At Thread & Maple, we love to showcase the hard work and talents of fellow makers who inspire us, in a series we call Maker Spotlight. For November 2024, we're excited to feature crochet fashion designer Ana-Maria [@CrochetHighway] and her colorful & reversible(!) patterns.
Q. Your crocheted designs are a gorgeous blend of texture, color, and style. How did you discover reversible crochet, and what made you fall in love with it?
Why thank you! I’m fascinated by colorwork patterns where you only have to work with one color at a time. I even dedicated a whole collection of sweaters and accessories around this concept – my Zodiac collection! While working on this collection, I realized there are ways to create a crochet colorwork fabric that not only looks striking on the right side, but also turns into a completely different pattern when turned inside out.
My first reversible design was the Scorpio Raglan – done in interlocking crochet. I helplessly fell in love with this technique and have been focusing on it ever since. What I find most exciting right now is coming up with methods to incorporate decorative or invisible increases and decreases in the fabric, so that we can shape the stitch pattern into a seamless wearable.
(Bonus question: how do you choose the color combinations you work with in your samples?)
When it comes to picking colours that go well together, I’m not a natural. I spend more than I would like to admit thinking things over and deciding what would work best. And I change my mind. OFTEN. In my mind, picking a specific colour pair also means not picking all the other ones – maybe that’s why I find it so difficult. I’m a very indecisive person, and that doesn’t help either! I also listen to the advice of the indie dyers I work with. After all, they’re the experts!
And let’s not forget, the best thing about writing crochet patterns and sending them out into the world is that you get to see what other people make, and what colours they choose. And it’s very satisfying to see the same pattern worked up in different colours – it always looks like a completely different design!
Q. What can you tell us about your upcoming book? (Yay!) How has the creative process of working on a book been different from your everyday design process?
My first crochet patterns book is going to be all about reversible crochet wearables using interlocking crochet techniques. I’m going to teach you how to construct each piece, and I’ll show you, through an abundance of step-by-step photos, how to execute each individual stitch pattern. If you’ve ever made one of my recent patterns, expect the same from the book patterns – only better. I’m including a variety of sweater constructions, both seamed and seamless, worked either from the top, down, or from the bottom, up. Each sweater from the book will have a matching accessory done using the same stitch pattern, yarn, and colors!
If you already have some experience in making garments, the sweater patterns will be a refreshing challenge. And if you haven’t yet dabbled into sweater making, but you still want to create eye-catching, reversible wearables with impressive colorwork stitches, the accessory patterns will be your launching pad! Plus, once you’ve completed one accessory, the matching sweater pattern will be so much more accessible to you, since you already know how to make that stitch!
Q. What advice do you have for new crafters who want to get into fiber arts like knitting and crochet, or who want to take the next steps into making more elaborate pieces like garments? It can feel like a big step, so how do we encourage our new fiber friends?
My philosophy has always been that everything is simpler when you break it down in its smaller components and simplify them until they become something you already know. For example, let’s take a circular-yoked sweater worked from the top, down. First, you have the yoke, which is nothing more than a cone. Then, you have the bodice – that’s one big cylinder that fits inside the cone. Then, you have the two sleeves, which are two smaller cylinders. Of course, this is an oversimplification, but this is the main gist of it.
You don’t need to worry about all the minute details that make up a great sweater – that’s what the pattern is for! My advice is to find one or more creators whom you can resonate with in terms of writing style, teaching method, and overall vibe, and follow them on social media or sign up to their newsletter to keep up with their work. It’s so much easier to follow a pattern or tutorial when you’re used to the author’s style!
Connect with Crochet Highway!
Find Ana-Maria of Crochet Highway on Instagram, Ravelry and her website!
Until Next Time
Thanks, Ana-Maria! We appreciate you sharing a sneak peek behind the scenes!
Love,
