The Fibre Co. is proud to present our first crochet collection By Hook. We are pleased to have collaborated with a group of very talented designers for this collection, and to share their design stories with you here on the blog.
Devon-based designer Rosina Northcott of Zeens and Roger has created a beautiful crochet shawl for the By Hook collection. We wanted to find out how she fell in love with the craft.
“I learned lots of crafts as a child but didn’t move far beyond knitting wonky squares and crocheting messy chains. I got more into sewing as a teenager when I worked in a fabric shop. For a long time there were years spent not doing anything crafty at all. Eventually I came back to yarn crafts after having my first baby. With the help of YouTube, I moved beyond the crochet chain and quickly became obsessed!”
The Design Process
“Designing has been a natural progression. I don’t think there has ever been a pattern that I have dutifully followed to the letter. Breaking the rules can lead down many new paths to explore, which is one of my favourite things about crochet. The wondrous thing about being a crochet addict is that you can always make fun tweaks and changes to patterns to come up with something new. The more you do that, the more ideas you get. Eventually your own unique designs are born.”
Putting pencil to paper is crucial in Rosina’s design process – she’s an avid sketcher and note-taker.
“It starts with lots and lots of sketching and as little swatching as I can get away with. I am not a fan of swatching! Because of my increased interest in garment design, I’m having to force myself to swatch more and more. I am crossing my fingers that I will come to accept it, and possibly even have fun with it.”
“I sketch a lot because I can constantly move my ideas around and build on them. I enjoy looking back at old drawings because no doubt it will trigger a new concept to explore.”
“I love notebooks for writing everything down and have different ones for different stages. Once I have moved away from sketching, I move on to a different book for the final “nice” sketches and yet another to start making notes about hook sizes, the yarns I’ve tried, and gauge of the dreaded swatches. Notes get written before I force myself to type instructions on the PC, which I dislike even more than swatching!”
The yarn and fibres have to be considered in the process, of course.
“Yarn informs so many of the choices a designer makes. Different fibres stretch in different ways, they affect stitch definition, and can create different textures. It greatly affects the intended look and feel of a design. The more yarn and fibres one plays with, the more you can develop an understanding of what will work well. I want to do the yarn justice. Having said that, I am not interested in steadfast rules and I am curious to play and experiment to see what makes me happy.”
Perpetual Dawn Shawl
When it came to working with Meadow for her design for the By Hook collection, Rosina knew the effect she was after.
“With lace weight yarn I think drapey is the way to go, especially for a summer shawl where you want something light and floaty. I knew I wanted simple granny-like motifs so that the make was relaxing and mindful. Working on smaller motifs is ideal for summer because you haven’t got huge swathes of fabric heating up your lap.”
“Whilst this shawl would look fantastic in all one shade, I love working with flashes of colour. Contrast colours add extra dimension and draw attention.”
“I particularly enjoy the hues of Perpetual Dawn; they immediately transport me to lazy country mornings where a large drapey shawl is essential for wrapping around the shoulders as you head downstairs to make an early morning tea. Colours represent green meadows of long grass, drying into golden stems against a light blue sky. A shawl like that should definitely have tassels so that they dance as you move!”
Inspirations
Being open to purpose, a sense of place and unexpected beauty has kept Rosina’s designs fresh.
“Inspiration comes from all sorts of places. My favourite ideas are often the ones that appear in my head from nowhere. I doubt very much that it truly is “nowhere,” I think we’re all subconsciously influenced by our surroundings. But it might be a holiday where the weather was warm and inviting, or the prettiest art deco tea set. Perhaps it was a bonkers conversation I’ve had with a best friend. All of a sudden you’re presented with an image of a design that you just have to make!”
“A project should satisfy either a need for comfort or a desire to try new ideas. I find comfort in my favourite stitches and I love to revisit them in lots of different ways. I also love a project that provides an instant colour hit to liven the spirits.”
“Working with different palettes is a must! Different fibres can be fascinating to work with too. I love feeling silky wools glide through my fingers as I work, I would choose these over unforgiving cottons any day!”
“Ultimately, I love working on lots of different crochet, but it almost always has to have a purpose for me to enjoy it. Keeping warm is the ultimate goal so favourites include anything that does that: shawls, mittens, hats and blankets. All with lots of colours in beautiful blends of yarn. And I’m finding myself drawn to garments more and more. Crochet has so much to offer; we don’t explore its capabilities half as much as we should or could, but I am up for the challenge.”
Desert Island Projects
Her love of experimentation seems infectious and shows no signs of letting up.
“My desert island crochet project would be anything stripey! And perhaps Corner to Corner. It’s a really versatile stitch because effectively, you can draw with it. That’s fabulous and creates no end of different avenues to go down. I can also find lots of loopholes with C2C because you can crochet many different stitches working on the diagonal, and that’s all C2C is!”
By Hook
By Hook, a first for The Fibre Co, is a summer crochet collection featuring laidback layers and pretty-yet-practical accessories from top designers. All five beginner-friendly designs were inspired by wildflowers, picnics, and the magical light of golden hour. Think long, lazy afternoons spent outdoors in the sunshine.
The chosen palette of Meadow and Luma yarns includes sky blues, botanical greens and pops of warm bright tones like flashes of meadow flowers in long, swishing grass. Lighter natural fibres and airy stitch patterns result in a collection of easy-to-wear complementary crochet pieces perfect for sunnier days. These patterns are suitable for crocheters looking for a new adventure, and knitters who may be new to the craft.
Perpetual Dawn Shawl
The pattern is part of our By Hook Crochet Collection and is also available as a kit that includes the PDF pattern, 4 hanks of The Fibre Co. Meadow yarn and a free project bag.
If you are crocheting the Perpetual Dawn Shawl, we would love to see it! Please tag us @thefibrecompany on Instagram and @thefibreco on Facebook so we can admire your beautiful project!
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