Joanne of Made with Love & Fibres – A Crochet Designer Interview

Grab your favourite cuppa and settle in for this lovely interview with clothing pattern designer Joanne from Made with Love and Fibres.

Joanne loves to create patterns for shapely, colourful, crocheted and knitted wearables with eye-catching details that are interesting and enjoyable to make. Having some training in garment pattern cutting and a non-standard figure, she preferred to work to her own designs since first setting needle and hook to yarn and was thrilled to find she could make a career out of creating patterns both for independent publication under her brand name Made with Love and Fibres and for craft publications worldwide.

She lives in London with her husband and two small sons and in her spare time she enjoys growing and cooking food for her family and trying new crafts.

Find Joanne on the Web:

Made with Love and Fibres Website
Ravelry Designer Page
Instagram

What inspired you to start crocheting? How has your style evolved over the years?

Joanne:
I started crocheting in June 2007 after buying a couple of vintage crochet books and some chunky cotton pullovers to unpick. I’d been knitting for about six months and thought crochet had a more summery feel. I wanted to make a lace shrug with a frilly edging and cuffs. It’s not perfect (the sleeves aren’t the same!) but I loved the shrug and was thrilled at how easy I found it to crochet something fancy compared to knitting something similar; it felt like cheating!

Sage:
That’s fantastic for a first project, and so good how you picked up crochet so quickly! Very inspiring for folks like me who haven’t made larger wearables (not counting the odd hat here and there) just to get in and give it a go…different length sleeves and all!

Can you share a quick behind-the-scenes overview of your creative process when creating a new design?

Joanne:
Yes, mostly I design in response to a publisher’s call for designs for a publication they’re planning so I check the details and come up with a range of sketches. Then I swatch to find a suitable stitch and yarn type. If they select the design or I decide to publish it independently, the next step is to sketch the shapes needed and note all the size information on those before setting up a grading spreadsheet to work out the stitch and row counts for every size and how much yarn is required for each. 

Next I order the yarn and while I’m waiting for it to arrive, I’ll write all the pattern instructions using a placeholder where the numbers will go. When it arrives, I’ll create a swatch for each of the stitches in the pattern. Those figures go into the grading sheet and suddenly I have all the numbers required for all the patterns. Now I can finally start to crochet the sample (or knit it; I design knitwear too!). I take in-progress photos and note ideas on how to improve the pattern instructions. 

After the sample is complete, if I’m publishing it myself, I photograph it and update the pattern with resources for makers, e.g. step-by-step photos or link a few videos too.

Next, the pattern is checked by a technical editor (a professional hired to check spelling, grammar, clarity of instructions, adherence to a consistent style, and all the numbers too) and/or made by testers (makers who respond to tester requests via my mailing list and receive a free pattern to make themselves in exchange for feedback and usually images of the finished item) to see if any improvements are needed. The pattern gets updated again; separate US terms/UK terms versions are made and finally it’s converted to a pdf format that’s easy to use.

Sage:
So much goes into pattern-making behind the scenes, thank you for going through each step! That grading spreadsheet sounds like a massive time saver so the pattern works with different body sizes…I wasn’t even aware that such a tool exists, and that answers the question I had as to whether a designer needs to be the one to make one of each size themselves 😅

What’s your favourite piece that you’ve designed?

Joanne:
Ooh, tricky question. Probably one of my Wefan patterns; they have such an unusual stitch that I love working and they have been very popular and brought me much joy and many new yarn friends.

Sage:
Such a clever intricate stitch pattern! It’s always so inspiring to find a design that resonates with your audience, and I can’t wait to see what other Wefan projects you design in the future! I imagine the videos you have included with the pattern would be so helpful for folks looking to jump into the unfamiliar stitch.

What’s the most challenging project you’ve worked on? What made it difficult?

Joanne:
Probably my Day at the Beach Bag, just because it was the first pattern I created for a magazine, Knit Now, and I was learning everything as I went. I was so slow and made so many mistakes that I had to correct. I feel like every time I looked at the pattern I saw something new that needed changing. Having completed that, all my other patterns came more easily to me as I had knowledge and experience to draw on. I got so frustrated at myself though. I was used to being an expert in my previous career and kept having to remind myself that I was a new learner to yarncraft pattern writing and couldn’t expect myself to just know everything and find it easy.

Sage:
I’ve battled with the same problems of expecting perfection when starting a new hobby, as I’m sure many others have…I’m so glad you didn’t let your discouragement stop you though, as now everyone can enjoy your patterns. And how great is that bag, especially knowing that you made it while learning as you went!

How do you stay motivated and inspired, especially during creative blocks?

Joanne:
Crafting with others is key. I haven’t had a creative block as a designer but I did as a crafter after having my two children and joined a few CALs for small projects where I could enjoy the social aspect and satisfaction of completing something quick and easy. As soon as my hook and yarn were back in my hands, the ideas started coming and I haven’t laid them down since!

Sage:
I envy you, that’s wonderful not to have creative blocks as a designer 😄 Great idea to join a CAL (crochet along) to get your crojo back!

Do you have a favourite design that you’ve made from another designer’s pattern that you’d like to share?

Joanne:
That’s tricky. I don’t often crochet from patterns and when I do, I often end up just picking out the stitch pattern and doing my own thing with that rather than following the instructions to the letter. I do like the style of designer Kirsten Holloway and have made her Wrapped in Lace choker a couple of times.

Sage:
Very pretty, thank you for sharing! I’m sure there are other folks who haven’t heard of her and will like her patterns too.

What’s your go-to yarn and crochet hook?

Joanne:
I like a good variety really but I do have strong preferences too. In terms of hooks, anything from tiny 0.4mm to a 4.5mm is good for me and I love wooden Brittany Needles hooks (see pic below) for their smooth finish, nice hook shape and the pretty weighted ends, which give them a lovely easy swing. They are perfect for anyone who holds their hook pencil style. For smaller sizes than they make, I like a metal hook tip on a flat bamboo handle. I don’t enjoy working with hooks that have thick or plastic/rubber handles. For Tunisian crochet, I like the KnitPro Ginger (Amazon affiliate link) with their smoothly polished, dark wood, pointy tips and sharp hook return with their Mindful swivel cables. 

An appreciation of the tactile side of yarncraft is a big part of the reason I enjoy it. I love the properties, aesthetics and handle of natural fibre yarns, like cotton, linen and wool, so don’t tend to work with synthetics like acrylic and nylon or semi-synthetics like bamboo/wood viscose. I generally favour smooth or slightly hazed, even thickness yarns for my designs over yarns with variable thickness or strong textures like bouclé, slubbed yarns or chenille or the kind of yarn that is thick and thin in different places along the length.

Sage:
I can’t get over how gorgeous that Brittany Needle hook is 😍 I’d definitely be geeking out and treating it like a wand 😂 I wasn’t aware KnitPro did Tunisian crochet hooks either, I might have to save up for it and finally get around to trying out that style of crochet! I love my KnitPro knitting needle set, and agree with the brand quality (even if they don’t get much use these days 😬).

How do you balance creativity and the business side of being a crochet designer?

Joanne:
I design mostly for larger publishers. That way I incur no costs before I having a guaranteed payment agreed for my pattern.They also take care of a lot of the administrative and cost element of the design: arranging and, if necessary, paying for supplies, ensuring the pattern is thoroughly checked and of a suitable quality for those spending money on it. Having an expert on choosing designs that will be popular pick out what I should work on is handy too; my designs for publishers also tend to sell well when I publish them independently. Best of all is that I get paid a fee in exchange for the publisher having rights to publish the pattern exclusively for about 6 months, after which I can also publish and sell it myself.

Sage:
I’m very glad to hear how well working with publishers has gone for you. It’s so handy to be sent yarn for the projects, and to know that you’ll get paid for the work you put in no matter what. And what a bonus when you get the rights back for a pattern and can sell it in your own shop!

For folks looking to start working with publishers, most have a contact form to sign up to pattern submission calls on their website (otherwise you can contact them directly to get on their list!). Each time they’re ready for new patterns they’ll usually send an email with what they’re looking for, and mood boards to help inspire your designs. It can feel a bit daunting to jump right in, but I hope you’re inspired by Joanne and give it a try!

What advice would you give to aspiring crocheters (makers or designers) who are just starting out?

Joanne:
Give yourself time. Whether you’re a new designer or new to yarncraft, some parts of the process may come easily to you but others will only come with practice. Being flexible and open to trying new things will help you find what you love and what you don’t. You might be surprised at what you’re good at and what you find enjoyable. I never expected to be known for colourful designs but that’s what I’ve been most successful with.

Many yarncrafters have tension issues at the start, holding the yarn tightly for better control. My mum gave me some great advice when I was starting out: 

Imagine the yarn is fragile and could get broken if you hold it tightly. Like a wriggly little chick, you want to keep it securely in your hand but you mustn’t squash it either; that’s exactly the right tension for knitting or crochet.

Make something that motivates you. I’d never have learnt knitting or crochet if I had to start on a scarf or washcloth. I didn’t want to own those enough to learn. I learnt to knit on a fully fashioned close fitting top with three different stitch patterns, a lovely mix of flat and in the round knitting and various different increases and decreases to learn. I sat there with the pattern to one side and the “How to Knit” book on the other. It wasn’t perfect but I loved it. It fitted me better than anything I could have bought, so my twisted stitches and tension issues were something I could ignore. Then I started crocheting by creating my own shrug design in just the same way!

Sage:
I love your Mum’s visual yarn tension advice, and will now be using it whenever I’m teaching anyone. And just reading through your advice makes me want to pick up the knitting needles again and jump into a project rather than worrying about all the things that could go wrong…learn by doing!

Thank you so much for your time and for sharing a behind-the-scenes look with us, Joanne! I’m now eying off a hoodie pattern, getting that much braver to take the leap from Amigurumi and make myself something to wear 😅

If you’d like to follow along with what Joanne is making head on over to her Website, Ravelry Designer Page, or Instagram. And thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to have a read 🥰 Sign up for my newsletter if you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any future posts (as well as to get a free pattern and access to my pattern colouring pages!), and feel free to send me a message if you have any ideas or maker/designer recommendations for future interviews!

Happy crafting ❤️