Finding Yarn When It’s Less Available In Your Area | Podcast Episode #140

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Do you have trouble finding yarn where you live?

If craft stores and yarn shops are few and far between it can really limit your creativity and motivation to start new crochet or knitting projects. You’re certainly not alone.

Special Guest

In this episode of The BHooked Podcast, you’ll hear from Caitie Moore, a talented designer and crochet addict located in Cape Town, South Africa where yarn resources are a bit limited. In order to grow in her craft and pursue her passion as a designer, Caitie had to be resourceful to create patterns and projects she loved. She shares tips for sourcing and finding yarn as well as yarn substitution tips she picked up over the years. We chat about ordering online as well as some clever projects for those one or two special hanks in your stash that weren’t easy to get.

Episode Transcript

Hi there! Welcome to episode 140 of the B.Hooked Podcast. I’m your host, Brittany. If you’re brand new to the show, welcome. It’s a joy to have you here. If you are a lover of yarn and crochet and knitting and everything that comes with that… You’re in the right place. And if you’ve been around here for a while, well, hey there, my friend. I’m so glad you’re joining me today. And I think you’ll really love today’s episode.

Now, this was one of those chats where it was just like two friends talking about the thing they love. So whether you’re a designer, a maker, a blogger, or none of those things, just somebody who really enjoys crochet, I know you’ll find something valuable in today’s show.

So I had the chance to chat with Caitie from Thorsby Cottage. I’ll have all of her information in the show notes, by the way, so you can connect with her after hearing the episode. But I found her to be incredibly inspiring because not only is she a very talented designer, but she’s also somebody who has to be incredibly resourceful with finding the tools, the yarn that she needs for her projects and her designs.

So we talked quite a bit about that, her story, how she got into crochet. And then we sort of geek out a little bit about granny squares and the types of projects that we like to create with them. So it really is just a fun conversation between two people who love crochet and who love yarn. And I’m so glad that you get to be a little fly on the wall to hearing that chat.

So before we get to it, there are a couple of resources that Catie mentions. She’s got a couple of books coming up here recently featuring granny squares. And so I will have that information in the show notes page for this episode. You can find that at behooked.com slash 140.

And let’s just get to it, shall we? Here’s Catie from Thorsby Cottage.

Brittany: Caitie, welcome to the Be Hooked podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Catie: Thank you so much for having me. It’s wonderful to be here.

Brittany: It is a wonderful pleasure. I am so excited about this conversation because I know we’ll get into some things that are a real struggle for a lot of people. There are certainly listeners outside the US who I’m sure are going through some of this themselves, and I think you’re sort of like a great shining light in the community and I’m just really glad to share some of the stuff that you have going on and some of the solutions that you have to some of the problems and struggles that you’ve had recently. I am just excited about this.

Let’s start off though with a little bit about you. I would love to give people a chance just to hear how you got into crochet.

Caitie: Wow. So I learned how to crochet when I was about 12 during a craft class that we had at school. And I’d made one project. It was a little granny square knee blanket. And that was all that I did. I only had one crochet hook at the time. And I put it down and carried on with my life.

Then I took on a very non-straight career path, I suppose. I know that you’ve got a background in science as well, which is really cool. It’s a lovely point to connect on. I did a master’s in science, studied for seven years, got to the end of my seven years of study, and then went into the working world and worked completely unrelated to the science degree that I studied. I was in software development.

At that time, I fell pregnant with my son and decided—and I think this origin story is probably similar to a lot of the other designers that are out there—but I wanted to make something for my son. I’ve always been someone who’s enjoyed making things, whether it’s making and baking and cooking in the kitchen or painting something or, in this case, crocheting.

Yeah, so I picked up my hook, my one little hook, and delved into the world of amigurumi and made some little soft toys for my son. And yeah, so that’s how I got back into crocheting. And that’s how Thorsby Cottage was born.

Brittany: Wonderful. So how long ago was that?

Caitie: That was, so my son was born in 2016 and I started probably about six months before he was born. So probably end of 2015, but Thorsby Cottage probably started in 2016.

Brittany: Gotcha. Okay. So there was quite a bit of a break between when you first learned and when you sort of picked it back up again. Was it difficult to sort of relearn or was it like riding a bike and you just picked it up and you knew exactly what to do?

Caitie: A bit of both, actually. So we’ve got some knitters in the family, but no one who crochets. So I don’t have a grandparent or anything like that who I could ask to teach me. My mum is really, really crafty, and she does all sorts of amazing things like jewellery design and painting, but fibre arts, she does not do. So I had no one that I could really ask to.

Thank goodness for YouTube because, man, I learned a lot by just watching tutorials and reading blog posts and things like that. So, yeah, that helped because I think at school I hadn’t learned how to do single crochet. I had just done very, very standard chain stitch and double crochet granny squares. So, yeah. Took a bit of time to get back into it.

Brittany: Yeah, I bet. So tell me about this blanket. What did it look like? Was it a granny square blanket or was it sort of like rows back and forth?

Caitie: So it was red, white and blue. Just simple, simple granny squares, probably about four or five rounds with each square. And they would join together very haphazardly. I sadly don’t have the blanket anymore. We used it for a puppy and then it sort of, I think it got extra holey and got shipped off to Goodwill or to the garbage if it wasn’t suitable for Goodwill. So yeah.

Brittany: Yeah, that’s really cool. I love to hear about some of those early projects because I feel like they do tell quite a bit of a story.

Caitie: They absolutely do. Yeah, especially like a granny square blanket. I think there’s something really that really draws us in with a granny square blanket. It’s sort of like almost like an icon for crochet. When somebody who doesn’t crochet thinks about crochet, I feel like they picture a granny square blanket that was in their family at some point.

And it’s just really cool that we can continue to keep that tradition going. And even though you don’t have that blanket anymore, I’m sure you have several that are still within your family and that you can pass on.

Brittany: Yeah, absolutely. There’s definitely something very iconic about the granny square. Although my first blanket really, it was full of holes that weren’t supposed to be there with dropped, you know, bad stitches and poor joining and all that. So all I can say is I’ve lived a lot and I wish that I had kept it so that I could show people, you know, your first granny square versus what you can do now.

Caitie: Yes, me too. There are so many projects that I started myself, like when I first learned, and they just looked terrible. And the perfectionist in me didn’t keep a lot of those. I do have a couple.

The first time I ever tried to make anything other than just like a washcloth or a basic square, I wanted a pair of boot cuffs. And that was a really big challenge for me because I was not only trying new stitches, but I was going into the world of shaping and I crocheted these in the round, like a round tube kind of situation. So the join is all messy and they weren’t nearly big enough because there’s no stretch to them.

I used a stitch that was—well, I guess it was really more of a yarn hook combination—but it just didn’t have any stretch to it. So I wasn’t even able to wear them. And they’re kind of a train wreck. They were like this weird orange color because I had some yarn leftover from a wreath that I made, like a fall wreath that I wrapped with this yarn. So I probably wouldn’t have had an outfit to wear them with anyways.

But I kept this wonky little boot cuff. And I’m going to have to share a picture of it because it is so not my best work. But I sort of cherish it because I can look back and see the progress, see where I came from. And I think that’s so important for a lot of people, especially when you’re first getting into the craft.

You look at your work. And if you’re anything like me, you might be a little disgusted and say, “Oh, this is awful. I’m so bad at this.” But it’s really just part of the learning process. And you’re not bad at it. You’re just figuring it out.

Brittany: Absolutely. And you’ve got to start somewhere. I think I can’t remember who wrote the book or who talks about it, but there’s that whole concept about 10,000 hours that you need to put into something to master a craft, whether it’s playing the piano or, you know, whatever.

And I think so often people, particularly with Instagram, they look at all these beautifully curated pictures and go, “Wow, oh, I don’t know that I could ever do that.” And there’s such a big part of me that wants to just shout out and say, “No, you can.”

Everybody starts somewhere. Everybody starts with that awkward long chain where all the loops are uneven. And, you know, you got to start somewhere. It’s baby steps.

Caitie: Yeah. Exactly. Just finding the courage, I guess, to sort of power through that and maybe hiding those projects that you’re not super proud of right now. Then you can go back to them later and say, yep, they were right—not that we’re trying to be right—but, you know, we’ve sort of lived that. We understand. And that is certainly the case, I know, for me, for you, and for a lot of other people.

Brittany: Yeah.

Now, you said Thorsby Cottage started in around 2016. I would love to know a little bit about that because a lot of times our ideas for starting things like this, they change, they evolve. Like for Be Hooked Crochet, for example, it started out as an Etsy shop.

Yeah, it is no longer an Etsy shop, although I’m pretty sure you could, if you tried, I’m pretty sure you could find the shop still there. I don’t think it was properly shut down, but it is so not like that today. It’s completely different. And I’m just interested to hear your story and how that started, what you thought it would be and how that compares to what it is today.

Caitie: Yeah. So I also started out with an Etsy shop. After I designed those first few toys that I was talking about for my son, a friend of mine saw them and she said to me, “Well, why don’t you start an Etsy shop?” She had one selling digital illustrations.

And to be honest, I’d never heard of Etsy. I didn’t know what it was. And if I had heard of it, it was just for people in America to buy stuff. So it wasn’t relevant to me. And I realized that we could actually sell something digitally.

So I loaded up my—I think I had probably two patterns to start off with—and decided to start a blog at the same time. And surprising to me, people liked what I put forward and people liked my designs and were showing a huge amount of support.

So it kind of blossomed from there. I was also a bit late to the Instagram game. There is this massive community of people around the world who have similar interests to me.

I was a bit of an outlier in my social group. Everyone would kind of refer to me as the granny because I would sit and work with yarn. And it was just so encouraging and exciting to see this massive community of people who were all knitting and crocheting and creating and making.

And so that really inspired me to just push forward with Thorsby Cottage because there’s just this international audience and this international community.

So that’s, yeah, that’s kind of where it’s going. And it’s amazing just with the interwebs, the opportunities that come around. So commissions for magazines that are international, for books, for magazines, all sorts of things—for designs, it’s really very exciting.

So I don’t know that I have a firm plan going forward about how Thorsby Cottage will be in the next five years. I think it’s already, my mind has been blown about where it’s gone to now. We take it one step at a time.

Brittany: Yeah, I am all for that. Now, I love to plan and I will do anything and everything to map out the perfect day, the perfect week, the perfect month and year. And what I find is that although it is important to have that for me set forward, just so I have an idea of where I want to go, it’s always a little bit different than I imagine.

And that’s something I’ve certainly learned this year, probably more than any year so far, the importance of being flexible and letting your blog, your business, your Etsy shop, whatever it be, letting that sort of guide the way in a sense.

I know for me, not having an Etsy shop anymore, I am primarily driven by the needs of the people who are in my community. I know that my place is really to help people improve their skills or to learn them. And that’s something I’m really passionate about, but really they help guide the way and give me feedback and tell me what it is they need and what they want from me.

And that’s a really great feeling. But with that comes the need for flexibility. And I think that’s really important for anybody who’s maybe starting a blog or a maker business and maybe they don’t have an idea for it.

I think it’s okay to not have a grand plan mapped out. But would you say that it’s about finding the happy medium between what makes you happy and what makes your community happy?

Caitie: Oh, absolutely. So I… As a school kid and as an adult as well, I don’t break the rules. I’m very law-abiding. At school, I never got into detention. I never got into trouble. I’m goody two-shoes.

But when it comes to my business, I’ve broken quite a few rules that all the sort of big business-y people say that you should do.

So, for example, Instagram. Everyone says you’ve got to post however many times a day, a week, or whatever at this time, at that time. And I have found that if I let my business take over me and run me, that it sucks the joy out of what I’m doing.

And so my mom always says to me, “Don’t let anything or anyone steal your joy.” And so when I find I’m in a place where I feel pressured, just self-imposed pressure of what I should be designing next and how often I should be putting out blog posts or Instagram posts or whatever, I take a step back and go, “Okay, hang on. Why am I doing Thorsby Cottage? I’m doing it because it’s a place for me to express myself. And it’s a place that I find tremendous joy.”

And so I have to make sure to put measures in place that the thing that I’m trying to create joy from doesn’t steal my joy. Does that make sense?

Brittany: Yeah, it totally does. And I know, I completely understand that is a balancing act too.

Caitie: Absolutely. And do you find yourself—I love routines and I really like that—I don’t even know the right word—I really like having a plan and having all of that stuff in place and having a routine. But every now and then I have to shake that up a little bit.

Do you ever get bored or feel a little bit stale with the things that you’re doing? And this can happen a lot with projects. Like say you start a project, it’s a bigger one and you were really excited about it at first and then you’re not so excited after several hours, maybe halfway through.

And certainly for aspects of a blog or a business, you make commitments to do certain things and you’re really fired up about it. And eventually you sort of lose steam a little bit.

And I feel like that is such a natural part of the process. And knowing what you just said, having the—

Brittany: Yeah, absolutely. And just to clarify, it’s not like every day that I work on my business is sunshine and roses. There are certainly days of frustration and days where I question my decisions or question why I’m doing this particular project or whatever.

But as you say, to have that reason why I’m doing it as the core of it, to come back to that and that be the reason—the thing that keeps me grounded in my business—that’s really important to me.

And also just to add, I’m very fortunate to have a very supportive family and a supportive husband. So it’s not like I have to be burning the midnight oil to put food on the table because I do understand that for many people, their businesses are their entire livelihood.

And I understand that with that comes different decisions and, you know, you can’t just be all rainbows and unicorns when you try to run a business like that. So I do completely respect that.

Brittany: For sure, yes. I think it’s such a privilege to be in this position—where we can say we’re business owners and we get to wake up every day and do what we love. I never want to take that for granted, because honestly, if I had to go back into the workforce, I think I’d be unemployable! After working for myself for a few years, I just… I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Caitie: Yeah, I’m with you on that.

Brittany: Now, I think you have a really interesting perspective that not everyone in the crochet community hears about often. You’re located outside the U.S., and with that comes some unique challenges—things that folks here in the States, including myself, don’t always think about. But I know our international listeners will completely relate. One of those struggles is access—to tools, yarn, even just the basics we sometimes take for granted here. We can walk into a craft store and have aisles of yarn in every color and weight.

But that’s definitely not the case everywhere. So I’d love to hear how you’ve found ways to get the yarns and tools you’re excited to work with, even when they’re not easily available where you are.

Caitie: Yeah, I’m based in Cape Town, South Africa—literally the southern tip of Africa—so we are miles away from anywhere! And no, we don’t have the big craft department stores like you do in the U.S. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit—to the States, Europe, and Australia—and I’ll never forget the first time I stepped into a Michael’s. My head nearly exploded! You have aisles and aisles of yarn. The stock rotates, there are always new brands coming in, and even just choosing scissors—there are like 20 options! It’s amazing.

But we don’t really have that here. We do have a few brick-and-mortar shops that specialize in yarn, which is wonderful because we can go in, touch the yarn, feel the fibers, and pick out colors. And a lot of online yarn shops have started popping up too.

Unfortunately, our postal system isn’t great, so ordering from overseas isn’t very practical. Shipping takes forever—like, months. I once saw someone complain that their Amazon order took a week, and I just laughed—if I’m lucky, mine arrives in three months!

I’ve done it a couple of times—for special things, like Clover hooks that were hard to find locally—but it’s not something I can do regularly.

It’s also a little frustrating when you see other designers using yarns like Red Heart, Lion Brand, or Caron and those just aren’t available here. I remember when planned pooling was a big trend and everyone was using those Red Heart variegated yarns. I couldn’t get them, so I couldn’t join in the same way. Yes, we can apply the same principles using local variegated yarns, but it’s not the same if you’re trying to follow someone else’s exact project.

So what I’ve started doing is, whenever I travel—or if I have friends or family who are traveling—I’ll ask them to bring back a skein or two. Not necessarily to use in a project, but just so I can have a reference: feel it, see the color in person, and compare it to what’s available here.

As a designer, I need to be able to recommend yarns that my audience can access. So even though I might use a local yarn, I’ll match it to something more widely available—like Paintbox Yarns, for example. Although, ironically, Paintbox doesn’t ship to South Africa either, which is heartbreaking because they’re amazing for amigurumi!

So before I even start a pattern, I’ll think: Can this yarn be easily substituted? If not, I either provide a good alternative or just avoid using that yarn in my published patterns.

Brittany: That’s such a smart and thoughtful approach. I know from experience—writing and testing patterns is a lot of work, but a big part of it is making sure people can actually make what you’ve designed. It doesn’t help anyone if the yarn is impossible to find.

Do you have people in your audience who reach out saying, “I can’t get that yarn”—and do you offer suggestions for substitutes in your patterns?

Caitie: Yes, absolutely. For most of my patterns, I include a few yarn options. So if I’ve used a local brand of cotton for an amigurumi project, I’ll color-match and weight-match to something more widely available that will give the same result. Sometimes I don’t even mention the local yarn if I know it’s inaccessible for most people.

For example, I might design something with a local cotton yarn, but in the pattern, I’ll list something like Paintbox Cotton Aran as a substitute—just to make it easier for people to follow along. Even though I can’t get it, most of my audience can.

Brittany: I think that’s incredibly helpful—and honestly, such a great mindset for designers to have. There’s a fun creative challenge there too, right? Because even within the same weight category, yarns can vary. One worsted weight might be a little thicker or wear a bit differently than another.

It sounds like you’ve made a habit of studying yarns—how they work up, how they feel, and how they compare to others—so you can make confident recommendations. That’s really resourceful.

Caitie: Yes, exactly! And it’s not just the yarn. For example, safety eyes for amigurumi are also hard to come by here. You can’t just walk into a shop and buy them. Even online, many stores don’t stock them.

So I’ve ordered some from overseas or had friends bring them, and I have this little stash of precious safety eyes that I hoard. But I also try to design patterns where you can embroider the eyes instead—so that people without access to safety eyes can still make the pattern. It’s important to me that my designs are accessible to as many people as possible.

Brittany: That’s such a great point. And even though we don’t always know where our audience is based, just being thoughtful and inclusive in our patterns helps so much.

So just in case we do have listeners in South Africa, can you share some of your favorite local yarns—especially ones that could be good alternatives to the more common U.S. brands?

Caitie: Sure! For acrylic yarn, a really good local brand is Elle. They have a range called Elle Pure Gold, which I use a lot for toys. It’s soft, durable, and works up beautifully.

For cotton, my all-time favorite is Nurturing Fibers. They’re based just outside of Cape Town, and they do absolutely stunning hand-dyed yarns—cotton, cotton-bamboo blends, merino, even some mohair. The quality is amazing. And the best part is they’re available internationally too!

Then we also have some international yarns like Stylecraft. I think that’s a UK brand. You can order it here, but it’s not something I can just walk into a store and buy.

Brittany: Right, I’ve seen Stylecraft online, but I don’t know of any shops near me that carry it either.

Caitie: Yeah, and with most yarns, I’ve gotten used to ordering online—even locally. In South Africa, we often have one person or shop that’s the sole distributor for a particular brand. So, for example, that cotton brand we were talking about earlier—Scheepjes—we have a single distributor for that here.

But they’re in a different city, so I can’t just pop in. I have to order it online and take a leap of faith that the color or texture is what I expected.

Brittany: That leap of faith—yes! Ordering yarn online can be tricky, especially with new-to-you yarns. I’ve definitely shared some of my tips for ordering yarn sight unseen, but I’d love to hear yours.

Caitie: Yeah! The one that trips me up the most is the weight of the skein. If you’re not familiar with what 25g vs. 50g vs. 100g looks like, you can easily misjudge. I’ve ordered what I thought were big skeins—and they arrived the size of bonbons!

So if you can, go to a local yarn shop and just get a feel for what different weights and sizes look like in real life. That gives you a good reference point when you’re ordering online.

I also like to search Ravelry or Facebook to see projects made with a specific yarn and color before I buy. It helps to see real photos from real people—not just the official shop photo.

And I always look at the yarn color on different screens—my phone, my laptop, someone else’s computer—because screen settings can really change how a color looks.

Brittany: That is so true. I’ve had a few close calls because of screen settings, especially with that low-blue-light mode. I’ve ordered yarn in the evening, my screen was warm-toned, and I completely misjudged the colors.

One time, I was planning an ombré blanket with four shades of gray—from dark to pale—but two of them looked exactly the same when they arrived. The only difference was the undertone—one was cooler, the other warmer. I had to totally rework the design. Thankfully, it turned out even better than I imagined, but it was a good lesson!

Caitie: Oh yes, I’ve definitely had that happen! Especially with variegated yarns—they look so pretty in the skein but work up completely differently. And how they look can change depending on the width of your project too.

Brittany: Yes! That’s such a good point. A yarn might stripe beautifully in a scarf, but use the same yarn in a wider project like a cardigan and you get a completely different pattern—maybe even pooling or odd color breaks. It really does make a difference.

Caitie: Absolutely. But I’ve learned to roll with it. It’s all part of the journey—and sometimes those unexpected results end up being my favorite projects.

Brittany: Yes! I couldn’t agree more.

Now you mentioned something earlier that I want to circle back to. You said you have a stash of precious yarns—yarns you’ve collected from your travels or had brought back for you. How do you decide what project is “worthy” of using those special skeins?

Caitie: Oh, that is hard!

Honestly, a lot of it just gets tucked away. I’m sort of waiting for the perfect project, and that makes it hard to use sometimes. I think I realized a little late in my design journey that most wearable projects need more than one skein. So it doesn’t help much if I have just one beautiful skein of a variegated Caron yarn, for example.

And dye lots—those are another challenge. Even if I find the same yarn again, the dye lot might be totally different.

So I try to have a wide variety in my stash so I can create from inspiration. Instead of saying “I want to use this yarn, what can I make with it?” I prefer to say, “I want to make this project—what yarn do I have that fits?”

Brittany: That makes total sense—and yes, buying yarn is definitely its own hobby!

Caitie: Oh absolutely. I probably need to work a little harder at actually using my stash though!

Brittany: Well, it’s really tough. I have so many skeins of yarn too. And for me, those special hanks or skeins—or whatever they are—tend to be yarns I don’t have easy access to. Some are indie-dyed or something I picked up at a local yarn shop, and I really, really treasure those. I have to wait for just the right project.

So typically, if I only have one of those, it ends up becoming a hat for me—that’s usually the perfect amount. If I have two, maybe I’ll do a scarf or a cowl, something I know I’ll actually wear. I wear a lot of hats and scarves in the winter, so those are kind of my go-to projects.

But I definitely have a few hanks stashed away, just waiting for the right pattern or project. And I feel like creating something for myself like that—versus designing for work—is a different experience. I’m sure other designers can relate. It feels more special, because it doesn’t happen all the time.

Caitie: Absolutely.

Brittany: I don’t always make things for myself. I usually focus on projects that will appeal to the people interested in my patterns. That’s something I’m working through—trying to be more intentional with the projects I choose, so I can create things that make me happy and that I enjoy using and wearing, while still sharing them with others. But when I do use one of those special skeins, I typically don’t write a pattern. That’s my hobby space.

Caitie: Yes, it’s the stuff you do outside of work hours.

Brittany: Exactly. You at least have snow! It doesn’t get cold enough here to need lots of hats. I’ve made a couple baby hats because babies always need hats, but it doesn’t snow here—at least not in Cape Town. So I tend to use my smallest skeins for amigurumi, or granny squares, or other little components that can be joined together into a bigger project.

But yeah, I haven’t had the time or headspace to sit down and do something special with my special skeins. It’s been a whirlwind three years with Thorsby Cottage, so I just haven’t gotten the chance yet.

Brittany: I totally get that. And I think your tip about granny squares is such a good one. There’s just something so special about a granny square—it can become so many different things.

If you’re just watching a TV show or want a little bit of mindless crochet time, getting into a granny square groove is such a great way to occupy your hands. And even if you don’t have a project in mind, they always become something later.

I spoke with someone on the show who said she just loved to crochet granny squares—no specific purpose, she just kept a stash of them. And when she needed a gift or had a special occasion, she’d dip into her stash and join them into something meaningful. I love that.

Now, I know you’ve done some really beautiful granny square projects—I saw that little clutch on your Instagram page, and it’s gorgeous. I want to highlight that because “granny square” doesn’t just mean the traditional one we all think of. It can be any square motif, really—and yours has a flower pattern in it.

Caitie: Yes, the granny square really is so versatile. I know there are some purists who’d say that certain designs aren’t technically granny squares—and maybe they’re right. But an Afghan block, or a square motif, doesn’t have to be used in a blanket.

I joined a CAL earlier this year, and the idea was to make different squares and then turn them into all kinds of projects. It was amazing to see what everyone came up with. For that little clutch bag, those were tiny squares—probably around five centimeters each. I joined them together into a fun little purse.

And I’ve seen people make incredibly intricate, delicate squares and then frame them in a shadow box to hang in a nursery or office. That’s such a lovely way to showcase all that hard work.

One other fun idea is to fold a square like an envelope—you bring the corners in and stitch it up, and you’ve got a little pouch. I’ve seen wall hangings too. There are just so many ways to use squares—everything from vintage to totally modern, clean, geometric designs.

Five years ago, if someone told me a square was crochet, I’d have said, “No way, that doesn’t look like crochet!” But now I realize how fashionable and modern it can be. I get so excited about that.

Brittany: Yes! Do you find yourself going back to granny square projects for those yarns where you only have a skein or two? It seems like such a perfect solution—use what you’ve got, and still end up with something lovely.

Caitie: Definitely. That little flower bag you mentioned—I only had a few small skeins of cotton, just enough to make that one project. It was the perfect stash buster.

And I’ve got to say, I’m not someone who sticks with big projects for long. I need to switch it up, or I get bored. Smaller, more detailed projects are perfect for me. And when you don’t have access to a ton of yarn, granny squares are just ideal—you only need a little bit to get going.

Brittany: Yes! Same here. I can handle one or two big projects a year—usually a blanket or something—but I need smaller ones in between to keep that sense of progress. Sometimes I’ll even pause a big project just to make something small, like a quick win.

Granny squares are perfect for that. One of my favorite patterns ever was a granny square tote purse. It was bigger than your clutch—probably made from around 20 to 22 five-inch squares. That’s still my favorite granny square project to this day.

I’ve also been thinking about placemats—joining different squares together for home decor. And I love your idea of framing squares. There are so many incredible designs out there—maybe not traditional granny squares, but square motifs that deserve to be celebrated as the art that they are.

Caitie: Yes, exactly! Crochet really is art. I used to hesitate when people asked me what I did. Saying “crochet designer” didn’t quite feel right, and I didn’t see myself as an artist since I don’t have formal training. But lately, I’ve started to embrace it. Crochet is amazing, and it is art. So why not hang it on the wall?

Brittany: I 100% agree. I’ve been meaning to do that myself. There are definitely some empty wall spaces in my office that could use a little more crochet. I love being surrounded by the things I’ve made, and this is such a practical, beautiful way to do that.

Caitie: Yes! We look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Brittany: I’ll have to play around with something unique. I do love a traditional granny square—it’s easy, rhythmic, and you just get into that groove where your hook does the work for you. But I’m blown away by what some designers create. Like Sophie’s Universe? How?!

And now she has Ubuntu—I might be saying that wrong…

Caitie: Actually, you’re close! It’s pronounced Ubuntu. It’s a really important word in South African culture—it means humanity, togetherness, or humanity towards others. It’s such a beautiful concept.

Brittany: That’s amazing. I’ve had her on the show before and it was so inspiring to tap into that a little. There’s such incredible talent and patience behind those types of projects.

If you’ve got a little extra yarn, I think it’s a great idea to take a motif from a big project like that, frame it, and celebrate it. That way, you still get to experience part of the design—even if you’re not committing to the whole thing.

Caitie: Yes—beautiful.

Brittany: This has been such a fun conversation. It really felt like chatting with a fellow yarn-lover—which is what it was! I’m so glad we could connect, and I truly appreciate you sharing your story and insights with the audience.

Before we go, where’s the best place for people to connect with you?

Caitie: Instagram is where I hang out the most—it’s the easiest place to start a conversation. I love chatting in DMs, replying to comments, and sharing behind the scenes through stories. I’m also on Facebook and Pinterest, always as Thorsby Cottage. And of course, my website is thorsbycottage.com, where you can find both free and paid patterns.

Brittany: Perfect. I’ll link to all of that in the show notes. And since we talked so much about granny squares, I want to mention the two books you contributed to.

Caitie: Yes! I’m so excited about both. The first is The Ultimate Granny Square Sourcebook, published by Meteoor Books—the same folks behind the Zoomigurumi series. They brought together 23 designers and around 100 mix-and-match square designs. My contribution was five African animal motifs: lion, zebra, giraffe, hippo, and elephant. The squares have been tested so you can combine them seamlessly.

Pre-orders have closed, but it’ll be available in November—right around when this airs.

The second book is called 3D Granny Squares: 100 Crochet Patterns for Pop-Up Granny Squares. These aren’t just flat squares with appliqués on top—they’re structured to have a built-in 3D element. It’s a collaboration between me, Shana (Sweet Shana), and Celine (Crafty CC). It includes animals, flowers, foods—like a waffle square!—and more. Plus, some really fun project ideas to use your squares.

Brittany: Amazing. I’ll have all of that linked in the show notes at bhooked.com/140. Just scroll down to the “Links and Resources” section to find everything we talked about today, including Caitie’s Instagram and blog.

Caitie, thank you so much for being on the show. I’m seriously inspired now to go frame a granny square—and I know listeners will be too.

Caitie: Thank you! It’s been really special to be here.

Brittany: There you have it—Caitie from Thorsby Cottage. I hope this conversation left you as inspired as I am. And remember, if you want to try something new, my Tunisian Crochet for Beginners course is available on Bluprint. Head to bhooked.com/tcfb to check it out.

Thanks again for listening, and I’ll catch you in next week’s episode of the B.Hooked Podcast. Have a wonderful weekend. Bye-bye!