Imbuing your style into your finished creations, or even a combination of your style and the style of the person you’re giving your finished creation to, is a great way to make your crochet and knit pieces unique and extraordinary.
This article was originally published in the September 2024 Digital Edition of Crochet Foundry Magazine.
Yarn
One way to show off your style is with your yarn. Maybe part of your signature style is your texture. You use a lot of tweed or nubby yarns, or even the visual texture of hand-dyed yarn where you can see the variations in the color. Or maybe all of your pieces have a little fuzzy yarn border on them. You decide what works for you.
The drape or flow of your yarn impacts your style. Your style may be one of those blows-in-the-wind kind of styles where everything just really flows, so you use a lot of lighter weight yarns and more lacy stitches. If you have a geometric style where everything has a place and that’s where it stays, then you’ll use a yarn with less drape, something stiffer or thicker, combined with a tighter gauge
And of course there’s shine, shimmer, luster, or even dullness. The way light bounces off yarn can be incorporated into your style. I’ve certainly seen makers in the yarn industry, and in other industries as well, for whom the finished shine or matte on their creations is part of their style.
Colors
When we talk about colors as part of your style, it does not necessarily mean everything you create is a shade of blue. It might be how you use colors or even the qualities of the colors, such as are they bright or dull, are they jewel tones or heathers, or maybe they fit under a collection of colors like nature colors or warm/fire colors or winter colors. These are all aspects of color you can use that will have a way of bringing everything together into your own style.
Don’t forget the importance of making sure your colors work together. If you spend a month stitching up a spectacular to, but your colors clash, then it will probably end up in the back or on the floor of somebody’s closet. There are times that clashing colors work in a design, but you need to be sure that’s the case before you spend your time making a dust collector.
You want to really think about your colors. Don’t use the colors of the yarn you currently have just because it’s what you have. I’ve made some pretty hideous granny squares just because those were the colors I had, most of the time it was because I was trying to figure out a pattern design, so it didn’t really matter.
So take the time to make sure your colors work together. It’s quicker to get more yarn than to have to make something over again because the colors were a big “NO!”
If you are not going to be the owner of the finished creation, then think about the colors THEY will like. If you are making something for somebody else, you may not want to make it completely in your style. You can make some aspects of your creation in your style and then use the colors they like. How much of your style and how much of the recipient’s style goes into a piece will change based on things such as how close or far apart your styles are, and if they even like your style. Take the time to think ahead about the recipient to be sure your creation is loved and used.
Notions
This is one of the most overlooked aspects that can make or break a project. You want to use notions that fit in with your style and you can also add notions to give your creation something more.
Notions can be used for functions, such as buttons or other closures, and they can be for decoration. Sometimes they do both.
You could use a purchased tassel and pendant to dangle off your creation. You could have buttons that are used as decoration and not actual functioning buttons.
Even if you’re making an item from a pattern, you can still add or change the notions. Look at the notions they suggest and see if you want to change any to suit your style more. You can also add decorative notions like tassels or felt flowers or whatever you want.
Cheap notions will result in a cheap finished item. I have tins of buttons that were handed down from my great grandmother and various other crafty people. Some of them are gorgeous and lovely, and some of them are not. I still, on occasion, buy buttons. If it doesn’t fit with my style and with the item I’m making, then I would rather spend some money getting the right notion than using the wrong notion. Don’t take your hours upon hours of work and cheapen it because you didn’t want to spend a few extra dollars on the right notion.
Modify or Enhance
This works if you’re a pattern designer or a maker. As a designer, you might have a pattern you designed that just needs a little something more. As a maker you might be using a pattern that doesn’t have a lot of style, or don’t have YOUR style.
What can you do? Modify it or enhance it.
Look at your options. Can you change the stitches? You don’t have to change all the stitches. On a cardigan you could change the stitches on the body but not on the sleeves or change the stitches on the ribbed section to make it more or less stretchy.
Try adding or removing sections or repeats. I have a lot of wraps that I’ve designed that are made from side to side, and most of them have sections that are repeated over and over again. You can repeat those sections more or less times to change the size and/or style. I love the look of those triangle shawls that are so big you wrap them all the way around and tie the ends at the back of your waist. You can modify most triangle shawls to make them larger if that’s the look you want.
Want to add some fun little details? Create a little appliqué to add somewhere or put in an intarsia section where you add a little image in what would have been a solid color section. Think about your style and figure out what you need to add to a pattern to make it yours.
Change the shape. Sometimes you are looking for the perfect pattern to make and you see this triangular scarf and you think, “I really love that, but I don’t like the shape of it. I’d rather it be a rectangle scarf or a circle scarf.”
Go for it. If what you love is the stitch pattern and then figure out how to get that stitch pattern into a half circle pattern you already have. Take a pattern with a straight edge add a scalloped edge to it. Turn a square blanket into a rectangle.
Do what you need to do to make the finished piece what you want it to be, so you’ll actually use or wear it!
Finishing Matters
I know that sometimes we have spent days, weeks, months, or more on a project. I know people who have been working on the same blanket for years because they just work on a little bit and toss in the corner.
You finish that last stitch and, Woo-Hoo!! You’re done!
But you still have to weave in your ends. You still you might have to block it. Or when it’s all done you look at it and just doesn’t quite look right, or quite finished. Sometimes you’ve made a cardigan and the opening in the front is a little wobbly, you might need to add a border to neaten it up.
Look at your finished item and determine if it’s really finished. Are you tired and want to be done or are you really finished?
As much as some of these finishing techniques are things that people may not always enjoy. You don’t want to take something you have spent days, weeks, months, or years working on and have it not end up being a beautiful, finished piece because you don’t like blocking. Take the time and finish it so that you end up with a creation you can be proud of; one that fits your style and makes everybody say, “Oh my goodness. That’s so great. Will you make me one?” And then you can tell them your prices.
Take your time. Make sure you do the proper finishing. Make your pieces fit your style. Be proud of your work.
