PROFILE: LOUISA SHEWARD

Louisa Sheward’s Instagram profile perfectly sums up her crafting passions: ‘Crochet tutor. Yarn enthusiast. Mental health advocate. Sustainability crusader’. Her enthusiasm for these things and a love for sharing her passion can be clearly seen in her career path to date, which includes times spent running The Fibre Lounge shop, plans for taking her crochet knowledge on the road and even a crochet festival in the pipeline for when the world gets back to normal after time spent apart.

Louisa enjoyed her time running The Fibre Lounge as it was a period when she got to meet fellow crocheters and crafters – which has remained its lasting legacy. “The Fibre Lounge was initially just me teaching crochet from my living room.” she recalls. “I had just had my daughter and knew the mental health benefits of crochet would help people, so wanted to use my skills to share the craft with others. This grew to us stocking yarn and attending shows, and eventually opening the shop in March 2017. Unfortunately, high rent and other personal circumstances left us unable to keep the shop open, and in August 2018 we closed our doors. It was heartwrenching, but the time we were open allowed us to build up the community we love so much, and gave us hope for new opportunities. One of the things we missed about the shop was getting out to shows and meeting new people.

“I’ve been so lucky to learn so many amazing stories, meet so many people and make so many new friends through crochet.

Watching someone fall in love with crochet is so rewarding and gives me the drive to carry on.”

The story by no means ends there as Louisa has plenty of creative ideas for how The Fibre Lounge can continue in new ways. “My plan is to take my crochet teaching skills and passion for mental health awareness as far as possible, both online and with our next adventure, Hannah the Vannah,” she explains.

Hannah the Vannah is Louise’s new venture, as one day in the future she hopes to take her van, crochet skills and knowledge to people across the country. ”I bought Hannah the Vannah just after the shop closed, and after going through a break up in my personal life,” she recalls. “I needed a new challenge

and decided I wanted to take my crochet classes to festivals and schools. I wanted to bring crochet and its benefits to those who may not realise how easy beneficial it is.”

Louisa’s original plan was to do the van up and get going but it turned out to be a much more costly project, so she started a campaign on social media to raise the funds she needed for the project. “I raised £5060 with the help of my wonderful following and now I begin the next part. I am very excited to get on the road.”

The mental health benefits of crochet is a subject dear to Louisa’s heart. Not only will her future plans for Hannah the Vannah mean she can spread the word, but whilst so many of us are stuck at home during the coronavirus lockdowns taking place around the world, she’s keen to share in any way she can its benefits: “there are so many links between mental health and crochet. It’s a craft you can pick up and put down, so it’s great for when you need five minutes of relaxation. Research has shown that crochet improves concentration, focus and memory, increases happiness and provides an enhanced state of calm. It can help distract from chronic pain and relieve anxiety and depression.”

To help anyone who can’t get to crochet groups or workshops right now Louisa is launching online one-to-one crochet tuition so she can teach people all over the globe from the comfort of their sofa. “The online tuition is really exciting,” she enthuses. “It means that I can reach folks anywhere in the world who need a hand with their crochet, which is exciting for me because it means I can help those who are isolated, perhaps house bound. I hope getting more people crocheting will continue to help their mental health like it has mine. The sessions take place via online video call, and the attendees have to bring their own cuppa! I’m also adding free tutorials to my YouTube channel; hopefully this will help someone!”

More online activity to look out for includes Louisa’s replacement for her Fibre Rocks festival which was due to take place in June. “Sadly we have had to postpone Fibre Rocks to June 2021 due to the coronavirus,” she explains. “We are going to have an online yarn show in its place which we are finalising the details for. The show is an extension of our passion for community, sustainability, mental health awareness and inclusivity. We want to create a show where everyone feels welcome, and is accessible to those on a spectrum of budgets. We intend to have free interactive workshops, talented vendors and talks over the weekend.”

In the meantime Louisa is still able to enjoy all the benefits of crochet while at home. “My daughter and I live with my dad so space is limited, but I have a big enough bedroom to fit a desk in so I can try to separate my work day from the rest of my day. I have lots of stitch books, and vintage books that I like to look at when I’m thinking about a design. Most of my designs happen organically – I can’t draw but I can crochet most things so I tend to just start working on the project in hand.”

Louisa has favourite yarns, tools and techniques that help her solo stitching sessions be as relaxing as possible – something we should all be aiming for in these extraordinary times. “My personal favourite hooks are Clover,” she says. ”The top tip for my beginners is always that if they decide to keep the hobby up, invest in their tools. A lot of people think that yarn is splitting but actually it’s normally due to a poor quality hook – so better hooks means you can use cheaper yarn and not have the splitting issue.

“I personally like working with natural fibres, particularly hand dyed yarns. I love the yarn I’m working with to have a story, and to feel lovely as I’m working with it. I think if I’m going to be putting the hours into a project I want every minute of it to be enjoyable. I really enjoy intarsia projects, and I’m falling in love with mosaic crochet lately too, but my go to ‘mindless’ mindful project is always the humble granny square.”

Written by Lucy Evans

“Watching someone fall in love with crochet is so rewarding”