JOURNAL: MAKE IT YOURS
Hannah Cross of HanJan Crochet tell us how we can make this our time to shine with crochet – break the rules and make that pattern yours
Since starting out as a crochet designer back in 2012 I have always set myself challenges. I love to push my abilities and see what I can achieve with anything in life and crochet is always a place where I feel safe to go that little bit further and see what I can do. Today I’m suggesting you to do that very same thing. Challenge yourself. Stretch those skills. Change that colour palette. Learn that technique. Crochet is absolutely about mindfulness and calm but I can’t tell you the joy that comes from pushing the boundaries and being more creative than you ever even knew you were. I’m not asking you to design anything, I’m not suggesting you wing it completely; I’d just love you to set yourself free and take your crochet to the next level. You can do it.
BE INSPIRED
Where do you start though? The first step to think about might be what you do you want to achieve? Do you have favourite pattern that you really enjoyed but you thought maybe you could tweak this or that to make it better? Perhaps you could make a familiar pattern in a new colourway that challenges you? Maybe learn that technique you’ve been putting off forever (hello, Tunisian crochet, I promise I will get to you soon!). Whatever your goal is, I encourage you to become inspired. Look at what your favourite designers are making and then go and find some new ones to look at too. Perhaps make yourself a Pinterest board and put everything there that you love, then before diving in really think about what your ideas might look like. You don’t have to have any really fixed ideas though, sometimes the best creations come from a very small amount of planning and forethought!
BE BRAVE
We have all had to be so very brave with many things in life recently and so being brave in the safety net of crochet should seem like a walk in the park. If it doesn’t work out, who cares? (No-one will ever know if you don’t tell them!) Unless you go for it and see what you can do with that blanket border that you think would be ‘much better in a fancier stitch but you can’t quite work out the numbers’ you will never know. It may turn out to be glorious so try it. You’re frightened of trying garments, I hear you say? Go for it! What have you got to lose from trying? The act of crochet in itself is the thing us crafters love so much so what does it matter if you have to make three versions to get it right? You get to crochet and you get to learn, a win-win in my book.
“Joy can come from pushing the boundaries and being more creative”
BE EXPERIMENTAL
My mum has always changed things about patterns; she just can’t help herself and I love it! As children we would request a different stitch pattern on the sleeve, a change of ribbing, crazy colour combinations on the toy and she would always manage it. I do however remember her pulling things out and muttering at things that didn’t work out, so you have to accept that it won’t all be successful. Think of it as a recipe you like the sound of but you don’t want to add the sultanas so you put in the blueberries you like instead. It might turn out to be the tastiest thing you’ve ever made, it may be a disaster. You won’t know until you experiment and find out.
BE HAPPY
The thing above all of this is to be happy, of course. If the thought of revolutionising a piece of crochet fills you with dread then don’t worry about it. Just start off gently and make some colour tweaks, try out that new yarn that you bought but can’t quite work out what to make with it or finally make that Tunisian pattern rather than keep swatching! Whatever it is you decide to do just make sure you’re happy doing it. Let crochet bring you more and more joy with each project you create, with every brave choice you make and with all the experiments you have fun with. Crochet may not be the most important thing in the world right now but it certainly helps most of us get through it all, so hold onto it tight and enjoy every stitch (or frog!).
Keep up with Hannah at www.hanjancrochet.com and follow her on Instagram at @hanjancrochet
You won’t know the end result until you experiment