| Hello Lovely, |
| I have been looking around my studio lately and realising just how many designs are sitting at various stages behind the scenes. Some are finished samples, some have half-written patterns, some have tutorial footage waiting on my computer, and others currently exist in the slightly less impressive form of scribbled notes that only I could possibly understand. |
| It is actually quite exciting to realise how much I have waiting to share, but it has also made me think about whether every single design needs to go through exactly the same process before you ever get to see it. |
| I love creating a really thorough written pattern, especially when fit, shaping and construction need properly explained, and that is not changing. At the same time, some designs are much easier to show than to write about, particularly when I have gone off on one of my deep dive rabbit hole of quirky (ahem… innovative) construction tangents and created something that does not fit or translate particularly neatly or easily into a standard pattern format. |
| I also know that I am never going to be a designer releasing a brand-new polished PDF every other week, and I am actually totally (almost!) comfortable with that. I would rather take the time to make my full patterns clear, well tested and genuinely useful than rush something out because I feel I should be keeping up. |
| What I can’t let happen is for good designs to spend years sitting in my studio simply because I have not had time to turn every last one into a full written pattern. There is a few samples that spring to mind immediately that I have designed and worked on for YEARS! Such as my Rock the Boat Blazer Jacket and The Lovebomber Jacket. (You don’t know them yet, but trust me… you will love them!) |
| So I am going to start trying something a little different alongside my usual full pattern releases, with some projects shared as more informal video tutorials or made-to-measure makes when that feels like the better way to teach them. |
| The first one is my take on a granny square cardigan, which sounded like it might be a nice straightforward project until I apparently decided it also needed shaping and fitting. There may be a sprinkle of of primary-school geometry involved, which is probably inevitable when a crochet designer is also a teacher. |
| I am really enjoying working on it, and I think this more relaxed format could give me room to share some of the ideas that might otherwise stay tucked away for far too long. |
| There are a few other things taking shape too. The Cairngorm Vest is getting a festive makeover with a new colour story and sleeves, The Emily Top is getting a revamp for party season with a lighter, sparkly aesthetic, and The new Sherbette Pattern that is launching soon already has a sister pattern in development with capped sleeves, a new stitch pattern and a peplum twist. |
| So there is definitely no shortage of ideas here. The challenge is finding the best way to share them without trying to force every design into exactly the same box. |
| I would really like your thoughts on this, because you are the people who would actually be making them. Would you happily follow a video-led or made-to-measure garment tutorial, or do you much prefer having a full written PDF pattern beside you? |
| Please reply by commenting or messaging me and tell me what works best for you. |
| I am especially interested in what makes one format easier or more enjoyable for you, because I would much rather build this around how real makers actually like to work than simply guess. |
| Claire Lovely Dovely Design |
| Clothes should fit real bodies, not the other way around. |
| P.S. I am gradually making YouTube a bigger part of Lovely Dovely Design, particularly for tutorials, experiments and some of these more informal projects, so if you would like to see what develops next, you can join me there. |