The last time I gave you two main and two general advices on where to start your designing journey of crochet patterns. Find the first part here.
Let’s now look deeper into each category.
1) Clothing.
Once you figured out what you want to start with, whether it is a top or a sweater, at the very beginning, I recommend you to start with a template from the Internet. When you find the one you like, adjust it to your needs: make it longer/wider, adjust straps/sleeve sizes and so on, so you have an understanding of how your finished project will look like. If you start with just measurements right away, it is more difficult to model.
The rest is math. Create a gauge swatch and make calculations according to your measurements. I know, I know, easier said than done. I still struggle with it from time to time. The more challenging the task, the more interesting it is for me.
2) Accessories like shawls and scarves.
It is all about the math as well.
Scarves are super easy to design. You just need to look online for standard measurements or come up with your own and adjust your pattern to these measurements. This also applies to blankets.
Shawls are a little more complicated. Here is what I do – I look for a crochet chart and count how many stitches total I need in a particular row. It tells me how many stitches or rapports I need to crochet in that particular row.
3) Toys.
The more toys you make prior to starting to design, the better. Making a variety of toys using different techniques will help you understand when and how you need to increase/decrease in order to achieve a desired shape.
To make a full size sketch will also help you. You can always apply your toy against the sketch to find out if you are following it or something needs to be changed. I am super bad at drawing, however just a very simple sketch will do, plus you will have a better idea of what you are creating.
4) Home decor.
Here it could be literally anything. If making a pillow, I would suggest to learn more about a graphghan technique or create motifs. You may use the same technique for motifs as for shawls from point 2.If you make baskets, I recommend to learn how to crochet a perfect circle and watch as many baskets making tutorials as you can. There are many very interesting stitches you may find to make the walls sturdy.
That’s it. I hope you found these tips helpful and happy designing!
