It’s time to share more about the wonderful individuals behind the patterns we bring you in each issue of Happily Hooked and Pattern Pack Pro magazines. We include a bio with every pattern, but we invited some of our October 2020 designers to give us some insight into their world of design.
And by the way, what do Indonesia, Italy, The Netherlands, and The U.K. have in common? They are the places in which our featured October pattern designers live!
And so, we asked these 3 questions:
- What is your favorite thing to design?
- How did you learn, and have you taught others?
- How do you find inspiration for your pattern designs?
Designer Tayu Purnamasari, from Indonesia, designed the Azhara Mandala pattern.
Tayu says, “My favorite thing to design is the mandala.” She favors it because it can be created in a single color or worked up in multiple colors.
She has also passed her skills to others along the way. “My mother taught me. My friend and I have a small WhatsApp group for teaching newbies.”
And, like most of us, she says, “My inspiration could come from many things.” Isn't that the truth?
Designer Oby Ebiokoro, an Afro-Italian artist, designed the Rustic Red Oby Shell Curve Bag.
Oby writes that her favorite thing to make is crochet bags. She also says she learned early on, “… from Primary school and later with the basic foundation, I developed it with self-taught and started designing my own stuff.”
She's shared what she's learned with others via video. “I make designs for my YouTube channel, where I got a lot of feedback from friends who learnt from my videos.”
Oby's designs are amazing and inspiring. What inspires her? “I do get my inspiration from nature. Everything around me can inspire my creativity and designs. Trees shapes, butterfly colours, houses, etc.”
Designer Raffaella Tassoni, an Italian expat in the Netherlands, created the Nana’s Kitchen Tapestry Potholder pattern.
When asked her favorite thing to design, Raffaella says, “This is an easy one for me. I love making home décor projects, especially potholders. And by the way, I don't make holes in my potholders — I don't want to get burned when I am cooking! Immediately below home décor ideas in my top three, there is a very sweet spot for anything with Tunisian crochet. I normally make quite large projects with Tunisian, so in between, I like some quick and fun projects, you know, the quick wins, such as appliqués and accessories.”
She continues, “I started learning how from an illustrated guide that came with the first hook I bought around 4 years ago. In the beginning, I didn't know that crochet videos were a thing, but they definitely helped once I found them on YouTube! Since then, I have been crafting no stop. However, I haven't really taught anyone. I've been trying to convince my boyfriend, but you can imagine I've not been exactly successful with that. To give me some credit as a teacher, though, I'll say that I did teach the little knitting I know to my younger sister!”
And for inspiration, “Mmmh, difficult question. I have read many times of artists who draw inspiration from nature, or fashion, or other things. For me, it's not ‘something’ that inspires me. I'd rather say that it's really just the act of creating that makes me want to create more and more. And then ideas follow! One other thing is my love for anything handmade. So, whenever I need to find a present for someone, I'd rather make something myself. I start thinking, ‘What that person might like?’ And it's usually a cake or a piece, very often both!”
Designer Miroslava Mihalkova is originally from Slovakia but resides in the UK. She designed the gorgeous Rose Dreams Entrelac Shawl pattern.
Miroslava answered our 3 questions by saying, “The number one thing I enjoy designing are shawls; I am fascinated by how different stitches can be put together: lace, texture, and basic to create beautiful and functional pieces.”
She is a video learner and went on to share her talents: “I learnd from YouTube, I have taught a group of colleagues (we established a Monday crochet club during our lunch break), my mum and I taught a few online classes as well.”
“For my own self-published designs, the ideas just come out of nowhere at any time of the day. For designs that I submit to publications, I try to fit my piece around their theme and mood board. Sometimes, I have a bunch of ideas jotted in my notebook and these just need a bit of tweaking to fit into a publication, which streamlines the process, especially if there are multiple deadlines and swatches to work on.”
From every corner (?) of the globe
Ok, first of all, who came up with THAT phrase, because the last time I checked, globes didn’t have corners.
Anyway, I’m completely amazed at the talented designers that share their patterns with us at Happily Hooked. And the fact that they are from all over the world, and have such different tastes is marvelous! It is so cool that crochet brings us all together. Think about it, yarn art is literally the weaving together of loops of yarn with a hook, and that’s exactly what it does with people, as well. Incredible.
You can get all these lovely patterns and more from the October 2020 issue of Happily Hooked Magazine! Or, get EVERY issue of Happily Hooked Magazine and Pattern Pack Pro since the beginning of time. Well, their time. Is it worth it? Here are a few things our community has to say about it:
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Author Info
I've been crocheting since my mother taught me as a little girl. I'm lucky to be working with Happily Hooked and I can't wait to share everything yarny and hooky with you! Yarn over, peeps! Yarn over!
