Combining crafts

Mix crochet with another craft for a unique project that’s all your own!

Like the idea of combining crochet with another of your favourite crafts in a single project? We speak to three expert designer-makers who do exactly this, to discover where they get their inspiration from and why they love mixing mediums…

GET INSPIRED

So, you want to start mixing in other crafting techniques with your crocheting, but aren’t quite sure where to start or what will work well? As with many tasks, thorough research will provide a good grounding for success, so don’t be afraid to seek out inspiration! Becky Skuse, a freelance craft designer (find her shop at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ MakeMeDo), has a passion for combining fabric-based crafts such as sewing and embroidery with crochet. “For me, it’s a match made in heaven,” she says. Using Pinterest, Instagram and various blogs as a source of inspiration, Becky saves pictures of ideas she wants to make to her phone. “I love setting myself the creative challenge of making my own version of a design I like. I also make things to fulfil a purpose. I particularly love making bags and purses – there are so many different styles and variations, plus they’re practical!” she says.

Designer Esme Crick (red sparrow crochet. blogspot.co.uk) enjoys mixing crochet with sewing; upcycling clothing, embroidering directly onto crochet, and combining different materials and textures. “I love looking at art and textiles in general,” says Esme. “I’m really influenced by early to mid-20th century art and design. I’m also a complete nature nut, and am always taking photos of trees, shadows in the woods, and interesting leaf patterns to use as a source of inspiration.”

Experimenting with all crafts, both familiar and brand new, crafter Natalie Beard (@sewing_the_seeds_of_love on Instagram) enjoys mixing practices to make clothes, merging crochet with sewing, as well as felting and beadwork. “I get my ideas mainly through playing around and experimenting with different media. Sometimes it works and I discover new techniques; sometimes it doesn’t and I learn from that,” Natalie tells us.

TRIAL AND ERROR

Inspired by her niece’s love of butterflies, Becky decided to make her a dress as a gift, using a plain design that she could decorate with crochet butterflies in various colours. “To add a bit of creative interest, I used various stitches to attach each one in a slightly different way,” Becky explains. “I started off simple by sewing the first one in place using slip stitches at the edge of the motif for an invisible join, the second with slip stitches 1cm in from the edge for a more 3D look, and the third using small, straight stitches. Then I got more creative – I used running stitches in a contrasting colour around the edge of the fourth motif, backstitches in a contrasting colour 1cm in from the edge for the fifth, and blanket stitches in a contrasting colour at the edge for the sixth.”

For Esme, mixing crafts has taught her to be more expressive and experimental, and

“I love making my own version of a design I like”