Inside Crochet - new designs

I'm very pleased with the latest edition of Inside Crochet which is featuring the pattern for my mesh dress and their back page column of some of my crochet musings!! My friend and collaborator in makedomend, Claire Montgomerie, has taken over the editorial helm so I'm expecting some super new designs to start appearing between the pages!!!

The mesh dress was actually a project for myself but Claire saw it and whisked it away to the IC studios for featuring in their revamp edition. I had been inspired by the sport wear on the catwalks this season and particularly the shift tunics of the Y-3 collection.

Magazines are often a great way to pick up on good patterns, tips and interviews and coming from the Yarn Forward stable, I'm sure Inside Crochet will become a 'must have' for any ardent crocheter.

Projects galore

I've been away from the chaincreative desk these days for a variety of reasons, the most important being that I've been doing some designing for two publications that might be of interest to you. The Art of Crochet is an subscribe-online publication that mixes patterns with tips and techniques so is a big mix of all that you might need to get started with crochet without having to leave your home. I've been welcomed on board with a pattern for an evening top which will be coming out during the summer so if you're interested then mosey on over to them.The other publication I've been contributing to is Inside Crochet which is the sister publication of Yarn Forward and is available through newsagents. It has a good mix of patterns and interviews (look out for my Q & A with Jo Hamilton who've I've featured here at chaincreative!) and has some nicely up-to-the-minute designs which are sorely needed. Keep your eyes peeled for designs by yours truly and I'm really enjoying putting my crochet talents (!) to good use. Hope you agree!!

Lace and crochet

Ooo, lace is sooo crochet. Or crochet can be soo lace(y). We do tend to neglect the lovely laceyness of crochet. I'm up to my eyes in work but can just see the wood for the crochet hooks and wanted to just say that I've been mostly thinking - lace and fashion.

Maybe it's La Gaga or just the passing of the fantastic(al) Lee McQueen but I just can't wait to get my finest crochet hooks out and get cracking on something lacey. Maybe similar to my Nico dress in Vintage Crochet.
Inspiration have come from the fashion shows in Milan and latterly London and it will be a feature of the catwalks for evermore I'm sure. Crochet gets a peek in there too. The lovely striped Missoni top is fresh, trendy and crochet!!! Hurrah.


How crochet is this handbag from Zagliani.

Flying the flag - From Britain with Love

In my other life as a Mender at makedomend I am so pleased to say that we are listed amongst the wonderful new design-gathering at From Britain with Love. You really can't better their mission statement "Hello and welcome to FromBritainWithLove.com - the brand new online guide to all things beautiful and British made.
Our mission is very simple... we want to let people know that there are beautiful things being made in studios, workshops, factories and farms across Britain every day, and our aim is to help you find them." and I heartily raise a cheer to that!! There is so much talent churning around in field and backstreet and we do need to nurture that. Amazingly, despite the growth and decline of the high street this country still keeps a strong design heart beating but we do need lovely websites like this to keep it in good health. Hurrah.

I thought I'd make a little personal selection from their comprehensive list and this is what I found in a very unmethodical 5 minute survey!!

Smith & Coates - handmade, recycled clothes for adults and children with cute crochet trims and embellishments.

Andrea Williamson - colourful and cosy knitted accessories
Jennifer Collier - innovative textiles and craft pieces

Of course, that is a random and small selection. If you're a design and handmade freak like me then you're going to love visiting From Britain. God save that!!

Waste not!! - 'Handemadeness is an antidepressant'

I love yarn. Texture, weight (or lack of it as I love fine yarns more than chunky), colour and all it's wonderful variety. I've got a confession though. I've never really been attracted to the possibilities of undoing long-lost garments. Well-worn and well-loved jumpers and sweaters just get more well-worn until they're a rather threadbare wisp of a garment. There are alternatives and I stumbled on them thanks to a new friend on Twitter (I know, it's got it's critics but there are little gems there), Joyce Crochets, and she passes on some great little crochet links and I've followed many a tip-off from her tweets.This week's trail was to the methods of undoing woollen fabric and I never realised what an art there was to it. There are two really informative resources from two favourites of chaincreative, crafty stylish and craftzine. Different seams pose different problems and then there's prepping involved before you can wind up and get working. It's all worth it in the name of wasting not a precious resource and that's a big deal right now. While you're feeling virtuous hanging your freshly laundered yarn on the line (hmm) just think what a saving you've made. Enough to maybe treat yourself with some gorgeous little gem from Loop!
Once you've finished all the processes to turn that sad sack to crochet gold then you need some inspiration and I followed some more trails to a recycling diva called Cecile whose philosophy is very much of the moment and is the quote in the title of this post. Calling her business Recycled by Hyena and quoting her from her Etsy profile, 'My work is infused with my ethic and each of my creations is the result of passion and dedication. My clothes are made from scratch but not from new materials. They are made with fabric from clothes I purchased in Goodwill stores and non-profit thrift stores.

I "believe" in the craft revolution and I think it is our future. The handmade and eco-friendly life is the only alternative to the consumerism destroying our planet and the living beings surrounding us.'I must say I love her designs and the twist she puts on them. Of course, the fact that they're made from the sad, lost and forgotten makes them even more precious. Above is an example of how she encorporates crochet into many of her designs called Empire and below is the patchwork of fine fabrics that she combines in her work which she calls Comie.

As a little postscript, I've been frantically preparing for makedomend's first outing to Stoke Newington's Tea Rooms for our granny squares workshop. I've been making up samples and patterns for the event and I'm very excited with Sarah London's Wooleater Blanket which is worked as a square and which uses as much scrips and scraps of yarn as you would wish to see the back of!!! It's not quite recycling but is certainly not waste!!!
Here's my humble offering of the pattern but I would suggest you go to Sarah's blog for the definitive example.

The backroom bites back

I loved this story when I read it last week in the Guardian. Carmen Colle is a supplier of fabric and crochet to, among others, Chanel and is taking the company to the courts to sue for 2.5 million euro damages for copyright infringement on a crochet pattern. Chanel is counter-sueing and the case is in appeal at the moment.
Carmen Colle is not a woman to be messed with. The fashion houses depend on such people to produce the garments and materials that will best express the designer's vision. The 'petits mains' are the mainstay of any company and are overlooked and undervalued in many cases. Many of these people have years of experience and skill which cannot be easily replaced and to know that such talent goes into couture clothes makes them the valuable artifacts they are.
Colle is unique in that she began the business after a career as a social worker in order to employ deprived and immigrant workers and offer them opportunities not often found. The company, World Tricot Designs employing women from poor neighbourhoods, is on the brink of closure if the counter-claim from Chanel is upheld. Listen to the interesting and at time's depressingly familiar story of David and Goliath at World Vision . I wish Carmen all the luck with her fight for her company and her reputation.

Not a granny

There's been some tedious words written about Cate Blanchett's red carpet moment this week. I can't be bothered to repeat where such nonsense has been published or said. Suffice to say, anything the gal wore would look fabulous and this is such an interesting choice. It certainly puts crochet at centre stage and brought it out from under the blanket. For too long it's languished as the choice for people using up scraps and dismissed as knitting's sad sister.
Now it's got a pair of killer heels and an attitude. Hurrah.
The designers, Romance Was Born, are an Australian duo and they're wonderfully boosted by the criticism of the dress being too reminiscent of something made by a senior, "That's exactly what it is," said Luke Sales, one half of Sydney design duo, Romance Was Born.
"We cut it up and it was hand-crocheted by my mother, so how could we be offended?" he laughed.'
'Sales said Blanchett specifically requested the dress herself and took the star's new moniker, "Cate Blanket", as a compliment. "There is no one else I would rather see wear it than Cate, I just knew it would be amazing on her," he said.

"There's a sense of humour to everything we do, so no one can really offend us.

"At the end of the day Cate Blanchett is wearing our dress and she is who she is."

Ha!

Great new venture

Take a little trip over to Sewing Bee to see how the new baby in the chaincreative stable is doing! Sewing classes are now part of our productions and look set to become quite popular as a chance to escape the city and learn a new skill. It can range from a full-on 'teach me how to sew' to a way of getting to grips with making a particular garment.

This is exactly what brought Anees to Kent and I think we both agree it was a great success. We didn't get to the end of the story as far as the project was concerned but I was able to send Anees off home happy in the knowledge that she can finish what she has started and have a lovely dress to wear at the end of it.

Of course people don't need to come all the way down here to the South East coast. Within the M25 area, chaincreative is happy to travel and I shall be at the Kiosk on Sunday 26 July to bring sewing to the nation. Find your inner thread and get stitching!

It keeps on giving

They said you could get a bit obsessed!! Wire crochet, bead crochet. Not everyone has given them a try for various reasons. Many think only in yarn and are happy to stay there. Following the Jewellery Workshop, however, I have discovered my inner bead!!! The task was to start and, hopefully, finish a beaded rope bracelet. Made using slip stitch crochet, on paper it all looks so easy!!! The reality is less rosy. The experts work in 11/0 or 8/0 beads which are the delicate seed beads you see in many beaded projects. Sadly they proved too tiny for me so I upgraded to 6/0 which are approximately 3.5-4 mm. I actually prefer their relative chunkiness. Thread is a problem too. Beading thread is fine and that spells problems for beginners. With the size of beads I used I sized up to viscose twisted floss from Texere yarns. Called Prism, it comes in loads of lovely shades so should suit any project.

It seems that the first 3 rounds are the trickiest and that is definitely true. The circle can quickly end up in a funny beady ball very quickly. To keep your head, you string however many beads that the circle calls for in a larger contrast bead and start crocheting with a firm view of the sequence. After much trial and error (that's quite a few times, in other words) you realise where you're going and then you're off and running. Then the obsession kicks in and you want a whole bunch of bracelets. I'm on my fourth and still planning!!!

The sites I found most helpful and where I bought patterns and advice pdf were -

Need for Beads - patterns and handy guides

McKenzie Designs - a primer with wonderfully clear illustrations

GJ Beads - supplies in UK

The Bead Shop - in Tower Street, Covent Garden, London town

To be honest there's lots of sites on the net that help so don't give up if you want to try this challenging skill.

Talking of challenges and skills may I introduce the production of another brilliant student. Me Ling came to the Workshop and went away and came back with this!!! How fabulous is that!

Sandra Backlund - slow fashion

I discovered this extremely talented designer through many websites linked to design rather than craft and have found that crochet and knitting hold their own in such august places. The skills involved, particularly with the more architectural quality of crochet, means that it can rise up from the prosaic and become a real artform.

Sandra Backlund has gained her design chops in establishments like Louis Vuitton and has been acknowleged by the international design community. Not bad for someone who first enrolled in a textile class when she was bored at university.

Hidden away in her studio in Stockholm, she works long and meticulously on her designs. Not for her the throw-away fashion we're so used to. As she says, "It depends how you see luxury. For me luxury is if something is made especially for you and it is made by someone, not just a machine that does it for anyone. And good quality fabrics and of course nowadays you want it to be friendly to the environment. It’s not about a logo or what it costs. But about how it is made, that it is unique, special. I see fashion as an art form. I could have chosen any direction for myself, design, photography, but for me fashion is a way to combine art and crafts and techniques. And fashion is such a big thing, everyone is involved with it one way or another. It’s pretty unavoidable which makes it very interesting to me."

She works up to 20 hours a day and the work is still unavailable which really raises its worth and quality. I'm very glad to see that she gets her mother to help out. Collaboration in the family is something to treasure.

Her design processes are fascinating and certainly ring some bells for me (in a modest way!).

"Mostly the possibility to improvise. I build the fabric and the garment while working on it, I can change my mind all the time. And of course knitwear is stretching so you can shape it in a different way than with fabric. It’s a bit like sculpting with clay. The material is alive. I invent the pieces while doing them."

The quotes are from an extensive interview which I would recommend anyone interested in this designer, giving real insight into what goes into such amazing pieces.

Designer interview - Fringe

As promised in the preceding post, I am happy to introduce (but then, you might know her work already) to a very talented crochet designer whose work features extensively through the markets of the internet sphere. I know from my teaching and working experience that most crocheters love to create something wearable and Fringe is a perfect example of someone who also makes a business of her skill. I hope that hers and other designer interviews might give you the inspiration to start your own business.

The pictures I've chosen I think give a real flavour of her work on Etsy.
Your name
Fringe (aka Dennice)
Where you’re from?
San Diego, California
Website
http://www.fringe.etsy.com/
Blog address
http://www.dennicemankarious.blogspot.com/
Now we have the preliminaries out the way can you describe your various creative skills!
I knit, crochet, embroider, sew, and design the items I make. I love doing all kinds of creative things, but for my business it’s the previous skills I mentioned.
When did you start to crochet and who taught you?
My babysitter taught me to crochet when I was the ripe old age of 4. Her name was Lucy and she was the sweetest, gentlest woman. I remember very clearly asking her to teach me.
The name of the business is interesting. What was the inspiration behind it?
A dear friend of mine came up with the name Fringe when she and I were brainstorming for a name for my business. She thought of it because so many of my pieces have fringe on them. (I hope the picture I've chosen gives a nice visual for your name choice!)
What influences your style and output? What are your inspirations?
My inspirations are music, nature; many, many things inspire me. Ideas come to me while I’m sleeping, or driving down the road, or cooking. I can be in the middle of a conversation with someone and an idea will hit me. I always carry a pad of paper and pencil with me. Classic movies are a big influence to me as well. What are the most important aspects of your work to you? The designs themselves are important. Also, the quality of each piece. I spend a great deal of time and effort with each piece. I take pride in my work. For me, it’s very important to that I love my designs. I have a passion for them.
Which project or piece of work are you most proud of?
That is really hard for me to answer. I’m proud of all my pieces. I don’t mean that in a bragging sort of way. I mean I love all of them. They are all a piece of me. It’s been an honor for me to have one of my items chosen to represent Etsy on the Martha Stewart Show. Also, I was given the grand opportunity to be featured in Knitscene Magazine’s Fall ’08 issue. Wow!!!!
When are you most happy when you’re working?
I’m most happy during the design process and then when that design comes to fruition. There is such a sense of accomplishment. I guess I love the entire process! I’m always so thrilled too when a client writes to me to say how much she or he loves their Fringe original. It’s what makes my work so rewarding.I’d like to say thank you for your interest in my work. It’s an honor to be featured on your blog. I hope everyone who reads this will be inspired to create with their own original style.
Thank you so much, Dennice, I'm sure it will spark alot of interest in business-minded and just plan envious crocheters alike!!!
Bee

Spring cover-up

I love to travel the net looking for crochet and gorgeous design and there are many of my favourites listed on your right. There is, however, one designer and blogiste who I visit alot. She has an inspirational eye for a brief window in time which she captures on camera and we have the pleasure of sharing that perfect moment. Jeanette Lunde at Fryd + design has been on my radar since the first days of chaincreative and I know many of you are keen fans too.

I wanted to draw attention to some of her recent projects as they are a nice introduction to our Designer Interview at the end of the week.

Jeanette has been doing a little featurette on Spring, which in her native Norway, is probably welcomed with open arms! Although we may not all have severe winter weather, a little shrug or shawl can be a lovely alternative on a sunny spring day. Jeanette's take on this is adorable and such delicate colour. It really inspired me to finish a capelet of mine and sort out a pattern to put in my Etsy shop.

An up-and-coming interviewee, Leila and Ben, have an adorable capelet pattern in PDF format which might set your crochet creative juices going.

Take a look at the picture and see what you think. I love it, it's almost an evening project for the snow predicted tomorrow!!

Back to Fryd + design and an idea that obviously interests Jeanette. Taking a simple, and easily obtainable, lamp frame she's decorated these and kept the design 'light' but springy. Such a simple concept but so effective.

As I said at the beginning of the post, Jeanette's collar is a nice intro for a designer who is a stalwart of Etsy and appears regularly in Poppytalk handmade markets. Dennice at Fringe is a prolific crochet maker and designer and I'm sure will be an inspiring interviewee. See her thoughts on the subject at the end of the week.

Bags of fun - Lisa Stickley

Despite the gloom I've been shopping. Only a teeny bit because we've all got to be a little 'sensible shoes' at this moment but anyway... A lovely shop in my local cathedral city is having to close due to the recession, Baby Love (they're online so I don't have to be completely deprived) and so I rushed in there before the final day and bought my beautiful project bag for all my...projects!!! They're stocking lots of lovely bags from Lisa Stickley which they'll be selling through their new venture, LinetheNest, in the Spring.

Lisa Stickley is someone I've clocked before for her style and sensitivity and her website is a joy. And I can go shopping there too!!! Virtually or by hopping on a bus south from Charing Cross. Hurrah! But if that isn't possible then there's online. It'll be the saviour of us all if the rents go up and the shops close.

My projects are now very happy but haven't disappeared. There's a hat for Fiona and a hooks bag and sewing kit for Rose and Susan. There's a pinafore I'm making from a Japanese book in Mericash which is also what I'm using for my Sunday Morning gloves which are in a heavenly blue and a pious (I'm carrying on the Sunday theme!!) brown.

I don't think my pussycat liked being snapped. He's such a divo!

Vintage performance

Apologies if this reads a little like an advert but I wanted to let anyone interested know that I've started filling my wee shop, Bee@Home, on Etsy with PDF patterns of my own crochet designs and selections of my extensive vintage pattern collections. So if any of you are interested in creating something typical of the 1940's or 50's then there's a pattern for you!!! This number will increase throughout this and the following weeks so keep checking. The majority of the commercial patterns are from the States as they were pretty 'out there' on knitwear design in those decades. As I said on Monday, the challenge of these patterns is in the extensive use of stitches that are now rarely used so it's our duty to keep these things alive.

It couldn't be easier

It sounds pretty pathetic, I know. I've crocheted with fabric, leather, plastic, cord but never, never with wire. I'm certainly not proud of the fact and this is going to be the year that I change that. I'm planning classes and to that end I'm organising my in-house personal training!!

I wonder if I'll be looking like these hands of Joan Dulla!

Now to begin - there are obviously groaning bookshelves of how-to guides but while I'm at the computer there are tons and tons of helpful sites. Here's a selection of a few I like the look of and some that come with recommendations.

Let's start with supplies. The raw materials are pretty easy to source but here's a word for the 'yarn'. Artistic Wire has luscious colours and choice beyond a crochet girl's dreams. For findings, I've discovered that Etsy, once again, has alot of choice and many designers have handmade items. The best of those I've explored are

Milena S and a nice list on Craftystylish (have I already said how many nice things are on Craftystylish????).

Stitch Diva, bless her heart, has tutorials and gives a warning to delicate hands and precious hooks. Best advise - don't use without alot of preparation and keep your favourite hooks for less extreme conditions!!! Steel or aluminium only!

'How to' with Wire sounds a sensible suggestion and gives some funny insights into do's and don'ts. Nice tips like 'wire stretches', 'wire shrinks' which you might not be aware of. Well, I wasn't anyway.

Craftystylish, as always, has some nice articles and also some tips on wire choice. Ooo, it doesn't sound as straightforward as buying a nice colour!!!

Craftypod gives some simple tutorials and directions on crocheting a wire flower.

Will I ever be able to aspire to the type of work you see here from Louise Hill (designer). Beautiful.

If all this makes you feel a bit lightheaded and your fingers are feeling tired just looking at all that wire then sit back and enjoy the wooly jewellery makers.

Gitte is a designer that chaincreative spotted before and we love her fresh, floral style in this daisy chain necklace. The felting technique offers texture and structure. There's nothing worse than floppy jewels!!

At the moment I'm loving Irregular Expressions on Etsy and particularly the ethnic origins of this beautiful neck-piece.

Simply for the variety of everything crochet and embellishment you cannot find a more prolific designer than Hedda Vatter from Estonia so go check out her Etsy shop. You'll find these earrings there.