ZEENS & ROGER
Devon-dwelling Rosina Plane is the mind and hook behind the bright and cheery crochet brand Zeens & Roger. A lifelong hookster, it was her nana who first introduced her to the craft, as she explains: “Every other project my nana made was a granny square blanket. For years I’d watch her make those colourful squares. Every single one was beautiful. When it was my turn to pick up the hook, the mindfulness in the rhythm of stitches couldn’t be beaten.
“Playing with colours, trying out different yarns and the triumph of working out new stitch patterns is a huge buzz. Knowing that I’m learning from it all all the time is completely addictive. I’ve even (sort of) become fond of the maths when working out multiples of pattern repeats!”
Fans of Rosina’s Instagram won’t be surprised to hear that colour is a significant influence on her design process. “It’s hugely important. I love seeing colour combinations jump out from pictures in magazines, or a floral print on a dress might catch my eye and I’ll translate it into crochet stitches. I love stitch dictionaries too. My favourites are old-school crochet books from before I was born and contemporary books from Japan.”
While Rosina self-effacingly claims she “can’t compete with the mega professional YouTubers”, nonetheless she has had some major triumphs, not least being asked to design a granny stitch project for the cover of Mollie Makes. “I never, ever thought it’d be possible that my own designs would be featured,” she gushes, “let alone be asked to design something for the front cover!” We’ll be watching this designer’s star rise!
Find Rosina on Instagram @zeensandroger, or check her out on YouTube, where she has a fortnightly podcast plus fun crochet tutorials.