Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

Imagical Seasons Vol. 1: Spring Imagical Seasons Vol. 2: Summer The interesting title of these books sets the tone for what crocheters will find inside! Making use of the “portmanteau word” which blends two or more distinct forms like smoke + fog = smog, Alla has blended the words "imagine" and "magical." You'll find imaginative and magical designs for the little ones in your life. Alla Koval “creates happy fashion designs by combining colors, texture and materials that make her designs unique and enticing.” After selling hundreds of custom-created children’s fashions, she decided to start writing up the designs to instruct others to make them. She is well suited to create original fashions that will thrill mothers as much as their children! At first Alla feared that she would burn out, but she now feels that writing the patterns is what makes her the “happiest person in the world!ead!” Read the ...

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Crochet for Dolls b y Nicky Epstein Crochet For Dolls I love the American Girl doll, and I even have two of my own! Of course, someday when granddaughter Chloe is a bit older, she will have her own too; and we will play with our dolls together! I got a copy of this very fashionable doll clothes book at Vogue Knitting Live Chicago, and Vogue very generously was selling them at a deep discount. I’ve made two ensembles already and enjoyed the finished results. I did run into a couple of little glitches with the pattern instructions, but I just used my common sense and made them work. Nicky Epstein is a very well known and popular knit designer. By her own admission in the book, she says that she is a better knitter than crocheter. She also goes on to offer that she hasn’t forgotten us crocheters and by request she has done this sister book to her Knitting for Dolls.  She confirms that she believes that we (knitters and crocheters) are in a...

Runway Crochet By Margaret Hubert I’ve been watching crochet on the runways for years, twenty to be exact! Crochet came into its own in 1994 and rode a wave of fashion attention at that time. It wasn’t long until big-name designers as well as emerging talent jumped on the bandwagon to feature crochet in their collections. At the time I called it a “crochet sighting” whenever crochet got attention in the media because it was so exciting to see crochet elevated to that status.  Today, crochet on the runways is much more prominent, not just hit or miss. It is an accepted medium and inspires many a designer. Over the years I’ve continued to collect many, many examples of crochet sightings from the fashion runways as they became more common.  In an effort to go “green,” they are now on my blog . What is not so common is a book like Margaret Hubert’s Runway Crochet . I often said, “I can’t afford the $5,000.00 the designer is asking for that.” “Why can’t I crochet t...

Monday, August 19, 2013 Blueprint Crochet Sweaters Techniques for Custom Construction by Robyn Chachula Wunderkind designer, Robyn Chachula, works as an architect, has babies and designs architecturally-inspired best-selling fashions! Her newest offering in the “Blueprint” brand is Blueprint Crochet Sweaters just published by Interweave.  Because of her background as a structural engineer, Robyn has the ability to take big projects and break them in little chunks that anyone can understand. Her book will become the go-to guide for anyone who has ever been frustrated by less than pleasing results when crocheting garments. It is also a fantastic reference for wannabe fashion crochet designers, as well as a for seasoned professionals. A one-of-a-kind, Blueprint Crochet Sweaters provides an approachable introduction to the topic giving readers a deeper understanding of crochet design, and helping them to make better-fitting garments in the process. Robyn’s purpo...