things my own way and it
was a design I created with the intention of
never writing a pattern for. It was the design
I wore at my keynote speech in Chicago atNolan Top
We each have
a special
opportunity to
be creative and
motivated in
di erent ways