Crochet Garment Designing from Concept to Creation | Podcast Episode #52

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“Crochet is Cool. I promise. “

Jessica is on a mission to show the rest of the world that crochet isn’t just a retirement activity. Through passion and the power of positivity, she’s touched thousands of lives through her authentic self and the designs that express who she truly is. I’m so thrilled to have her back on the show as The BHooked Podcast’s first repeat guest! This time she is here to share her journey of garment making – the creative and technical process – and she does it in true “Jessica” fashion.

Episode Transcript

Brittany:
Welcome back to the B Hooked Podcast. This is episode number 52 and I’m really excited you’ve decided to join me today because I have my first repeat guest of the show and I’m really excited to share another message from her because the first one, well, you guys loved her the first time around and I know you’re going to love her the second time around as well.

Now, before we get into the interview today, there is one really exciting piece of information that I want to share with you today. Actually, it was announced yesterday at the time that I’m recording this, and I personally will be announcing it today on my social channels. I am going to be one of the keynote speakers at the Our Maker Life event 2018 in Chicago. I am so excited about this opportunity. I can’t even express how excited I am because public speaking has been a very big goal of mine. It’s actually part of the reason why I started this podcast because I knew that being behind a microphone is going to help me to get comfortable behind the microphone and eventually to be comfortable in front of an audience. That’s definitely the direction that I plan to go in the future. And this opportunity just presented itself to me. And I just, gosh, I’m so, so excited to prepare for this talk. I’m excited to deliver it. I’m excited to meet some of you in person.

And that leads me into my next thing. I’ve coordinated a special opportunity for people who are in my audience, whether you be the podcast audience, obviously here, or if you’re on my YouTube audience, wherever it may be. I have 25 tickets to this event that if you purchase through the link that I’m about to give you, I’m going to do something special for you. What I really, really want to do, and I still have a lot of details to work out at this point, is… organize a casual meetup for all 25 people who are able to get access to these tickets. And if the logistics of that doesn’t work out quite the way I anticipate, then I’m going to have something special for you. So I will definitely give you more information as I have it. Right now, it’s all just so new, but I’m just ecstatic. I can’t even wait to share this stuff with you.

So here’s what you need to do. If you would like to go to the OML event in Chicago this year, it takes place on July 14th. That is a Saturday and you will need to purchase a ticket for this event, but ticket quantities are limited. Our Maker Life limits it to just over 140, I believe, or around 130. So that’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things. You have, of course, the Our Maker Life audience is very large, and I know these tickets sell out pretty quickly. So if you would like to go to the Our Maker Life event in Chicago, if you would like to meet me in person, and hopefully, if everything works out the way I plan it to, have a casual meetup with me and 24 other people who are in the BeHooked audience, what you need to do is visit BeHookedCrochet.com slash O-M-L. So Our Maker Life O-M-L. BeHookedCrochet.com slash O-M-L. You’ll purchase your ticket through that link. And when you do that, that’s automatically going to put you on my list to include you in the special things that I have going on.

Now, I do want to disclose that that is an affiliate link. So if you do purchase your ticket through that link before the quantity of 25 runs out, I will get a small commission for that sale. I want to be just very open and transparent about that. It’s a great method of support. And of course, it doesn’t cost you anything extra to use that link. And hopefully I’m incentivizing it a little bit by allowing for you to meet me in person and have a casual get together with everybody else who is able to purchase one of those 25 tickets.

Now, there will be a few links and resources that we mentioned in the interview today. And you can find all of that information on the show notes page. You can access the show notes page at BeHookedCrochet.com slash session 052. And just before we get started, I want to take a moment to thank our sponsor Yarnspirations for sponsoring this podcast. Yarnspirations is the online destination for inspiration and the yarns you love like Patons, Bernat, Caron, and Lily Sugar and Cream. BHooked listeners, you’re still able to get that special offer to redeem at Yarnspirations.com. All listeners can get 20% off your order of $40 or more at yarnspirations.com by using the coupon code B.Hooked. That’s B-H-O-O-K-E-D.

Now, I haven’t spilled the beans yet on who my special guest is today, but I’m very happy and thrilled to introduce to you Jessica from The Hook Nook once again. And I’m also thrilled to share that she is the other keynote speaker at the OML event Chicago. So if you love me, if you love Jessica, you might want to consider going to this event. It’s basically an all-day thing that’s just… It’s so much fun. They have a couple of keynote speakers. They have us. We’re going to talk about some topics. They have a special knit along with We Are Knitters Wool, which is yummy and delicious. And there’s a Q&A session. There’s catered lunch and breakfast. It’s just a wonderful event. I went to it last year in Toronto, and I highly recommend that if you haven’t been there before, that maybe this is the year you do it. If you live in the Chicago area or around there, you don’t have an excuse, guys. Try out this event, and I’ll see you there.

Okay, so Jessica from The Hook Nook is making her second appearance here on the Be Hooked podcast, and this time she’s going to be talking about garments. Now, my plan for this episode was to address some questions that arise from the concept of garment design and the execution of turning those concepts into a physical project. She did a really great job of explaining those concepts.

I also want to encourage you to check out episode number 11. That was Jessica’s first episode here on the podcast, where she talked about expressing yourself with crochet. And I know that episode has helped a lot of people. And let’s give Jessica a very warm welcome back to the Be Hooked podcast.

Jessica, hey there, friend. How does it feel to be the first return guest on the Be Hooked podcast?

Jessica: 7:19
I feel exceptionally honored, Brittany. Thank you so much.

Brittany: 7:23
You’re so welcome. My topic for February, and I’m trying to kind of coordinate across all of the different platforms, is garment making. And you have really kind of stuck out in my mind in terms of making crocheted wearables. There’s not a lot of people doing it. And I mean, to be quite honest, there are a lot of people who kind of steer away from it because it’s a lot of work and potentially the thing that you make might not fit. So I’m curious, what drew you into designing and crocheting garments to wear?

Jessica: 7:59
You know, it’s an interesting question. I love I just love crocheting and I love yarn and I love the way that the yarn feels and I Before I dip my toes into garments I was browsing Pinterest and Etsy and Ravelry and all the different pattern websites and I really couldn’t really find anything that I wanted to wear. I just, I knew that I wanted to start I wanted to make something that I could wear outside of, you know, scarves or beanies or whatever and just kind of challenge myself.

And I have found that I really love to kind of play with yarn and go rogue. And so instead of finding a pattern that fit my style that I wanted to make, I just kind of picked up some yarn that called to me. And I think the very first garment I made was my Nolan top. And I used We Are Knitters Pima cotton. And it has such a yummy drape. I love that yarn so much. But I think I just really wanted to be able to just expand my skills and do something a little bit more challenging. And I did.

Brittany: 9:17
Yeah, I remember that, Nolan top, on Instagram when you were releasing kind of some teaser photos on that. And man, your following on Instagram just went absolutely crazy over that. What do you think it was about that? Do you think it was that you were diving into garment making for the first time? Or was it the design? Or if you had to pinpoint why that was such a big deal for them, what would you say that is?

Jessica: 9:46
You know, I’m not too sure. I think it was just I was really excited about trying something new. And I think the excitement is tangible or was tangible. And so I think everyone else was just excited to watch me kind of explore the garments. And the Nolan top was everyone was super excited about it. And the next one that I came out with was the Brixton one. And that was kind of like the when I made the Nolan top, it in my mind, it’s a very basic top outside of the color changes and the, you know, just the little striping detail. But the Brixton sweater is kind of the first real quote unquote garment that I made. And it was exceptionally difficult. And I think it’s just, I’m not too sure. I just love it. And I’m super excited. And I think everyone’s just excited to watch other people explore, um, their creativity.

And when you have a passion for it and when you want to do it, I think it kind of shows in the way that you present it and the way that you take the photos and it just excites everyone else around you.

Brittany: 10:58
Yeah. I mean, that’s that’s one thing that I definitely could feel was your excitement around that project. But I also really like the approach you took to kind of like a… let’s see if this works kind of approach. I mean, you never try to portray yourself as a pro or perfect. And I think that’s really relatable for a lot of people, especially when it comes to garments, because I mean, I’ll be the first to admit, I mess up too. Actually, yesterday I posted a picture on Instagram of like basically an entire skein of yarn that I had to frog because I thought I had the hang of the pattern and I let myself get distracted and messed up the repeats. And then I was just like, you know what? Frogging. That’s the only thing that I can do to come back from this. And people can relate to that.

Jessica: 11:49
Yes, I… We just made something the other day and I had to pull out, I don’t even know how many rows because I caught like you with the repeats and it’s like, oh my gosh, did I really not do that the right way four rows ago? Yes. It’s the worst. But I feel like being relatable and being honest and not portraying yourself as perfect is extremely important, especially in social media. And, you know, having a following of any size, you don’t, I feel like it can be really, what’s the word? Discouraging to kind of watch people that you follow, that you love, that you look up to and have them portray themselves as perfect can just kind of make you feel kind of lousy about yourself because you know that you’re not perfect.

And I feel like it’s a responsibility of anyone on any stage to not pretend to be something you’re not and no one’s perfect. And so I’m glad that it was able to come off in that way because I would never want anyone to think that I don’t mess up because Lord knows I do that more than I care to admit.

Brittany: 13:00
That’s for sure. Well, I think that’s an important message to address here right at the front because crocheting clothes is, gosh, it’s like a whole new beast. When you get comfortable with increases when you’re making hats and maybe you get some shaping from some other type of project that you make, but there are so many different elements that go into whether or not this turns out the way it’s supposed to. I mean, we’ve got gauge, we do have the shaping, repeats, stitch counts. We have to juggle a lot of different things, whether we’re following somebody else’s pattern and when we’re designing. I mean, that’s a whole nother conversation too.

But what I want to talk about is your way of thinking. So concept to creation. When you think about the word concept, it’s an abstract idea. So I’m curious, where do you pull your inspiration from to form these abstract ideas before you actually start creating?

Jessica: 14:01
Well, I like to find my inspiration from really a lot of different random things. I love to, you know, I follow… Um, you know, bridal gown people. I love the way that beautiful gowns look. I love the way that weavings look like, um, macrame. I love fiber in any form and, um, even watercolor. I know that’s not fiber, but I just kind of pull my inspiration from beautiful images and beautiful makes and, um, um, that’s kind of where I find, or if I’m at the store, I really love Nordstrom. I don’t know how secret that is at this point, but I really love Nordstrom and I love certain kinds of clothes that they have. They’re kind of more unique and original in like their, their shape or their detail or just something. They have original elements and I really like that.

Um, one thing that is really important to me is that when I do want to go find inspiration, I don’t, I do not ever look at other people’s designs. I don’t look at other knitters. I don’t look at other crocheters. I don’t, I try to stay away from people in the community because I have found that when I am really inspired by someone, who made, say, this sweater. It is a beautiful sweater. And oh, my goodness, I wish that I had thought of it. Such a great idea. And then I can’t get the image out of my mind. And I don’t want my next design to replicate or be similar to them because, well, one, that’s not staying true to my brand, staying true to my brand designs, my, my style, um, it’s incorporating theirs and which at times is very important to bring in inspiration from other makers. I just would never want to have, I wouldn’t want to copy. And that’s really important is that we appreciate the creativity in other makers, but we don’t use their creativity to, to copy.

And, um, so I look elsewhere and I find a lot more inspiration doing that actually by looking at beadwork, by looking at fabrics and just different ways that you can make a garment or a project more unique and original and custom in all those kinds of ways.

Brittany: 16:40
Yeah, I think, I mean, that’s just such an important topic to bring up too, especially on Instagram. It’s obviously a really big topic. We talked about it at the Our Maker Life event in Toronto last year. It came up that copying is such a huge, it’s such a huge deal. I definitely respect how you are purposefully eliminating that kind of inspiration. But I do think it’s cool how you pull ideas from other, like other fashion trends outlets, maybe drawing inspiration from the store or through like fabrics. When you look at fabrics, I’m curious, is that kind of like you’re looking at the color or you’re looking at maybe the texture? Is that kind of where that inspiration comes from?

Jessica: 17:26
Yes, definitely the texture. I am a huge fan of textures. So like more so when I see fabrics. I like to look at lace. I like to look at silks. I like to look at the way that they would feel on the body or the way that they would feel in my hands. I have no idea. I really love fiber. And then fiber is fabric. And I just… if I, if I look at like lace, for example, I found a lot of inspiration from, I think it was a red heart velvety yarn. I was told they were, they discontinued it. I’m not too sure, but I got my hands on some at some point and I ended up making this like, well, first off I loved it because it was literally velvet yarn and it was so soft and so, oh my goodness, I loved it so much.

And, um, I made a little top with it and I also was at the store and I found some beautiful black lace and I was like, wow, this would be really pretty to pair with it because I mean, I love velvet. It’s very beautiful. It’s feminine. It’s pretty. And then lace is the same thing. It’s very beautiful, feminine, pretty. And then, um, I found another piece of like lace, uh, I don’t know what, I’m not a seamstress. I don’t know what another piece of lace stuff. And, um, ended up making a design out of it. I just love incorporating different textures and components. I don’t know where I’m going with that.

Brittany: 18:57
Yeah. Well, it’s cool. It brings up another thing, too, that you don’t have to stick with just yarn as your focus for your design.

Jessica: 19:05
Yes. You can incorporate all kinds of things. I love to use beads and lace and any other fabrics or materials that just kind of make me happy.

Brittany: 19:15
Mm-hmm. Well, that’s cool. So we kind of know, we know where you don’t get your inspiration from. We know where you do. So we kind of are on the path to figuring out how your mind works with your designs. After you have that idea or inspiration, what do you do next? What’s your next step?

Jessica: 19:34
Well, I love yarn probably more than I love to crochet. And I… Whenever I feel like I want to make something, I actually don’t really come up with the idea first. I like to have yarn in my hand. So first I like to go to my bookshelves and find a yarn that just kind of is speaking to me in that moment and that I can find inspiration to use, that I’m excited to use. And so I’ll put it in my hand. I’ll touch it. I’ll feel it. I’ll see how many yards I have. And from there, I’ll be like, you know what? I really want to make a cardigan. And so if I want to incorporate different colors, I’m trying to envision what kind of cardigan I would make.

All right, well, I want to put pockets on it. Okay, so for example, my Evangeline cardigan, I had We Are Knitters Merry Wool. Well, I had the Merry Wool in one color, and I had some Petite Wool in another color, and I loved them together. It was like this ivory, natural, and they’re pearl gray for the Petite Wool. And I loved them together. So, so, so pretty. And so I held them together and I was like, OK, I really want a really beautiful stitch to kind of make this even more feminine and beautiful.

And so I have different stitch books that I can reference and I just flip through them and find something that kind of feels like it’s right for this project. And, um, I found something I imagined, you know, okay, I want pockets on it. What kind of pockets do I want? I, you know, beads or actually put buttons on that one. And I didn’t really, I don’t like to use buttons in a way that they’re meant to be used. Like I don’t use them for closing your cardigan. I actually used buttons on that project to be used as a decor piece.

So I assembled them on the breast and Yeah, I assembled them on the breast to be more of like a decoration. And then I put some on the cuffs as a decoration. But they were beautiful gold and large and kind of just kind of more modern. And so they added personality to the piece. I tried to think of what kind of neckline I wanted. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. But I just really start with the yarn and kind of imagine what I want to make with it. And it all starts with the yarn, honestly. I

Brittany: 22:04
can totally relate to that. I get asked that a lot, actually. And there are some times when I find a project and, well, I find the project first. But those are usually projects that are not my own designs. So if I’m following somebody else’s pattern, I might see a project and say, oh, that’s really pretty. I want to make it. But whenever I’m designing for myself, it always starts with the yarn. Yes.

Okay. So do you consider what that yarn is good for in terms of what type of garment it becomes? Because I mean, some yarns are great for wearables and some yarn just really isn’t. It’s not going to hold up. So do you put a lot of thought into the yarn choice or do you just kind of wing it and see what happens?

Jessica: 22:50
I am probably the most unprofessional professional in this community. I, I, I know I don’t really look at, I mean, I feel like just naturally I won’t grab a yarn and, you know, be like, you know what, this would make a really great dishcloth and have it be superwash merino wool. Or I’d be like, you know what, this would make a beautiful scarf that’s going to be wrapped around my neck and it’s a really itchy wool. Like, I mean, I just naturally, I think, I look at the yarn and imagine like I texture is so important to me. And so if I feel it, I can imagine like if I want it wrapped around my neck or if I want it, you know, worn around my body or even just as a beanie or whatever it might be. I just feel like the yarn usually just speaks for itself. And, you know, you I know, I just kind of feel the yarn and decide where I want to feel it.

Brittany: 23:46
Yeah. Well, there’s one thing that I’ve learned. Well, the last year or so, I kind of made it a goal to start making more wearables. I had always shied away from designing it because I think we’ll probably talk about this later. There’s a lot that goes into designing and the math and converting from one size to another. It’s just a whole new beast. But I wanted to make more garments. I wanted to get that experience under my belt.

And so I started making a following a lot of their patterns that, I mean, some emphasis should be put on the yarn in terms of like whether it can be washed or not, but that’s not an ultimate requirement. I mean, I’m actually working on, it’s like a pullover, loose fitting, super squishy cowl. It’s like a cowl pullover sort of thing. It’s kind of hard to explain. It’s almost like a poncho, but it’s a little bit fitted like a sweater. Really? And it uses a roving yarn, which I love the texture of roving yarns, but I would have never thought to use that type of yarn with something that I was going to wear because we all know it kind of gets a little frizzy and fuzzy, it pills as we wear it.

But as I’m working this up, I’m not necessarily being super gentle with it because I want to see how fuzzy that yarn is going to be. And what I’m finding is that it’s totally fine. I actually had to rip, I had to frog out this entire section and it still looks just as perfect as it did when I worked it up the second time, even after having that frogging. So I guess the moral of the story is it’s worth putting some thought into the yarn, but it’s not, it’s not a requirement because you might be surprised at how well a yarn does.

Thinking about the washing, I think is big for me. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t wear the garments that I make as regularly as I do the clothes that I purchase in the store. And that’s mainly because my fear of washing, laundering them is going to take away from all that work that I put into it. So moving forward for myself, I think that’s something that I need to consider a little bit more is whether or not I’m going to be able to wash it so that I can really put these items to use.

Jessica: 26:05
I can agree with that. And I actually don’t use or don’t wear a lot of the things that I make often either. I keep them all hung up or stored safely in my garage, which sounds so terrible. But I know I’m the same way. And, you know, I know what roving you’re actually using. And I love that yarn. I have some of it on my shelf. And it is, as well, like you said, roving or other kinds of fibers can pill, they can change, um, with, um, friction and use and whatever.

And, um, it is a reason to be wary and have reservations using it for certain projects. But I, I truly feel like if a certain yarn is calling to you to be used for a—not only will you have more fun making the project because you’re using a yarn that you’re inspired by and you’re excited about, you’re also going to love that project in the end even more just because you are using that yarn that, you know, maybe would have been better or, you know, in someone else’s opinion would have been better to be used for something else.

But for you, the maker of this particular project, as long as you are making something that you love and are proud of that’s all that matters. And if you never end up wearing it that’s okay. It’s just the fact that you made it, you took the time to follow your creativity and your inspiration and used what makes sense for you in that moment for that project.

And, um, yeah, sure. I’m like, well, I’m making a scarf out of a felted yarn and, um, I’m finding that it’s picking up, uh, it’s very, I don’t know what the word is. It’s not sticky, obviously, but it, it holds on, it picks up hairs and it picks up fibers and, um, other little things, but I, I’m making it as a scarf. And I know that when I wear it, I shed my hair all the time. Thank you, bleach.

And, um, it’s going to get dirty. It’s going and it’s white. It’s going to get dirty. It’s going to get pilled. It’s going to do all of these things. But at the same time, I’m loving making this scarf because feeling the yarn through my fingers and working up this yarn in this particular stitch or, you know, stitch sequence is really fun for me. And so I’m all for the full experience of it. And so I would just completely disregard any feelings of other people’s opinions or your own opinions of this yarn should only be used for these kinds of projects or, you your creativity and what inspires you in that moment.

Brittany: 28:53
Man, this is why I love you so much. You are not afraid to give people the, I’m going to air quote permission to follow what they want to do. It’s 100% okay to like you just said, I’m not even going to try to regurgitate what you just said there because it’s so true. We don’t have to follow anybody else’s agenda but our own. And it’s a learning experience, if nothing else.

If you love the yarn, you love the way it feels. And by the way, I love how you said you’re about the full experience because it’s really not about the finished thing at the end of that really long road. It’s about the healing that happened during that process. I mean, a lot of us—we crochet and we knit for reasons more than just being entertained, right? We do it for so many more reasons. And you can enjoy the entire experience, not just get there to enjoy the outcome of what you just made.

Jessica: 29:52
Exactly, exactly. That’s what I found interesting. I have had so many messages and so many conversations about people and why they crochet or why they knit or why they craft in general. And a lot of it, a lot of people use their hands to make things and it is a source of healing for me as well.

Like I didn’t start crocheting because it was a healing craft for me. I started because I wanted to make things for my daughter. But at the same time, I found that the repetitive motions of crocheting and just the long time that it takes, it builds my patience. It allows me to be proud of myself because if I’m learning a new stitch, I… I’m proud of myself for learning the new stitch. Or if I finish a project that’s really difficult and frustrating or something out of my comfort zone, I am so proud of myself.

And there’s just so much healing in loving yourself and being proud of yourself and recognizing what you’re capable of doing all simply just because you’re crocheting. And like as silly as that sounds, as silly as crochet or knitting can be to someone else, for myself, it’s such a source of pride and it’s—through crocheting and through the opportunities I’ve been given in my crochet experience, it’s just mind-blowing at what just craft and being a creative and believing in yourself can do for not only yourself, but I’m able to heal myself and share my healing experiences with others. And this… craft is awesome.

Brittany: 31:38
It really is. It is. I think so many people that are listening can really relate to that too. For us, it’s not just knitting and crochet. And it’s so funny when I get asked frequently, just meeting a new person, hey, what do you do for a living? First of all, I always have a really difficult time answering that question. But my response is I knit and crochet. That’s kind of my profession.

And people look at me like I have two heads. They’re like, what? You—you like—they don’t even know what crochet is. And it just kind of baffles me first that a lot of people don’t know about it. But to so many people, it seems like such a trivial thing. But to us who do it, it’s life, right?

Jessica: 32:18
Yes.

Brittany: 32:20
Well, I feel bad kind of deviating from that conversation because, gosh, there’s so much great things to be said there. But I’m still curious to kind of dig into the way you work your garments, the way you design them. So at this point, we have the idea. We have the yarn. Now, do you just start crocheting and see what happens or do you maybe like sketch it out or maybe you start calculating stitch counts? Like what’s your process look like?

Jessica: 32:50
I’ve talked to a lot of different people and heard a lot of different creative processes. And for me, I actually I don’t sketch. I don’t plan. I don’t gauge. I don’t, I don’t do any of the things that I feel like are the quote unquote, right way of doing things.

Um, I really just, again, I’m all for the experience. I love playing and just going rogue. And so I grabbed my yarn. I grab a hook that looks like it’s going to be all right. And I just start chaining and going. And sometimes that’s a really awesome experience and I don’t ever have to frog. But more often than not, it requires me to restart way too many times or pull out stitches or re-figure out counts or whatever it might be.

And yes, it’s not the most efficient way of doing things. But at the same time, it’s the way that I have fun doing it. It’s the way I don’t… I am just… No, I don’t know what I’m trying to say. I just start going and I have fun with it and it’s more work in the end, but I like it.

Brittany: 34:07
Yeah, I can totally relate to that because I’ve done both. Before I ever really designed professionally, I was 100% just wing it, make it up as you go. And it worked out really well for me. That was one way that I really enjoyed designing.

But moving towards the more professional side of things, I’m trying to use my time as wisely as possible. And so I thought, well, maybe when I dive into this project, maybe I need to take a more educated approach. I need to maybe gauge because I know somebody is going to ask me about that. And I need to calculate all of these different sizes. So I tried taking the more, quote, right way to do it.

And the process isn’t nearly as fun. I found myself getting a little overwhelmed by the mathematics behind it. I mean, it’s not complicated math, but it’s a lot of stuff to keep track of. And I’m just not a numbers person. I do not do well with keeping numbers straight in my mind. I have to write everything out.

And so I’m going through and I’m doing all this work. I’m looking at all of my scribbles on my notes and I’m like, this is work. So I find myself more often than not just diving in and like you said, seeing what happens if it doesn’t work, which a lot of times it doesn’t and you have to rip back and do it again.

And I think that’s important for people to hear that the designing process is different for everybody. But what I’m finding is that a lot of us designers relate in that aspect that we’re designing because it’s something different that fulfills us and if you allow things to get too complicated or too structured then it kind of takes the fun out of it.

Jessica: 35:56
Yes, I 100% agree. That’s what I found too. I tried, um, last year I worked a lot with, um, like commissioned patterns and worked a lot with brands. And having that experience, I wanted to be like, all right, well, I’m doing these professional things, I should probably be more professional.

And so I attempted that. I, you know, planned a project, I, you know, sketched it all out, I, you know, sketched out the stitch that I wanted to use—all of those types of things. And as I began making it and keeping my notes, it just felt like work.

And like you said, and I, it, I still created a beautiful piece. It was still wonderful. But again, in the experience aspect of it, me earning the money or me creating this project that feels professional or whatever it may be, approaching a new design in a way that’s different than my natural creative process made the experience less than what it could have been.

And, you know, sometimes… I’ve I’ve even said no to opportunities because they need certain information up front or whatever. And you know what? That’s just not the way I do things. That’s not the way that my brain works. I can’t guarantee you a piece that feels right. Like it’s true to the hook, nook, true to Jessica. If you require me to do things that aren’t my typical way of doing things.

And, um, you know, it, it might be viewed as less professional. It might be viewed as whatever, but you know what, for me as a maker and me as a creative, as a, whatever I, that’s the way that I work. And that’s the way that I have fun doing this craft that brings me joy.

And the moment that I catch myself following steps that don’t feel right for me is when I start hating—not hating, that’s the wrong word—is when I start kind of not enjoying this craft as much as I normally do because I’m not doing it in a way that is right for me so.

Brittany: 38:08
Now, that makes complete sense. I think one of the things that I have found that’s sort of like the happy medium between staying true to the way I like to design and being as professional as possible is, I mean, I kind of do double work for myself, but I like to design very far in advance, which is usually pretty doable. But when I’m up against a really tight deadline, I do tend to struggle because I like to kind of design freely.

So I make sure it works. I can play with the stitch or the gauge or the colors, whatever it may be. I can kind of just do that on my own, not have to worry about writing things down. And then after I see the finished project, or maybe it’s not even 100% complete, as soon as I know that that is going to work, then I kind of buckle down and try to start taking some notes and doing the math behind it and that sort of thing.

So that’s kind of been one way—well, one thing I’ve been sort of perfecting over the last year and a half is just finding that mix between staying true to my creative process and being as professional as I possibly can.

Jessica: 39:20
Yes, I actually do something—kind of, sort of similar. I have found that for me, the best way to give my creativity freedom is to just make things as I want. But as I’m making it, I actually write the pattern at the same time.

This doesn’t happen every single time. I definitely don’t keep… I’ll keep notes in my phone or whatever, but when I feel… on top of it, I write the pattern as I make. And so say for, you know, I’ll write out a certain, the way that I did a certain row. And so I’ll write it out on the pattern or my, you know, my rough draft, what I did for that row. And then if I repeat that row for however many rows, I’ll note that as well.

And I’ll basically write the pattern as I make my piece and it keeps it super organized. My notes can’t be, it’s, it’s—that’s worked really well for me to just basically write it at the same time.

Brittany: 40:22
Yeah, I think that’s a really good idea too. I like to use Evernote. It’s the free thing that’s on my phone. It can be on my iPad or if I’m on my computer, I can access it there too. But I do like to keep some notes in Evernote or something that I have easy access to. That way I’m not like starting from scratch all over again.

Jessica: 40:44
Yeah, yeah, I do the same thing. I keep—I have an iPhone, and so the Notes app connects to my phone, my computer, an iPad. Any Apple product, I can reference those same notes just from that one app, and it’s glorious.

Brittany: 41:00
Okay, okay. Yeah, we’ll have to check that out and maybe link to it in the show notes too so people can check that out if they want to. The main thing I want to hit on here is that—to this question that I asked you, do you just start crocheting or do you really plan it out first?

I think it’s so important for people to understand that there’s no right or wrong answer here. It’s kind of like whatever your creative process looks like, that’s going to be the right way for you. So if you like to be a little bit more free and let it happen, then that’s what you should do.

If you’re a more structured, more organized person, you want to make sure you get it right because your time is super valuable and you can’t possibly spend time frogging and doing it over again, then that’s the right answer for you. So I just want people to know that just because I do it one way or Jessica does it another way, whatever is right for us personally is the right answer to this question.

Jessica: 42:01
Perfect. Yes.

Brittany: 42:02
So let me ask you this. Has there ever been an idea or has there ever been a time when one of your projects or ideas just completely tanked?

Jessica: 42:13
Absolutely. 100%. I’m pretty sure that applies to every single thing that I’ve ever made, honestly. Everything has a failure step in it.

But there have been times where I’ve picked up a project and I’ve gotten even three quarters of the way done. And I am just so… unhappy with the fit or the way that the yarn—like maybe I chose the wrong yarn or maybe I should have used a smaller or larger hook.

There’s been so many times where I will make something and it’s just not at all what I envisioned it to be and I just throw it on the shelf and deal with it later and move on to something else and completely waste all of those hours that I spent trying to make this thing.

Absolutely. I have had so many failed designs. So many, so many.

Brittany: 43:05
Yeah, I think we can all relate to that too. But again, it’s an important message because I feel like for me personally, I have had more failures with making garments than I have any other project. And I think that’s just because of the sheer complexity of it.

I don’t want to scare people away. It’s not difficult to make a crocheted sweater or whatever it may be, but it’s going to be more detail-oriented than say a hat or a scarf. So you do have to put a little bit more thought and intention behind it.

And when we open ourselves up to a bigger volume of instructions, then it’s so much easier to make a mistake.

Jessica: 43:51
Yes, there’s so many aspects of—or so many components of—garment design and pattern writing that I didn’t even know. And, um, especially when you get into sizing and grading and figuring out how to keep all of those in line, when you move from one size to the next, it’s extremely difficult.

And I, I, I’m not afraid to admit that I asked for help in this aspect. And, um, I, it can be extremely daunting and, um, kind of what I’m so bad at—like thinking quickly, but like the, it’s very off-putting and it can scare, like you said, scare you away from doing it.

But just by starting small, like I did with my Nolan top, it was basically, I created two squares and sewed them together and called it a top. And, um, it was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful way to dip my toes into it.

And, you know, starting something simple and starting with something simple is a great way to kind of put your mind and be able to see, OK, so this is what they mean about, you know, arm holes or this is what they mean about, you know, neckline or whatever it might be.

It’s jumping in and doing it and figuring it out as you go is really, truly the best way to figure out how to do it at a higher level.

And, you know, my friend Vincent at Not Bad, he’s doing the same thing. He’s, you know, basically making his first sweater right now. And it’s his way to jump into garments.

You know, he’s asking me all these questions like, how do you do this? How do you do this? How do you measure that? Blah, blah, blah. And, you know, I can give him all of my tips and suggestions, but he really hasn’t been able to personally really understand until he’s sat down and made this top.

It’s fun watching myself and other people both realize that, oh, you know what? You can have all the answers, but you really don’t know all the answers until you do it for yourself.

Brittany: 45:54
Oh, yeah. That’s so true. I know so many of us learn through our own mistakes. That’s why I encourage just trying and failing over and over because that is the best way.

I mean, you and I can sit here and preach until we’re blue in the face, but the moral of the story is you really won’t understand those things, some of the things that we’re talking about, until you’ve tried and failed at them.

Jessica: 46:19
Yes, yes.

Brittany: 46:21
That’s funny. You brought up Vincent. I just had to mention here, I saw a post on Instagram last night. So it sounds like he’s gotten his audience involved in the planning of this sweater.

And he takes a picture of himself wearing this sweater and it’s got this bright pink pouch on the front. And I was like, oh man, what are you doing? And I read the comments and he’s like, I don’t know why you guys wanted me to put… a pink kangaroo pouch on it, but your wish is my command.

And so he’s modeling his half done sweater with his bright pink pouch on the front. It’s just hysterical.

Jessica: 46:58
He is having so much fun with it. It’s I, I, he’s like my literal real life best friend. Um, I, he’s the best.

And so I’ve, he’s, he’s shared parts of this and he, him including, well, he did something last year where he incorporated his audience and they kind of helped him pick and choose, you know, what colors or whatever.

And so this is his first garment one. And, um, he’s like, I don’t, he’s like, I have this hot pink pocket and blah, blah, blah. And I’m like, it’s just hilarious. And he’s having so much fun, but him being able to include his audience is, oh my goodness, he’s having so much fun.

Brittany: 47:30
Yeah. That’s, that’s a real blast. He’s at not bad on Instagram. If you don’t follow him, you definitely should. He’s, he’s a lot of fun.

So I wanna talk a little bit about sizing and kind of how that process looks because you said it’s a lot of work as a designer.

Well, actually first, before I go into that, I kind of had multiple thoughts running through my mind and I forgot. The one really big piece of advice that I have is before you ever try to design anything of your own, I think it’s always a great idea to follow a pattern that’s like a professional pattern that’s already written, whether it be a free one from some of the yarn company’s websites or you pick up a magazine or a pattern book, whatever it is.

You learn so much from following a pattern that’s written correctly in terms of being able to write your own. So that’s where I started. I started making garment patterns from or projects from other people’s patterns and then with that information that I was able to gather through that process, then I was able to see and understand the way garments come together and start with a really simple design.

Like you said, you sewed two squares together and it was a top and it was super easy. There was no shaping. You got that instant gratification of, wow, I just made my first top and kind of progressed from there.

Jessica: 49:01
Yes, exactly. I think I’m so glad you brought that up to like follow other patterns because that’s a huge, huge opportunity to learn so much, especially following patterns from multiple different people.

You can see different ways that people do things and amazing, amazing, amazing point. And I totally forgot the second part that you told me.

Brittany: 49:23
Well, I think my mind is just a little bit scattered right now because this topic is—there are so many questions that circle around this topic. That’s why I’m kind of dedicating an entire month to it. And gosh, just trying to remember all of the things. I know we’ll not be able to touch on all of them or even remember all of the questions.

But yeah, practice with a pattern that’s already written and professionally written. There are tons of free patterns available online. But when you’re learning something this complex or… that much more complex than the things you’ve already tried to tackle, it’s so important to follow a pattern that’s professionally written because it brings us into the sizing component of it. Those patterns have been tech edited, they’ve been graded, and they are 100% correct.

You can pretty much guarantee that if you follow all of the steps on that pattern, your gauge matches and everything, your thing is going to turn out as it’s supposed to. And that’s not always the case if you just find a random pattern online, it may not have been tech edited or whatnot. Not saying that it isn’t going to work out, but when you’re in that kind of vulnerable state of learning something new that’s a little bit more treacherous than what you’re used to, definitely err on the side of a professional pattern.

Jessica: 50:47
I can agree with that. I think… I think I would also just want to note that all professional patterns aren’t only found in books or yarn websites. I know many, many, many designers, both knit and crochet, who, you know, tech edit their patterns and, you know, yeah, that’s the right term, tech edit. I tech edit my patterns. I have them tested. I have friends that do the same thing.

And even though they aren’t, you know, in a book or, you know, from a yarn company. Again, those are just, you know, opinions of professionals. And I, I know a lot of professional designers who, um, are professional in their own right and they still tech edit and they still test their patterns and whatnot.

So as long as you find someone or a pattern that is, you know, more so following, like if you were to go to Ravelry and this pattern has so ever missed, I don’t, but I, I don’t know what I’m trying to say.

Brittany: 51:51
Yeah, I see where you’re going, what you’re going with there. I definitely didn’t mean people who are publishing online aren’t professionals. That’s definitely not the case. But seek out those people who are—

Jessica: 52:03
Yes.

Brittany: 52:04
And that could be on Ravelry. It could be on Etsy because those are two big places where you can buy patterns from. You can even get some free patterns on Ravelry. Yeah. Maybe the practice is there is just to do a little bit of research on that pattern and make sure that it has been tech edited and that sort of thing before you decide that that is gonna be your first attempt at making a garment.

Jessica: 52:30
Yes, absolutely.

Brittany: 52:32
So the sizing, what goes into creating multiple sizes for one pattern? So obviously when you work your design, you probably are making it in the size that fits you because you kind of have your own body as a reference. But if you were to just publish a pattern in one size, you’re probably gonna get tons of questions and emails about either how to convert it to a different size or they’re going to just ask you for that different size.

So I know that you’re doing this, that you’re publishing in multiple sizes. What does that process look like from the original one you made to the four, five, or six sizes that you’re offering it in?

Jessica: 53:17
Like I said before, I do ask for help in this aspect of it. Math is not something that I am awesome with. And I was told by another awesome entrepreneur friend, and he told me that if you can’t do something properly, then to hire someone who can, who can do a better job at it than you can.

And so in this aspect, I do work with tech editors or other people who are much more familiar in terms of sizing and grading. But the process for that would be to, at least for me and what I’ve experienced, is for me, I have my gauge. I finished my project. I have my gauge. I might work up the gauge swatch after I finish my project because, again, I said I don’t really plan all that stuff beforehand.

So I’ll work up the gauge swatch afterward or measure off of the actual sample itself, depending on what stitch was used. And with the gauge, you can measure however many stitches and rows it will take to create a four inch by four inch square. And with those numbers, you can then figure out how many stitches or rows it will take to go up in a size.

And to find the proper measurements for different sizes, I just Google. And so you can Google or you can go on Pinterest and look up, you know, if you want to make a women’s sweater, then you can, you know, Google average women’s sweater measurements.

And it’ll give you all kinds of different measurements to look at, you know, neck circumferences, whatever it might be. And with those, you can see the differences in sizes so like say for instance a small is, you know, five inches and a medium is six inches and etc.

And with your gauge, you can basically figure out how much one inch will be and whether it’s, you know, rows or stitches and add those numbers to your original size and then that will give you your next size. And it sounds super easy doing it that way but then there is also the whole fit aspect of it and then so you have to—it’s so I don’t even know this is why I don’t do it.

Brittany: 55:40
Yeah no, I love your transparency and your honesty there though because it’s true, there are a lot of moving parts to converting a pattern and then if you have a garment that incorporates shaping then it’s like it just takes it up a notch.

It’s good to know that there are professionals out there that are doing this for us because some of us, we’re just—and I’m saying myself included too—we’re just not made for numbers. And that’s okay.

If there is a designer out there who maybe has a really great pattern, but they’re just completely overwhelmed of the idea to convert it to multiple sizes, do you have a recommendation of where that person could go to even find somebody like this, like a tech editor?

Jessica: 56:27
I don’t know a resource that just lists them out, and I don’t know where they all go and hide. I know that I’m sure that there’s plenty. Ravelry is such a wonderful resource that I even need to reference more often, and I’m sure that there’s a lot of them there, maybe in the forums.

Um, but I found a couple, um, just by putting, you know, you know, I found my, one of the first tech editors I found by just posting it on Instagram saying, I am looking for a crochet tech editor, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I had people let me know who was a tech editor.

And, um, I hired one of them and another tech editor that I have in my just whatever, um, to use, uh, was a reference, a contact given to me from Furls Crochet. Um, and so the ones that I’ve used, one of them was, like I said, just she approached me.

And then the other one was I did a crochet along with Furls Crochet and, um, they helped—their tech editor helped us, um, finish all of these problems that we were having with gauging and sizing and all that stuff.

So, um, I’m not too sure exactly where to go, but I’m sure that you can find a lot on Ravelry.

Brittany: 57:47
Yeah, Ravelry is a really great resource, great place to start. Another totally random one that I have actually tried before is Twitter, because a lot of people will put in their description kind of like what they do. And I’ve actually seen quite a few tech editors on there just kind of browsing the different accounts who are fiber arts related. So Twitter is definitely an untapped resource, I think, in terms of finding somebody to help you with these with these things that you can’t or don’t necessarily want to do yourself.

Jessica: 58:20
That’s awesome. I don’t—I’ve tried Twitter so many times and I just can’t quite get it. So—

Brittany: 58:26
Good to know. Yeah, it’s a work in progress for me too. I think Twitter works for fiber arts because there are so many people out there who do it well, but it’s something that I haven’t quite figured out yet. Maybe I just don’t get Twitter, but… Some people do, and I think it’s great for those people who get it. Agreed, agreed.

Well, Jessica, it’s been so much fun having you back on the show. I definitely want to encourage people to go back and listen to your previous episode. It’s episode 11. We talked a lot about some of the similar things we discussed here, but… in the sense of expressing yourself through crochet. We talked about different ways that you personally express yourself. And I know a lot of people have really enjoyed and really loved that episode. So definitely jump back to episode 11 and hear from Jessica there too.

I want to give you a chance to tell us about what’s going on with you now because that was almost a year ago. I know your life looks completely different right now at this point in time. So what are some exciting things that you have coming up right now?

Jessica: 59:35
Well, I am working with my team and we are finally launching our website—our new blog and where we are able to feature makers from all around the world in all levels of success or whatever you want to call it. I’m really excited for this new journey of sharing the stage and, you know, letting others know how important they are and giving the wisdom and talents and skills and all of the above from everyone.

I totally lost my train of thought by looking at that darn balloon right there. I don’t know. This whole website is something that we’ve worked really hard on and it’s a really amazing platform where we’re able to share content from everyone. And whether—I’ve heard that people who are sharing the content in these first few months are super excited and it’s giving them confidence in themselves, as well as knowing what’s coming and what will be launched and released is, you know, content that’s going to not only inspire the people who wrote it and created it, but as well as the people who will be reading it and or referencing it or using it.

And it’s just—I’m really, really excited for this positive little platform that we’re working on and it’s really, really exciting. I also have a new collaboration coming out in March that I can’t say anything about, but please just be really excited. And so many more exciting things. But the biggest, biggest, biggest thing is definitely this website that I am just so, so proud of.

Brittany: 1:01:21
What’s the address?

Jessica: 1:01:24
Good question. I don’t know yet because I’m not done building the website at the time of recording this podcast.

Brittany: 1:01:30
That’s fine. So what I’ll do is I’ll get the links from you because at the time that you all are listening to this podcast right now, the website will be live. Let me ask you this. What type of content is going to be on that website? Are we talking patterns or how-tos or inspiration or a combination of all of those things?

Jessica: 1:01:52
Everything. We have knit and crochet patterns coming in the next few months. Beautiful, beautiful ones from amazing, amazing makers. We also have words of wisdom and words of insight from other makers who find inspiration in the maker community and how they find inspiration in the maker community.

We have so many different kinds of everything. And it’s basically, I put a call out to anyone that felt inspired and wanted to participate and kind of giving them the freedom, again, to let their creative process work how it wants to. And whether they found inspiration to write a pattern or they found inspiration to write an inspirational post, I really just wanted to let others shine in a way that worked for them.

And so we have all different kinds of content coming, and it’s all really, really amazing.

Brittany: 1:02:45
Oh, that sounds great. We do have a really large audience of makers. So let’s say somebody in the audience has a really great idea or topic to share. Is that something that they can potentially approach you with? Or do you kind of only do like calls for new content? And how would that look if somebody wanted to contribute to your website?

Jessica: 1:03:10
Well, I do have… One of my assistants, Jen, she’s kind of running the whole application process. And so to not really overwhelm her, I’m kind of asking that people wait for calls just because scheduling a whole bunch of people can be kind of crazy. And I’m not her only job. She also works for other companies.

And so if anyone were interested to contribute to the blog, I would… tell them to wait for our next call, which I think is coming in March or April. And there’s no limit on who can apply or anything like that. It’s just wait for the proper time and see what we’re looking for, see the requirements, and apply if you want to just at the proper, proper time.

Brittany: 1:04:05
Okay. And so you’re probably making announcements for those on your social channels. Is that right?

Jessica: 1:04:10
Yes, you can sign up for my newsletter and a lot goes through the newsletter in terms of the maker calls. It’ll be shared on Instagram, on Facebook, and on a blog post as well.

Brittany: 1:04:21
Okay, cool. So definitely follow Jessica on Instagram. What’s your handle?

Jessica: 1:04:26
Thehooknook.

Brittany: 1:04:28
Okay, do that. Sign up for the newsletter if you do want to participate in this next call for content. And maybe one day soon we can have you back and we can dive in a little bit more.

Jessica: 1:04:39
I would absolutely be honored. That would be wonderful.

Brittany: 1:04:43
That’s great. Well, thank you so much. It’s been such a pleasure chatting with you again today.

Jessica: 1:04:47
You too, Brittany.

Brittany: 1:04:48
Now, don’t forget to check out Jessica’s brand new website as soon as it launches. I’ll have all of the information there for you on the show notes page, the links so you can access that very easily.

And I also want to remind you that those tickets, guys, be sure that you are able to claim one of those 25 tickets for the LML event. And to do so, you’ll head over to bhookedcrochet.com slash OML. That’s going to direct you right away to the LML ticket sales page.

And by using that link, you are making sure that you’re within my group of 25 tickets that I’m reserving to do something spectacular for you. As a thank you for being such a loyal listener, it’s just one way that I can say thank you for everything that you’ve done for me.

Thank you so much for listening to today’s podcast. Once again, I’d like to thank Yarnspirations for sponsoring the show. Whether you knit or crochet, Yarnspirations is the online destination for free patterns, video tutorials, and of course, the yarn you love like Peyton’s, Bernat, Karen, and Lily Sugar and Cream.

In case you missed it at the beginning of today’s episode, you as a listener are able to redeem 20% off your order of $40 or more at Yarnspirations.com by using the coupon code B.HOOKED. Thank you guys so much. I appreciate you so much. I hope to see you at the OML event. Cheers. I’ll see you next week.