An eye for design
Mega-talent Tatsiana Kupryianchyk of Lilla Björn Crochet discusses her design process and hooky all-nighters
Tatsiana Kupryianchyk is the hook and brains behind the much-loved Lilla Björn blog, as well as many of Scheepjes’ most popular designs and crochet-alongs. She has been selling crochet patterns for 11 years, on her blog and Ravelry, as well as via collaborations with yarn companies. Her work is wide-reaching, spanning homewares, amigurumi and garments, but also inventive and progressive, often incorporating lesser-used techniques into her designs such as overlay crochet and mosaic crochet.
Perhaps longevity is the secret to Tatsiana’s fearless hooky creativity; she has, after all, been crocheting since just five years old. “I learned at kindergarten,” she recalls. “My teacher brought her WIPs
to kindergarten almost every day and she worked on them while we, the kids, were sleeping during breaktime. And one day I asked her to teach me. I even helped her finish a long, striped scarf for her son. Well, at least I thought I was helping. Maybe every evening she was frogging my uneven rows and remade them. But I appreciated her trust in my skills.” Tatsiana became a keen young hookster, her first project being a set of small amigurumi mushrooms, which resurfaced just this summer at her parents’ house! But, she didn’t originally consider it any more than a hobby. Instead she studied journalism, before moving into magazine editing as a career. An accomplished singer, she also had aspirations to become a professional opera singer, another passion of hers.
AMATEUR TO PRO
As with many makers, Tatsiana’s move from yarn hobbyist to career crocheter was born of necessity, when she and her husband moved to the Czech Republic. “I wanted to continue studying opera singing,” she recalls. “But after several years I realised it’s almost impossible to make a living singing, and I was unable to work as a journalist any more. That was the time when I came back to my crafts. I participated in the Christmas market selling my handmade projects. And one day I thought I could probably start writing patterns. So I wrote the pattern and put it online. That’s it!”
The name ‘Lilla Björn’, which (roughly) means ‘little bear’ in Swedish, came from these early design days: “This is how my
design journey started a few years ago. My friend wanted to support me in my hobby and so ordered small bear from me as a present to a young couple who were expecting a kid. It was the first custom order I had in my life. And that was how it all started.” Later, when her design brand was officially launched, Tatsiana recalled that formative moment of her crochet career and picked the name in commemoration of it, and as a nod of thanks to her Swedish friend.
HANDS ON HOOKING
“I don’t think I have a set style,” muses Tatsiana, “because I get bored very easily doing one or the same thing all the time. I am fond of learning something new every day, and combining different stitches and techniques.” Her design process varies very much depending on what she’s looking to make. “If it’s a simple project, like a mandala or a shawl, then I just grab my hook and leftovers and start swatching. And the new design will begin is growing by itself in my hands. But if it’s something complex, like a cardigan or sweater, then first I spend lots of hours selfstudying. And only when I feel confident, I begin to think of maths and sizing. And the stitch pattern comes to life in the last turn.”
While Tatsiana acknowledges colours are “probably the most difficult and challenging part in my work”, she chooses to espouse online tools in favour of the traditional, hands-on-yarn approach. “I pull almost all my stash to the floor and spend a few hours sitting trying to match the skeins. Sometimes it works from the first time. But sometimes when I am almost half through the project I suddenly see that colours don’t go so well together any more. Then I frog everything and begin again from scratch. I am not a strategic designer.” Interestingly, when designing Tatsiana tries to avoid too much exposure to other people’s work for fear of becoming unwittingly influenced: “I try not to look at existing crochet pieces as there is always a chance to copy someone’s work unconsciously. My sources of inspiration are photography, architecture and fabric prints.” However, like all of us she does have a few favourites. “I am a huge fan of [knitter] Caitlin Hunter’s work, I always enjoy seeing something new from her on Instagram. And of course the Scheepjes Blogger’s Group with my designer friends!”
A HARD DAY’S NIGHT
While Tatsiana is ‘living the dream’ of many hooksters, real life isn’t always quite like that, as she is the first to mirthfully admit. “My typical day is pretty boring! I work from home, so my usual morning begins with a cup of coffee and checking my emails and Facebook group. Then I spend a few hours blogging, writing the patterns, taking progress pictures. In the breaks I walk my dog. Then my kid comes from school and we eat dinner, do homework, play… after he goes to bed (and everyone else!) I grab my crochet hook and yarn and crochet till late night. I usually go to bed at 2am.” However, as a night owl at heart sometimes her hookwork takes her all the way through until daybreak. “Surprisingly the best ideas come to me late at night. So sometimes I stay up ’til morning. Swatching, and crocheting, and frogging, and remaking. A cup of tea with a slice of lemon is always on my coffee table. Sometimes I don’t even have time to drink it. But it must be there.”
As for the future, with her trademark firebrand fearlessness Tatsiana is continuing to develop garment patterns – one of the most difficult areas of crochet design – with new cardigan and sweater patterns on the horizon. One thing for certain is that with her pots of creativity and complete dedication to her craft, Tatsiana’s crochet star is set to soar.
“I AM FOND OF LEARNING SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY, AND COMBINING DIFFERENT STITCHES AND TECHNIQUES”