LISA CHAYKA
I first fell in love with crochet from seeing cute amigurumi on DeviantArt, an large online art community. I started out sewing, but seeing all of the adorable crocheted animals made me switch gears and I sold my first crochet pattern in 2013. Funnily enough, making stuffed animals is actually my least favourite thing to crochet now, but I still love looking at all of the cute critters other crocheters make.
My inspiration tends to come to me in the shower, or daydreaming while working on another project. Sometimes I’ll browse in Target [US department store] to see what kinds of colours and print patterns seem to be trending or are going to be big. A lot of the time I get inspiration from the yarn itself. I’ll see a blue skein and think, “This should be a whale!” or “This NEEDS to be a hat!” I’m all about adorable creations.
My biggest crochet triumph was creating my sloth planter. It’s gone viral online several times since I published it back in 2019 and so many people have made one! It’s really fun for me to see what succulents people pick to put inside them as well. The success of my sloth planter is actually what enabled me to transition to being 100% self-employed as well, so it is an important design for me.
My favourite part of being a crochet pattern designer is that I get to make something new every time I sit down to crochet. I’m not a person who thrives on routine – I like to do different things each day – so getting to fully exercise my brain every work day is a big win for me. I feel very lucky.
For more on Lisa follow her on Instagram at @hellohappycrochet and for free patterns visit www.hellohappy.net
▼ Black Sheep Wools welcome you to their Crochet-Along 2021 – the Back in Time CAL. Over five weeks they’ll take you on a journey through the decades, celebrating yarn trends, colours and the Black Sheep story. Sara from BSW has created a simple design perfect for beginners and those who want to relax into their latest make. They have collated colours and yarns from their favourite brands into kits with exclusive goodies too. Join in at www.black sheepwools.com