Intro – Today we’re talking to crochet designer Rachel Field, who contributed the Glacier Vest crochet pattern featured in our December 2024 issue.
Can you tell us a little bit about what inspired your design for this month?
I often have a character in mind when I come up with a design.
For the Glacier Vest I was thinking about Winter Queens in fantasy ice worlds. I thought about Ciri from The Witcher and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. I asked myself questions. What sort of costume would I give them if I designed for that show? How could I make the garment work with a modern wardrobe?
I’d previously designed a vest that had a raised chevron edging around the hem and collar. I loved the idea of exploring the chevron as a large element. The shape reminded me of glaciers, icicles, frozen waterfalls and the spectacular forms nature creates in ice.
If you were to create a sibling piece to this one, what would it be?
I love details on sleeves, so I think it would be awesome to create a piece with the single chevron going down the length of the sleeve. I’d love to play with a lighter weight yarn and add sleeves to the vest or make a front opening chevron jacket.
What is your crochet origin story? How did you learn to crochet?
I learnt to knit first and I was all about knitting but I dabbled in crochet from time to time.
My mother crocheted a lot and, the first project I remember her showing me, was a doily she’d made. I used very rough hemp yarn to recreate a much bigger version of the doily, which looked like dried up leaves. I don’t think I ever finished it.
I carried on knitting for years. I mainly knitted other people’s patterns but I’d started to get into making my own designs, but it was frustrating. I couldn’t get my head around it completely.
I remember seeing a lot of people on TikTok having fun with crochet and I wanted to try it again. I started with a sunflower granny square and used it to make a sweater. After that crochet clicked in my head and I spent months working on different designs, trying to get what was in my head onto my hook. What hadn’t made sense to me in knitting made sense in crochet.
I plan to get back to knitting one day but for now crochet is a huge landscape to explore with limitless borders.
What is your dream crochet project?
I really love historical clothing and I would l love to do a series of pieces where some part of the design has been inspired by a certain era. I particularly enjoy looking at ideas of what stone age, iron age and bronze age people would have worn. As a lot of it is speculative, there’s room to experiment. I’d love to dye yarn with some of those ancient dyes like woad and crochet with that.
What benefits has crochet brought into your life?
So many. I now have a lot more sweaters!
I met so many wonderful people through crochet, including my best friend. Pattern testing and having other people test my patterns has really raised my confidence levels and helped me meet a lot of awesome people.
I learnt to love myself. For years before crocheting, I didn’t appear in many photos because I hated looking at myself. I had a really bad self-image. But I discovered that if I wanted to show my crochet pieces online then I had to take photos of myself wearing them.
What project are you most proud of?
Currently I’m most proud of my design Aquila. It’s a crochet and Tunisian crochet hybrid top with lace up sleeves. I made the original for my 2022 birthday. It was supposed to be inspired by the Celts but it ended up looking very Roman.
How can our readers find you on social media?
I can mainly be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pearledwing/
Are you a crochet designer who wants to contribute to Crochet Foundry Magazine? We work with independent crochet designers to produce the gorgeous designs featured in our magazine. To find out more, visit our Submit a Design page and be sure to sign up for our Designer Calls be notified of design opportunities.