Last week, I shared how I spin my own yarn. This week, I’d like to take you behind the scenes and show how a finished design comes to life.
Like every other crafter I know, I can’t resist a beautiful skein of yarn. Over time, I’ve learned that those special hand-dyed skeins are most useful when I buy them in pairs. Sometimes, a design begins with the yarn itself — those gorgeous skeins might sit in my stash for months before inspiration strikes. When an idea finally hits, I’ll work up a small swatch in a similar weight yarn to see if it has merit. I use that swatch to estimate the finished size, then calculate the length of my foundation row.
That’s when the graph paper comes out! I like to plan out stitch placement before diving in. Once that’s done, I’ll cake up the skein (never work directly from a skein — that way only leads to pain and frustration!).
Other times, inspiration comes from the name of a shade. For example, the “Death by Honey” yarn I picked up at The Wool Monty immediately made me think of bees and honeycomb — and my Fractured Bee Line Scarf was born.
Then there are moments when I just want to try out a new stitch. At such times, stitch dictionaries are a must-have. I can spend many happy hours browsing and doodling stitch patterns together. Sometimes they work beautifully in a sample, but not always. I’ve learned it’s better to abandon an idea that isn’t working than to persist and try to “fix” it.
Occasionally, I’m intrigued by an unusual shape. My Falcate Shawl, for instance, grew out of a desire to play with increases along just one edge of the design.
With Tunisian crochet, I often design directly on the hook. I’ll choose a yarn and an appropriate needle size, usually starting with honeycomb stitch to prevent the curling that’s so common in this technique. From there, I simply see where inspiration takes me — as it did with my Celebration Scarf.
In the same way, with weaving, I love to design on the loom. I’ve found that I enjoy plain weave with inclusions of handspun yarn and stripes, and I like to play as I weave — watching the design evolve with each pass of the shuttle. You can see the effect on the shawl here, one I made for myself.
Next week, I’ll share the story behind one of my most popular designs — where the spark came from a picture in a gallery and how it grew into a finished piece.
In the meantime, happy crafting.
Pearson Handmade 