HOOKY TREASURE

Millie Masterton describes how she used her head to create a hat that has stood the test of time, not least with her daughter

passion for crochet was ignited in me when I was pregnant with my daughter, who is now nine. I had always been a knitter but I decided to teach myself to crochet after being inspired by the gorgeous images of baby items I had seen on the internet. I soon found that once I started to crochet, I couldn’t stop and I eventually ended up giving my knitting needles away!

I made a variety of projects like cardigans, booties and blankets and very quickly started writing my own patterns, but the items that everyone commented on were the children’s hats I’d made. I designed lots of different animals and characters – everything from owls, frogs and robots to reindeer and knights’ helmets! There is something about the shape of a hat that seems to offer me endless possibilities and outlets for creativity. I often find myself looking at something in a magazine or on the television and pondering how I could use crochet to turn it into a hat.

By the time I gave birth to my son, who is now seven, my confidence as a designer had grown significantly and I had set up Ruby & Custard as a website, initially selling crochet items. However, my real love was in designing original patterns rather than making the same thing over and over, which is how Ruby & Custard’s Crochet book was formed. Getting the phone call from the publishing company Random House to say they were commissioning a book of 35 crochet patterns still ranks as one of the most exciting days in my life!

One of my favourite designs is the sock monkey hat. It is one of my very early ones and possibly the first hat I submitted for the book, so it has special memories. I love the simplicity of the design and how versatile it is. I have found that it is also a timeless design as my daughter [second baby from the left] is still happy to wear it all these years later, as demonstrated in this family photo. Now I design for magazines, websites and for pleasure too – every Christmas I create a new hat for each of my children who continue to inspire me.

The pattern for Millie’s hat, and her blog are on www.rubyandcustard.com