Basic Crochet Garment Design for First-Time Designers | Podcast Episode #128

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Basic crochet garment design isn’t nearly as difficult as you think.

It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Before you dive into your first design it’s good to have a feel for basic crochet garment design and the ways sweaters, tops, and cardigans can come together. Here to help you understand the basics and get a little extra confidence boost is, Emily, the crochet designer behind Hooked Hazel.

Special Guest

Emily brings many talents to the crochet industry but she really has a knack for designing and making garments. In this episode of The BHooked Podcast, you’ll hear an abundance of her knowledge. She shares her experience with designing garments that are both functional, pretty, and easy to make.

Episode Transcript

Brittany:
Hey there, and welcome to episode 128 of the B.Hooked podcast. You could be listening to just about anything, and you’re sitting here listening to me, and that makes me super happy. So thank you so much for joining me.

This is the place where we love yarn, we love to learn, and we truly believe yarn can do more than just make pretty things. In this instance, we are talking about how yarn can make a really pretty thing, a garment or a wearable.

It was a really long time before I finally had the courage to create my first garment design and I don’t do a ton of these because there are so many moving parts and there’s a lot involved and to be honest I really just enjoy designing accessories. But there’s something so incredible about wearing something that you’ve made.

And I’m sure you have that feeling. You know what I’m talking about because you want to make your first design. So I have a special treat lined up for you today. If you’ve been wanting to make your first garment design and you haven’t been able to get over that hump, whatever that may be, you don’t know exactly what to do. You don’t have the confidence in grading it correctly, but we’re going to address some of those little hiccups today.

You’ll need the know-how of course but you’ll also need the confidence. So to help you with this I’m joined by Emily from Hooked Hazel over on Instagram, someone who brings many skills to the crochet industry but she really has a knack for garment design.

Now, before we get to my chat with Emily, keep in mind you can find the resources for this episode on the show notes page, which is behooked.com slash 128. All right. Are you ready to take that first step towards creating a garment? Let’s get to it.

Emily, hi. Welcome to the show. It’s such a pleasure to have you here.

Emily:
Thanks. I’m excited to be here.

Brittany:
I am very excited to have you here as well. You are… you sort of bring a lot of different skills to the knitting and crochet industry. One of those, you really seem to have a knack for making garments. And I would love to get into a little bit of that. I think it’s a skill that you’ve really mastered.

And hopefully you can help a listener who might be willing to try something, but they’re just not sure how to do a simple garment design.

Emily:
Yeah, I’d love to talk about that. Well, I’m really excited about that.

Brittany:
Before we get into those details, sort of that focus, I’d love to learn a little bit more about how you got into crochet, who taught you, and when was that?

Emily: 3:22
I think how I got into crochet is pretty similar from what I’ve heard from a lot of people. My grandma taught me when I was young, which seems to be a really common thing in our industry, which is really cool.

I think it’s a skill set that’s, you know, passed down from generation to generation. But when I was about seven years old, my grandma taught me to crochet. And so therefore, maybe a year or so when I was young, I crocheted a lot, a lot of single crochet squares, basically.

So then it’s, it’s a thing that I’ve put down and picked up over the years. In middle school then when I was probably 12 there was actually a crochet club at school and I joined it.

Brittany: 4:08
Oh yeah?

Emily: 4:08
Yeah and so that kind of got me going again and um we made um potholders I think was really the only project we made so that year I made I don’t even know probably 20 potholders.

So I did that again for a while. It was a hobby for a while. And in high school, I didn’t really crochet much or in college. But then before my daughter was born, I really wanted to make her a baby blanket.

And since I knew how to make squares, I decided to pick up crochet again and worked on a baby blanket for her and did that. And it was kind of a nice way to pass the time before she was born. and stuff.

So then obviously when she was born, I had trouble keeping up the, um, hobby because at that point it was definitely just a hobby. And so it kind of went on the back burner. I would once in a while, like maybe make a little bit of something or, um, get out my hooks and yarn.

Then it wasn’t until when my daughter, Lara was about eight years old, then, um, she, uh, the Pinterest age, I guess she would look on Pinterest and see cool crochet things. And she would ask like, Oh mom, can you make this? Or can you try to make this?

And so that’s really when I want to say that I got sort of addicted to crochet. So I’ve known for a long time, but it wasn’t until four or five years ago that I really got into it again, like full force, I guess you would say.

Brittany: 5:44
Yeah. Well, it sounds like you had a really good motivator there. Do you?

Emily: 5:48
Yes, for sure.

Brittany: 5:49
Is she asking you to teach her how to do it?

Emily: 5:52
She has asked me a couple of times and I’ll tell you what, it gives me a whole new respect for my grandma because it takes a lot of patience to teach a child how to crochet.

She, she can chain and she knows how to single crochet. But she definitely, she loves art and crafts, but she’s definitely more of a drawer, but we’ve tried. She’s, lately been using that finger loop yarn that you can like finger knit with. She enjoys that.

I think for her, it’s easier to just ask mom to make

Brittany: 6:28
something. Yeah, for now. I think that looped yarn is a really great way to start. It’s one of the coolest things that the yarn industry has come up with lately. I’m really excited about that.

Emily: 6:37
Oh yeah, for sure. It’s awesome.

Brittany: 6:40
So you said at some point it became more. I know that it’s more than just a hobby nowadays. So tell me the story about how all that developed.

Emily: 6:50
Yeah. So it actually was because of Alara. She was wanting these things that she’d see on Pinterest. And I’m sure you remember the mermaid blanket craze that was about then.

And so she really wanted a mermaid blanket. And I thought, okay, I think I can make one of these. it was at that time definitely the most complex thing I’d tried to make. So I, you know, we went and like picked out the yarn and, um, I made her a mermaid blanket.

And of course I took pictures and she on my Facebook page. Um, and pretty soon I had people asking me if I would take orders for those. And so I did and, I took quite a few orders from them around Christmas and I thought, Oh, well, this is like a fun way to do my hobby and, um, maybe at least, you know, make a little money to buy yarn for myself.

Um, so I started doing that and then I started having people invite me to do like area craft shows. And so I thought, well, I can’t really do mermaid blankets for craft shows. So I started doing, to get more into making hats and scarves and headbands and things of that nature.

So I did that and opened up an Etsy shop where I was just doing finished items. And it was a lot of fun. I did two seasons of craft shows, started my Instagram page and a business Facebook page.

And then that’s when I kind of really got opened up to the idea that designing as something that really any crocheter can easily get into before Instagram, I guess I didn’t really realize how many independent designers there are.

Like I had a couple that I would always like go to for patterns, you know, I didn’t really realize how vast the community was. And so I thought, Oh, well maybe I can, you know, actually do something with some of these designs that I’ve been working on for hats and whatnot.

So I started that kind of and it got to the point where because I also work a day job where making finished items was not really feasible for me because, you know, I had a day job. I’m a mom. I have a significant other. And there are only so many hours in a day.

So if I wanted my business to be profitable, I had to evolve. So I kind of started focusing more on designing.

It’s funny because when I was growing up, actually, I always wanted to be a fashion designer. And I would spend hours, like, sketching outfits and, like, looking at fashion magazines and things. And I started kind of realizing, like, oh, wow, I could actually kind of do that with crochet.

It’s totally feasible. So I ended up… To get Hooked Hazelware is now, I actually gave up selling finished items just because… It wasn’t fulfilling in me the creative part of crochet that I love, I guess. Like it was starting to stress me out a little bit.

So I started designing just really simple things and it’s just kind of gone on from there. So

Brittany: 10:12
have you always designed garments or were you sort of focusing on those hats and scarves and that sort of thing just to get into the world of designing and just writing patterns in general?

Emily: 10:24
Yeah. So my very first pattern I ever wrote was a triangle scarf. And from there, I did some hats and things.

I really wanted to do garments. I had crocheted– at that point, I had like crocheted a couple garments for myself and actually even knit a couple garments for myself.

But I– wasn’t sure if I had it in me to design one so I kind of I feel like held myself back from trying I I thought I guess how do I want to say this I in the beginning doubted myself that I could design garments and so I stuck with designing hats and headbands and scarves and stuff and which I still will design things like that but I really wanted to design garments and so I I chatted with some other maker friends and some designers that I know, you know, kind of ask them like, what’s your take on this? Like, do you think, is it crazy if I wanted to design a garment?

And they’re like, no, it’s not crazy. Like go for it, try it. And so I, I did, which is now my main focus. I do more garments than accessories, but I still like to design accessories as well. But garments is definitely where my heart is.

Brittany: 11:36
Yeah, I think that’s something that so many people can relate to as well. I think it’s maybe sort of a prerequisite to have a pattern that’s outside of the world of garments before you dive into it, just so you… get the feel for what it is to write a pattern and what to include in that sort of thing.

But it’s that hump that you have to get over from your comfort zone to like outside your comfort zone. And I, you know, I don’t do a whole lot of garment design myself because of all of what goes into it. And the fear that something will be wrong, that somebody will put a ton of time into a project and then it doesn’t turn out right because something was wrong on the pattern side.

That’s just like an anxiety that I have for myself. So I do tend to design really simple garments as well. But I think it’s not as difficult to design a functional and really pretty piece. It’s not as difficult as it seems. Would you agree?

Brittany: 13:09
Yeah.

Emily: 13:10
And they’re like I said, there’s other that goes into it, you know, with math and making sure it fits different sizes and all that. But it really I think a lot of people and myself included, I had built it up in my head as this impossible thing. But it’s really not.

Brittany: 13:27
And having the confidence in yourself is. to say, yes, this is right. That was my big holdup and still is to some extent today. I know the math that goes into it. And my husband is a math wizard. And so I always have him to bounce things off of to make sure, you know, to check myself. But I think in order to get that confidence that you need to know that you’ve done it correctly, you have to put a couple of designs out there and see for yourself that, yes, you’ve done it right.

Emily: 14:02
Yes, I totally agree with that.

Brittany: 14:05
Well, I think someone listening is probably convinced at this point. They want to design a garment. That’s why they’re listening, but they want to do something basic, just their first simple design. basic garment design. So to sort of ease into that side of the conversation, let’s start with your first garment design because I want to know if it was a huge success or a complete failure and sort of how you worked through that and some of those feelings and emotions we were just talking about.

Emily: 14:36
Okay. My first garment design was actually a very simple halter top. It was like a basically a square front that wraps around laces in the back. Very, very simple. At that point, like I just kind of wanted to dip my toes in, I guess you would say.

Brittany: 14:57
Yeah.

Emily: 14:58
And so I thought this is something easy that I can do. And it was pretty easy. I didn’t at that, at that point in time, I wasn’t, I didn’t have as many extended sizings on patterns as I do now, but I, you know, first made it for my size and, And then I went to craft yarn council and found measurements standards for other sizes and did the math, you know, with, with my gauge and stuff to figure those out, um, and how it would fit. Now I did make some errors then because I had it tested, but I didn’t have it probably as thoroughly tested by as many, um, different body types as I should have. And so that did lead to some pushback for me. And I had to make edits to the pattern after it was published. But it was a good learning experience. It will always be, at least if it wasn’t a complete success, it was something I learned a lot from.

Brittany: 15:58
Yeah, I think it’s great to learn the hard way sometimes, especially because you don’t know what you don’t know. And when you’re getting into something new, that you’ve never done before, there’s a lot of unknowns to that. Who would have known that you need to test it on a bunch of different body types that maybe the measurements aren’t enough for that? So I think that’s a good lesson for somebody listening to say, hey, it’s about more than just the measurements. And you also have to incorporate the end project, the who it’s for aspect.

Emily: 16:36
Yeah, for sure. Kind of like you touched on earlier, like you don’t want someone to spend so much time making something and something not be right. Or I don’t want them to spend time making something and put it on and feel like, well, this doesn’t look good on my body or this doesn’t make me feel good. Or I don’t like the way this looks because I think that’s something that everyone deals with. You know, I mean, we all want to feel good in the clothes we wear day to day, let alone the clothes we spend time making. And especially women. People might buy a special yarn that’s expensive to make something, and they put a lot of time into it. And so it’s definitely I want my designs to be as perfected as possible before it gets to the customer and try to work out all those issues in testing. I’ve learned that over the last year, but that’s like my main goal. I want people to feel good after they put so many– hours into making something that I designed, I want them to be proud of it and be able to show it off.

Brittany: 17:37
Yes. And now, like today, you’ve made a lot of different garment designs. So I feel like you’ve come a really long way since that first design, I’m sure, and your skills, just what you know about designing garments, that testing process, and then the confidence to say, yes, I am hitting the publish on this because I am proud of this garment. I’ve done everything that I can possibly do to make sure it’s perfect for the customer. And… Did that take time or practice or was it something else that made you sort of get over that?

Emily: 18:16
You know, it’s funny because I still sometimes– and I have a wonderful group of testers that I use, but I still sometimes– feel um nervous when I publish a new pattern I mean well not sometimes I mean honestly every time yeah me too it’s like you just hope people will like it and that it works for them but I think once you the more you do it’s like anything else you get better with practice so I know I that I have done so many designs over the last year, year and a half, I know that I am better at this now than I was then. So even though I might get butterflies, objectively, I know, okay, I’m, you know, continuously improving. And I have a group of testers that I really trust that aren’t afraid to dig in and give me that hard feedback when I need it. I, I try really hard to, I’ll use those, but then I also once in a while bring in new testers to get a new perspective on things. Um, I’ve just learned, like I said, Instagram has been so helpful to me because I’ve met so many people and I’ve learned that designers are usually really open and they’re willing to discuss things with you if they have tips or something, um, or to share resources because there are so many free resources out there, um, including your blog, um, in, you know, books about garments and stuff. It’s just, I think that if you put in the work to get better, then you will get better. So I’m still nervous, but objectively I know. Yeah. that it’s okay

Brittany: 20:01
yeah that’s really great advice and that’s something that you really do need to hear getting into something for the first time you have to set that expectation that you’re you’re not going to be perfect the first few times but you will get better but in order to get better you have to keep doing it right so let’s shift to the process now there’s a lot that is involved in designing a garment and there’s more steps that’s involved than you in designing a garment than there is, say, a hat or a scarf or something that’s not nearly as complex. So let’s run through the steps, sort of just a general overview. So somebody who’s looking to get into it for the first time is aware of those differences between writing this pattern versus writing patterns that they have already done in the past. So what’s the first thing that you do when you have an idea for a new wearable?

Emily: 20:58
Okay, I usually… these days I get ideas for wearables kind of from my own closet, not necessarily from the look of something, but how something fits or like the feeling maybe I have, like I have maybe a, you know, a comfortable cardigan and I want to make something that I have that same feeling or I like the cut of the arm or something. And so I think, um, So that’s kind of where I start.

Then I will think about what, what yarn I want to use, like what fiber is going to lend itself well to that. Like whether it’s something that I need, you know, good stuff, stitch definition on, or maybe it’s something, um, that I want to be drapey or, or whatever it is. And so then I will go yarn shopping, which is kind of everyone’s favorite part. So I, you know, whether I go online and shop or, um, or however, go to the store, I’ll order yarn. Usually I will get like a couple options. And one thing I do also try to do is I kind of try to keep my personal yarn stash with some different options that I can try before I order like a big amount.

So I then will swatch. I do a lot of swatching. And just to figure out what stitch pattern I want, And so I will make a bunch of swatches and I actually, a lot of times we’ll like finish off a swatch, cut it, make another one with maybe a different stitch pattern or a different fiber. And I make what I would almost consider to be a mood board in a way. I’ll keep all those swatches together and sketch out my idea. And a lot of times like I’ll write a description of what it is I’m trying to make as well. I might even write down what the stitch pattern is that I’m using and Um, and just like drop myself little notes.

And then I usually try to sleep on it for a day or so, because sometimes I’ve learned, like I used to just jump in and be like, I’m going to start making this with this. I get so excited. And then I maybe would get, you know, 20 rows in and I’m like, I don’t like how this looks. So I have learned as hard as it can be sometimes to plan as much as I can before I start making the actual garment.

So, um, then I actually try to have the pattern kind of, I don’t write it out completely before I make it, but I kind of try to have like a general outline for myself of like, okay, I, I think I need, you know, this many rows or whatever. And I do that based off my gauge swatch. So I, you know, simple example, if there are, you know, five stitches in the swatch, um, for an inch and I need it, you know, say a 40 inch bust, then I know, you know, I just take that, um, five times 40 and that gets me my like biggest part that I need.

So I, I do all the math. I, and I’ll figure out like how, if I want it to be 21 inches long, I’ll, I’ll use that same methodology with my swatch to get that so that I have at least, um, general idea so I’m not sitting here just kind of aimlessly crocheting and trying to figure out if it works because I have like I said I’ve done that in the past and it generally results in a lot of frogging so I try to have a pretty good plan based on that.

So then depending on what kind of garment it is say if it’s like something like a raglan I make sure that I am trying it on a lot as I’m making it or I’m There are different points and different types of garments where you can try it on or look and see how it looks. I’ll even take pictures so that I can look at it later. Because if there’s a problem, I want to be aware of it as it happens, if that makes sense.

Brittany: 22:51
Oh yeah, totally. Because sometimes I get very excited by the making and I’m not thinking to myself about what I’m going to need in the pattern. So I do that.

Emily: 22:58
And then once I finish the garment, I am a big believer. I always block my stuff. I think that really helps. And I will take pictures, not always like necessarily like a full photo shoot, what I would use for the pattern itself. I get pictures, you know, from the front, the back, the sides. My daughter actually helps me out a lot with that.

And that helps me in a few different ways. One, because I want to see, like, does this look good or does it look like it fits how I want it to? Because I want to resolve all those issues before I get it out to my testers, basically.

The whole time I’m making, I try to make notes. I don’t necessarily write out every line as I go, but I do. I will write, you know, to myself, like, okay, five rows of double crochet, Disney stitches. And like, I know I’m making for myself a size medium. And so I, I keep good track of that.

Um, so then I’ll actually, once I finished my garment, I’ll kind of double check that against my notes. And that makes it a lot easier too, because I, there have been times where I got kind of lax about my notes while I was making, because I mean, the making is the fun part. The writing isn’t necessarily the fun part.

Brittany: 26:32
Yeah.

Emily: 26:33
And so I’ll do that. And then once I’m satisfied with how everything looks and I think, you know, my notes line up with the piece, then that’s when I get into the actual pattern writing.

Brittany: 26:45
Okay. So it sounds like you’re making the piece to fit you. And I think that’s a really good tip. So it doesn’t matter what size you are. For me, it makes sense to think I’m going to start with the small because that’s the smallest size and then it would be easier to grade it up from there. But I think the better practices like what you do make it to fit yourself and then modify the pattern up or down, whatever you have to do in order to grade for those different sizes.

Emily: 27:19
Right. And the reason I actually do that is because… I don’t want to design something that I wouldn’t wear. And it also is honestly from like an Instagram sort of perspective. Again, um, I have really in the last year tried to get better about putting my face to my brand. And so I think the easiest way for me to do that is to make garments for myself and then model them on my page.

Brittany: 27:49
Yeah, and I feel too that if you wouldn’t wear it yourself, you would never be okay with hitting publish on something.

Emily: 27:57
Right, right. I totally agree with that. I did one time actually design– and that’s another thing that I’ve learned. I designed a bralette one time just because I– honestly, I don’t even know why because I don’t really wear that often. sort of thing. I mean, I work in an office all day. So 90% of my wardrobe has to be things I can wear in an office, not necessarily anything fancy, but you know, yeah, not a bralette. And I designed one, but I never took finished pictures of myself in it. And it wasn’t a successful pattern for that reason. I mean, it was horrible. And my testers did a really great job with it. But I kind of– it’s not a design that I was passionate about because it wasn’t something that I was ever going to

Brittany: 28:43
Yeah. I think that’s really important for somebody who’s looking to design a garment specifically to sell or publish that pattern. But if you’re creating something for yourself, you’re just– sort of doing your own thing, then of course you’re going to make something that you want. And I feel like that’s like the right mindset to be in when you make your first garment design, no matter if you’re going to publish it or not, just start with what you love and what you like and what you want to wear.

Emily: 29:13
Oh yeah, for sure. And I think that also helps you have your own sort of style and it kind of sets you apart from other designers because Because a lot of times I’ll hear people say, oh, there’s only so many ways to make a sweater. There’s only so many ways, you know, to make, I don’t know, a sweater, T-shirt, whatever. And that’s true to some extent. But at the same time, I feel like if you’re being true to yourself and what you like and designing from your heart with what you want to make, your designs will stand out. They’ll eventually get to the point where it sort of has your signature and someone can look at that and be like, okay. Emily designed that. I know that. Yeah,

Brittany: 29:59
I completely agree. So as far as the pattern writing process, I know that’s definitely not the fun part, but it is something that you do have to put a little bit of time and effort into if you are going to publish the pattern. So let’s fast forward to the point where you have all the details that you need. You know that you need the basics, the name, the gauge, the tools, the yarn requirements and then the basic steps involved. What happens after that?

Emily: 30:29
So I now grade all my patterns from an extra small up to a 5X. So there is a lot of math involved. For me personally, what I do is I, in Excel, I dump in all my information for the medium that I made myself. And like I sort of mentioned before, I use craft yarn. Yarn Council standard measurements as my starting guide. So then I, based off my gauge, I use that same formula that I use to figure out my own size to figure out the sizes or the stitches and rows for the other sizes.

So I literally have an Excel spreadsheet that across the top has each size. And then I’ll have like rows that say, you know, like how many stitches need to be in the bust, how many rows need to be, you know, from the shoulder to the bottom of the armpit. And that’s all math driven. And like I said, I use Excel because that’s what I use at work and I’m really comfortable with it. And it’s really easy to just make yourself a spreadsheet that you can update.

So I do that. And so that, but those it’s important. Those are only like my starting points because like we said before, um, Just because two people can be a medium, but have totally different measurements and fall outside those standards. So that’s a good starting point.

So I then, I will use those starting points. And then there are some things like I’ve learned over the years that maybe, you know, I want, I’ve learned like the, okay, on certain sizes, maybe I want to make an adjustment. at the bust or maybe at the length or something like this. And so I will do that. And then I write it out, the pattern with the stitch counts for every size, the instructions for every size.

I mean, then at that point, it goes to my tester. And I now am very dead set on I have to have at least two. I always welcome having at least three for every size just because I want to know that these instructions are going to work for everyone.

Brittany: 32:48
Yeah, I think that’s really great advice there too. Now, one question somebody might have in their mind is how do you acquire the testers and then do you have to pay them or is it something that they do for free?

Emily: 33:04
There are a lot of different resources for testers. There are testing groups on Ravelry. There are testing groups on Facebook. So I had used those in the past and sort of gained, I guess, a list of people that I trust.

So I actually now have my own Facebook group for testers and I post testing calls there. And then if there are sizes that need filled in, then I will post it elsewhere to get those tests. Or sometimes I post on Instagram, but I haven’t ever really paid testers.

Now that being said there have been some patterns where maybe it was a little bit more complex because truth be told I think we do ask a lot of testers like it I mean make no mistake testing is definitely a job but I have in the past given them like a choice of they obviously get the finished pattern for free but then sometimes I’ll give them maybe like a pattern or two extra from my shop of their choice and Just because I try to be cognizant of the fact that they are doing a lot of work for me and that I appreciate them and that I couldn’t publish patterns without them. But no, I haven’t ever paid them.

Brittany: 34:20
Okay. I was just curious about… You know, I’m sure a listener would be curious about that, too. Now, do you use a pattern tester in place of tech editing? Is that something that is common or? I

Emily: 34:35
think so. I had never used tech editors until actually fairly recently. They’re definitely two different things. I can, you know, before I wasn’t really sure what the point of a tech editor was. until chatting with some other designer friends about what a tech editor could really offer me.

Now I know that it’s definitely worth it. It’s an added cost for sure, but I think that if you really want your garments, your patterns to have a good reputation, a tech editor is a really great investment because they will catch errors that a tester won’t.

They don’t make the item you know they just Check and make sure the math is right and all your formatting and everything. And those are things some testers might catch, but a tech editor is looking at those for all sizes through the whole pattern.

Make sure you’re consistent. Like if you’re using a comma on one line for a part of it, make sure you’re doing it for all the lines or make sure the things that should be bold are bold. I think those are the little touches to your pattern as well that… make them look more professional.

And especially if you ever get to the point where you’re submitting patterns for yarn companies or magazines or other publications, those are the things that they are looking for in your patterns. And so it’s a good practice, I think, to do that.

Brittany: 36:10
Yeah. So maybe not a true requirement, especially for the first garment, but a good to have if possible, if that resource is available to you.

Emily: 36:20
Yes, for sure.

Brittany: 36:21
Okay. So I reached out to my Instagram community yesterday. This is something fun that I’m doing on Instagram stories because I know a lot of the listeners of the show come directly from Instagram. And it’s just neat to be able to answer their specific questions. So I have four questions that I would love to have you ring in on so that you can help these four makers who are on Instagram. So the first one comes from… ITK Cuties, and they ask, how are you sure on sizing? I’ve been wanting to design a garment, but very unsure.

Emily: 36:59
Oh, I know her. Yeah? Yeah, that’s awesome. So, you know, that was one of my biggest stumbling blocks when I got started with garments. I would always worry about if I got it wrong, like, oh, I don’t want to get this wrong, and then, you know, someone will have a bad experience with my pattern.

So I think I’ve said this a couple of times now, craft yarn council is a really great starting point. And I use their standard measurements when I’m starting and that’s where I go every time. So they have standard measurements for women, children, men, and I start there and then I’d let, you know, I really take my testers feedback into consideration. If they’re saying to me, you know, Emily, like, I have this bus size and this isn’t working for my bus size, then I know I have to rework that. It’s definitely a process, but it’s, I think, the best way for me to approach that.

Brittany: 38:03
Yeah. So it sounds like having a tester is, or multiple testers, is really the best way to know that you can be confident in your sizing because you could have the math right all day long, but like we were saying, if the body type isn’t right or something like that, then you really can’t be totally confident. So I think, yeah, pattern testers, that’s the way to go.

Emily: 38:30
Yeah, for sure.

Brittany: 38:33
Now our second question comes from Safa Crochet. She wants to know some tips for sizing the garments and different sizes from the same designs. This kind of goes into that pattern grading that we have already talked about before, but do you have any other tips that perhaps we haven’t mentioned about the grading of it?

Emily: 38:55
Yeah, I would say, so there are a couple different things that I’ve got hung up on in the past that I maybe haven’t wish I had had the answer to it when I first started making the garment.

Um, for example, like one of my recent designs was a sweater and I, you know, did the math, but some of my testers were saying that the arm holes were too big. And I’m saying here, like I did the math, I did the math, like this is, you know, like this should be right. Like my formula is right.

And I was kind of understand what the problem was. Well, the problem was like, you know, The bust increases didn’t necessarily correlate with the body increases. And so things like that, sometimes you have to take into account not only the measurements themselves, but how do you get from, say, the bust measurement to the hips? Or if you increase so many rows for a bust, are you too long for the armholes? Which was my problem, so I had to work on that.

So I think a lot of times… a stumbling block is that you are thinking like, okay, I’m, I’m hitting this measurement. I’m hitting this measurement. I’m hitting this measurement, but you have to think like, how am I transitioning to that? How am I, how am I getting from the one to the other? You want to make sure like you start so that your neck hole is big enough, you know, that you don’t hit it or that it’s not too big. It’s just kind of thinking of the garment as like, not just a bunch of different measurements, but how those measurements fit together.

Brittany: 40:28
Yeah, that’s really great advice. That’s something that you wouldn’t really know until you’ve made that mistake.

Emily: 40:35
Oh, for sure, which I have, and I’ve made all those mistakes. I once did have a tester who couldn’t get her cardigan over her head. Or sweater, I mean, not cardigan, but

Brittany: 40:44
yeah. Yeah, that’s no good. Okay, so our third question comes from, and I may pronounce this wrong, so if I do, I’m totally sorry, Unwind by Luane. how to find models for your makes and best ways to take pictures of them modeled

Emily: 41:01
and flat. Okay. So I normally make my sample piece for myself. So I am usually my own model. I can sympathize with maybe feeling uncomfortable being your own model because that was a big struggle of mine for a long time. And to be honest, I still struggle with that. But for adult female patterns, I model them myself 99% of the time. I also sometimes wrote my daughter in and make her model if it’s like something for kids.

Um, that being said, I know there are people who use outside models and I think that’s fine. There’s not anything wrong with that. Um, I have a couple of times had my, one of my friends model for me and I think it’s just reaching out to people. I know there are Facebook groups that can set that sort of thing up as well. But I think just asking people you know is a good place to start.

As far as how to take modeled pictures, I like to take modeled pictures outside when possible just because the light is normally better because I don’t like the harshness of artificial lighting.

Brittany: 42:13
Yeah.

Emily: 42:13
And so… We’ll go outside. Usually my daughter is my photographer. I also have a tripod that I use like when she’s not around or if she’s not wanting to help mom that day. So I try to, you know, not in harsh sunlight, like a lot of times. like there’s one building where I know there’s shade and it’s a nice white brick building. So I’ll take pictures there.

I definitely try to always make sure, like I said, that I’m in shade and I will just have her take pictures from like all angles and I’ll, you know, take pictures while I’m walking. And I, it’s just really kind of a process and I’ll just look at them as we go.

Now for flat lays, it’s funny because I kind of struggle with flat lays because I always think Other people have such interesting flat lays, and mine are always kind of just stark, but that is, I guess, kind of my own personal style that I started doing or done on my feed for a while now.

I just try to, again, I take most of my pictures outside. I have a big whiteboard that I take out. and arrange my stuff on or, you know, white fur rug or whatever and do it in the shade again. Some people can do it inside. I just say natural light is best and, you know, play with different angles.

Maybe you want to take it from straight ahead. Maybe you want to kind of get it, you know, from a different angle and really play with that texture. You can lay it completely flat or maybe you want to, I don’t know, and move it around in some way so that you can see how drapey it is. I think just experimenting is really key.

Brittany: 43:50
Yeah, I would totally agree. I know for every one photo that passes the test that I would actually publish somewhere, I’ve probably taken at least 20 others. Oh, yeah. It takes quite a few snapshots, and the really bad ones I throw away so I’m not wasting any storage space or anything like that.

But… especially when you’re taking photos of yourself. Now, I don’t have a photographer that I use. I don’t have a helper here. I work from home and I’m here pretty much by myself all day. So I have a remote to my camera and that was the best purchase I ever made. It was like a $12 purchase. That was a game changer for my photos.

And I typically will take my photos indoors because we don’t have a really great setup that I can think of that would have a really nice backdrop. But I have two windows that are pretty bright. In my room, I get some really good sunlight here, and I use white sheer curtains to soften some of the harshness. And that has worked really, really well.

So if you have a good window, and even if you have sheers, all the better. I think you can still get some really great photos that way.

The other thing I want to chime in on about the flat lays, I haven’t tried this myself, but I have seen some really great pictures of people demonstrating what their garment looks like by having it on a hanger and just having it on a blank wall, like if you have a hook or something on your wall, and it looks really good.

Emily: 45:32
Yeah, I always love those pictures. I think they are interesting and it shows how the garment will look worn. And I always think they look like artsy kind of. Does that make sense? Yeah, it totally does. I love those kind of photos.

Brittany: 45:45
Yeah, I love that too. Now, our last question comes from Divine Debris, Amber. We’ve had her on the show before, so that’s how I can call her out by name. She wants to know, what do you know now that you wish you knew before you started designing? I think that’s a great question to end on.

Emily: 46:03
Yeah. Oh, I love Amber. Um, there are probably a lot of things that I wish that I would have known. I think I touched on this a little bit to take better notes when you’re designing. Uh, like I said, it’s something that I still kind of struggle with, but I’m getting better at, but basically the more information you can have written down before you start actually writing the pattern is really helpful.

It’s hard to have to go back and sort of deconstruct that piece from the end and remember what you did. So it’s just easier to just take the notes as you go.

Also, the one that I think was kind of hardest for me to get over when I first started designing patterns, I thought that something had to be complicated to be good. And that’s just not true. I always thought like, oh, I need to use the most complex stitch pattern I can, or I need to use a lot of different stitches or, you know, or it has to have some crazy different shape, but that’s not true.

I mean, you can create beautiful functional pieces with simple, simple shapes, simple stitches, and they’re just as special as something that has more complex stitches. Yeah.

Brittany: 47:13
Yeah, yeah. I think that’s a really great starting point. So kind of pulling from what we’ve mentioned today, I think the first thing to realize is that you can make a functional and really great garment from scratch. basic shapes and to pull from inspiration from your closet take really good notes because it is really hard to work back from that and even then I know for me personally it kills my confidence because I’m second guessing whether or not I reverse engineered that correctly it’s just better to just not even let that happen so take good notes get some pattern testers and And just start. I think that’s like the next first step for somebody.

Get over the fears. It’s not super easy, but you can do it. And I think that you would agree to that too.

Emily: 48:07
Yes, 100%.

Brittany: 48:10
Well, this has been a really insightful conversation. I’m really excited about what you were able to share and how real it was talking about your first experience garment and how it was a success, but there were some hiccups and you worked through those. And now you’ve designed, how many garments do you think now? Like tons of them? I

Emily: 48:33
think I’ve published around 12 garments, but I have some others that haven’t, that I’ve designed that haven’t been published yet.

Brittany: 48:41
Okay. So you are… continuously making progress and it sounds like you’re you love doing it otherwise you wouldn’t continue to work on garments so I think that’s inspiration for a listener but if they want to connect with you after hearing today’s episode where’s the best place for them to go I

Emily: 49:02
pretty much live on Instagram these days so you can always reach out to me hook days on Instagram

Brittany: 49:09
Wonderful. I will have that linked in the show notes as well. And Emily, thank you so much. This has been so much fun. Yes, I’ve had a great time.

Emily: 49:18
Thanks for having me.

Brittany: 49:20
All right. That was Emily from Hooked Hazel and you can find her on Instagram at Hooked Hazel to see some of those designs she mentioned and to connect with her online. As she said, she lives on Instagram and I’m sure she would love to connect with you.

Well, it’s pretty clear that having the confidence to hit publish on that first design is a key ingredient to creating a basic crochet garment. We all know that confidence comes from practice and, well, it also comes from community. So reach out to fellow crocheters on Instagram or Facebook or whatever platform you enjoy most.

Now, if you’ve already published a crochet garment before and you have a tip that wasn’t covered here today, well, I would absolutely love it if you could share that tip in the comment section of the show notes page, bhooked.com/128. I think that’ll be a really great way for listeners in the future to get even more tips about creating their first basic garment.

All right. Thank you so much for that. And be sure to subscribe if you haven’t done so already, especially if you’re a blogger or a designer. Next week, you’ll get to hear from April at OTH Crochet Nook about mastering Instagram for makers. It’s a good one. You won’t want to miss it. But until then, have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you then. Bye-bye.