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| My Ravellenic Games team ravatar: living the artful life (well, virtually anyway) in the Paris subway. |
I am hosting an a-long for my recent Romantique collection in my wee Ravelry group. (It will eventually coincide with my Ravellenic Games team efforts in February, but more on that later). To get things kicked off, I posted a poll to gauge which designs crocheters might be interested in working on as a group. Thus far, only the accessories have received any votes (and do feel free to cast your vote right now). Of the eight designs in the collection, only 3 were garments - a pullover, a coat, and a skirt - and none of these has received any nod from voters that they might like to make them.
Then, I provided a small ending comment on the following Twitter conversation (and I do apologize for the length and the uneven quality of the font, but I wanted to include all of it and I am still getting used to translating Twitter conversations onto my blog):
@kpwerker I suspect part of it is that publishers are avoiding risk and sticking to tested formulas right now
@kpwerker I've tried as a small company. Submissions were rarely interesting. And return is actually a huge loss. Very sad.@marly_bird@ysolda@andisatt And really, what it makes me feel is defeated. There's simply nothing to do about it.@indigodragonfly Indeed. :(@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt it's tough, crocheters feel like they're not catered to, businesses that try don't sell enough... & rep@kpwerker even worked with a designer on a plan for MANY designs, very innovative. Then they stopped crochet design.@kpwerker ugh...could rant for days on this...@ysolda@marly_bird@andisatt Exactly. Which is why it's so defeating. IS there any way to change it?@indigodragonfly Me too. Let's get bourbon.@marly_bird@ysolda@andisatt A confession I've never confessed before: I ended up feeling like my career was pointless. …@marly_bird@ysolda@andisatt I was beating my head against a brick wall and getting almost nowhere. It's damn depressing.@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@ysolda Hugs. Crochet Me was one of the books that got me into garments. My first sweater was crocheted, not knit.@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt HA! well thank you. but there were very strong emotions to the contrary@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt i do really love kim's crochetme book though. memorable garments.@zagraham@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt I dropped it for awhile. But I love the direction Crochet is heading. Also it is location.@zagraham@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt I work A LOT in the UK and my sales are wonderful. I now sell more crochet than knitting.@rohnstrong@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt I'm glad to hear it. Had sounded like you were bowing out.@zagraham@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt I did! Then I chose to focus on my UK audience. UK crocheters tend to spend more, want...@zagraham@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt garments, and patterns. I designed over 40 patterns last year and the majority, garments.@zagraham@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt the audience is there but you have to work your ass off to get it. Crocheters feel lost,@zagraham@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt for so long the knitting community out them aside. Yarn stores didn't welcome them. So...@zagraham@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt now we are paying the price. But it's changing. And for that I'm proud to be a part of it.@justmaryse@ysolda@marly_bird@andisatt That's the kind of experimentation I want to see. I want to see risk-taking, I want to see…@justmaryse@ysolda@marly_bird@andisatt unqualified opinion-sharing, I want to see statement-making, I want to see boundaries pushed.@justmaryse@ysolda@marly_bird@andisatt But what I see are saccharine baby sweaters, the same old toys (exception:@craftyiscool)…@justmaryse@ysolda@marly_bird@andisatt … and home decor that lacks flair. Who's doing something NEW? In new WAYS (business wise)?@kpwerker Crochet Me was my first crochet book, and a huge influence on me as a beginning crocheter. Thank you for that.@robin_h_p You're very welcome. :)@ysolda@kpwerker@Marly_Bird@AndiSatt sorry for late response, but some of us crochet designers r doing the grmnt thing. :)
I am with many in the above conversation that loved Kim Werker's Crochet Me (although, unlike Ysolda, I did not almost try and steal my copy :) ), and I applaud Kim's willingness to start another conversation about this recurring topic: why do crocheters not make garments? A quick look at the Ravelry database indicates that there are slightly over 103,000 crochet garment projects against a staggering 1.2 million knit projects in the same category. There would seem to be no reason for most publishers to take the time to print books for an audience that is all but invisible.
However, I find Rohn Strong's comments most persuasive and I'm in agreement with them - I firmly believe crocheters will eventually make garments, but it takes time and patience. It's difficult being the baby of the group and lost in the yarny desert for such a long time. I've heard many reasons why crocheters are reticent to commit to making a garment (and some were valid, especially the stale designs argument), but most of them don't hold water anymore.
I love designing garments as much as I do accessories. For the designer, it's definitely more work (pattern grading, pattern grading, pattern grading) but the personal rewards far greater (in my opinion). I cannot tell you how thrilling it has been to see my garments put on a model for the first time, see them fit and look good. I basically do all of my designing blind - no fittings, no practical dress form to speak of (although I do have a decorative dress form that can be helpful in a pinch), so to see my designing labor pay off is great. Of course, I want others to make the designs (hey, I'm human), and I firmly believe crocheters will make them. I build a level of trust between hookers and my designs with each pattern I publish, just like those in the above conversation have done and continue to do.
It's been almost four years since Crochet Me was published, so I can respect Kim's feelings of defeat, but I don't share them. All I know is that I have so many designs just itching to come to life - both garments and accessories (and yes, interior designs as well). I have been, and will continue to be, willing to self-publish.
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| Anyone for a little fur trim? |
In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above conversation. What would get you to make a crochet garment?
If you're still reading (and good on you), do head on over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what everyone else has been up to this week (garment-making notwithstanding).
I think what would inspire me would be to see a fellow, experienced hooker make one and wear it, + rave about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks - and I get that. Word of mouth + proof can be a powerful thing.
DeleteCrocheters have definitely come into their own, although I don't mind either way, if I'm in a hurray my project to go is nearly always crochet. You're doing a fab job advancing the craft!
ReplyDeleteThank you. :) My projects to go are also mostly crochet ... but I definitely don't discount a good garter stitch pattern.
DeleteInteresting post! I have not crocheted a garment--yet. But I can think of some things that can hold crocheters back. One is fear of shaping;)--not feeling comfortable with increases and decreases, or not being able to make edges that are crisp and neat, etc. Another is the cost of materials--crochet generally takes lots more yarn and if you are going to take the time to make a really nice garment you want it to be in a really nice fiber--you can get better mileage in knitting, generally. There are beautiful crochet garment patterns out there--You've designed some of them--but very few of them ever come up on the ravelry daily top 20--it's mostly afghan squares, toys, baby stuff and accessories--not sure how to get over that.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen - thanks for these comments. You know, I pay no attention to Ravelry's daily top 20. One of my testers told me that a few of my patterns from Romantique made the list, but they unfortunately weren't any of the garments. :)
DeleteIf I could crochet, I would totally make that skirt...and the pullover. Even with knitted items, I tend to make accessories such as shawls because they are smaller projects. Typically, I haven't liked many crocheted projects...they looked so "1970's" Your designs along with others I've seen on Ravelry, are bringing a beauty to crochet. Do you think that most crocheters simply prefer blankets and dishcloths? That's all that the one's in my family ever made.
ReplyDeleteI do hear you about the dated design. I'm not certain if crocheters prefer blanket and dishcloths; I do think many crafters (knitters included) like projects that find some delicate balance between mindless and an attractive finished piece (thus the big love for shawls!). Shaping can be daunting if the crafter isn't used to it or doesn't want to fiddle with it. :)
DeletePersonally, I think crocheted garments, in general, seem to bulky on the person wearing them. I also can't escape the 70's influence that crochet seems to connect with in my mind. But then again, maybe I haven't found the right pattern, yarn, etc...
ReplyDeleteSome crochet garments can be bulky, but not if it's well designed and made with the right yarn. :)
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