Category: DV Yarns

Crochet yarns developed by Vashti specially for the DesigningVashti Shop! We focus on yarns for crocheting that are durable, add a designerly drape and polish, and that resist “splitting” thanks to a final Z-twist (counterclockwise-spun).

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Selling Crochet Items Based on DesigningVashti Patterns

Selling crochet items based on my patterns? Please do.

If you like to crochet things to sell at craft fairs or in a shop, please enjoy using my crochet patterns for that. I really appreciate that some crocheters care to ask a designer first! I love that about our crochet community. Not only is it your right in the USA, please also know that I feel honored that my designs inspire you to make and sell finished items.

I now state officially in several places that crocheters are welcome to sell the items they make from my patterns. (Patterns I’ve already published lack this notice. I’m updating each one as time allows.)

I’ve been a maker too.

Most recently in March 2014. Ananda, a dear friend I’ve known for forever, has an indie natural perfume business. Her cool idea for a trade: she would create a limited edition perfume with pure essential Lotus blossom oil.*

In return, I would crochet special little Lotus perfume pouches just for her and her best customers. The photos above are the pouches I made.

*She even named it Vashti.  :swoon:

It was good timing for me to revisit being a maker—not a designer, teacher, editor, etc. I say “revisit” because I had a macramé jewelry business back in the 1980’s. After that I had a calligraphy business. I loved being an indie maker and selling at fairs.

Why would designers object to people selling crochet items from their patterns?

In forums, makers complain that some designers and publishers try to limit how their patterns are used, and can’t imagine a good reason for it. I think it’s understandable. Here’s why:

Back when I first launched my own pattern website, craft bloggers were reporting instances of large companies taking advantage of “the little guy” (indie designers). These companies were allegedly looking online for designs and then copying them as their own.

Whether or not the law would side with the indie designers in any of these cases, 1) These watchdog bloggers revealed publicly that stealing intellectual property isn’t victimless nor is it invisible on the internet; and 2) It scared me as a new owner of a web-based pattern line.

I did not start out encouraging people to use my patterns for selling crochet items. (I hope I didn’t discourage anyone!) I figured I’d hear from someone on a case by case basis. It’s because I didn’t know there were so many indie makers looking for inspiring crochet patterns. Turns out I was only hearing from a tiny percentage.

One last thing: crediting me as the designer of the pattern, or listing my DesigningVashti.com URL on your labels, is greatly appreciated, but not required. Let me know how your items sell, or show me some pics. It inspires me to design more!

Now: if you wish to use my designs to produce crochet items on a mass scale, contact me: vashti AT designingvashti.com . Thank you.

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Customized Tank Top with Crochet: Update

I customized a tank top with crochet edgings and a peplum. Looks great on my mannequin.

Remember I started to customize a tank top with crochet?

I cut a tank top to crop it and to give it a deep V-neck. Then I added crochet to it to customize it.

It’s mostly done now, and I like it. This is a size Medium tank top on a Small-size mannequin. In standard sizing, Lindsay the mannequin is on the Extra-Small side of Small. I’m on the Large side of Medium. On me, the waistline of the top sits higher, like an Empire-waist top. Also, on me there is no ruffling where the crochet meets the cut hem.

I uploaded a bunch of photos of this project to its Ravelry project page. (If I take a selfie I’ll add it there too. Maybe even here on the blog if I’m not too shy.)

This is my first attempt at a customized tank top with crochet. Thank goodness for a timely email I received from designer Sue Perez! She shared with me her sewing experience: a V-shaped neckline needs special reinforcing. I took that into account when I chose the crochet stitches and gauge for the neckline.

This experience of refashioning store bought clothes answered lots of questions I had. For example:

The Yarn Thickness Worked Out

It’s standard sport weight, very smooth, and is a cotton mixed with rayon for drape. In crochet thread sizing this would be a Size #3.

I wouldn’t want to go with a yarn that’s any thicker than this, or that has any fleecy loft or friction on the yarn’s surface.

A thinner yarn (a.k.a. a crochet thread Size #5 or #10) would work great, especially for fancier, fussier garments. This sport weight thickness works for the casual nature of a daytime tank top, or for a tee shirt. It also gave me the feeling of making progress quickly enough to stick with it.

Amount of yarn

I’d say it took up to 1.5 balls of Lotus yarn; that’s 325-375 yds.

Method of Attaching the Crochet

Seems fine so far. It will also have to hold up to washing and wear. Crocheting right onto tee shirt fabric like this? Yes, it can be done. I used a needle-sharp steel crochet hook. It was the largest I have and was not quite large enough for the yarn. A larger one might have left noticeably big holes in the fabric though.

I didn’t loooove doing the first row. Funny thing about crochet – that’s often the case. Crocheting into the foundation chains isn’t my favorite thing either, nor is crocheting foundation stitches. I usually want to get whatever the first row is over with. Same with this top.

Holes Where Stitches Meet Fabric

I mostly don’t want to look at the holes where the crochet stitches meet the fabric. When I wear it I don’t notice it at the hem. It stands out in this photo to me because it’s rippling a bit. At the neckline, though, I added a surface crochet row that covers the holes.

A customized tank top with crochet looks pretty nice, doesn’t it? I super love the hem. Those are split clusters of triple trebles.

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On The CGOA Runway: Doris Chan’s Lotus Bolero and Lace Pants

Vashti Braha models Doris Chan’s crochet designs in Lotus yarn.

CGOA member Irene Iannelli brings her photography-savvy husband, Alex, to Chain Link conferences. Here’s one Alex snapped at the 2014 summer fashion show banquet, during the guild’s 20th anniversary crochet conference.

Doris Chan designed the lace pants and the bolero in her signature construction method of crocheting in the round from the top down. The drape and fit feel naturally comfortable and sleek. She waited to design these garments until we developed the Lotus yarn for them. They’re made for each other.

Click on the photo for more details on the patterns. Bolero pattern and our Lotus yarn are in the shop.

Even Alex and Irene’s adorable toddling daughter modeled on the runway for the first time! July 26, 2014 at the Radisson in Manchester, New Hampshire.

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New Crochet Yarn Preview Photos

Want to see some preview photos I took of my new crochet yarn? I’m adding two new yarns to my shop: Treat and Lotus Snacks.

Top row: Treat fine merino wool yarn! I couldn’t resist a special purchase of this premium hand dyed crochet yarn in a gazillion colors. It comes wound as a Hook Ready™ center-pull cake-shaped ball. This means it sits flat while you crochet. It’s packaged in its own clear protective project bag. Hook Ready™ means just add crochet hook and crocheter, and go!

Second row: Lotus Snacks: cupcake-size balls of our original DesigningVashti Lotus yarn. They’re shown in sixpacks below but they’ll be available singly too.

More about Lotus Snacks: All 14 colors of my Lotus yarn in cute cupcake-like balls! They’re a third of the size of the large 256-yard Lotus center-pull cakes. That means 85 yards per ball (approx. 33 g or 1.16 oz).

More about Treat Medium-Z: It’s a standard worsted weight single ply z-twisted pure premium imported merino wool. A luscious new crochet yarn. I’ll also be adding more kinds of Treat in other thicknesses, colors, and plying.

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Lab Experiment: I’m Customizing a Tank Top with Crochet

Pink Tank Top in Progress, Close Up

This is my first attempt at customizing a tank top with crochet, so I’m using a $4 scoop-neck tank top from Walmart (White Stag brand).  Update: It’s coming along well! See this followup post.

It looks dowdy on me straight off the store shelf, so I’ve drastically cropped it and turned the neckline into a deep V.

The crochet you see adds length along the bottom hem. I’m using standard sport weight yarn and a US/F (3.75 mm) crochet hook. The steel hook shown in the photo above is the largest sharp-headed crochet hook I have. I wish I had one that’s slightly bigger for pulling through loops of sport weight yarn.

The Real Reason I’m Doing This

Fancy triple-treble stitch clusters in a zigzag pattern add drama to the picot hem of the peplum I added to a storebought tank top.
Crocheting the bottom hem.
Armholes & neckline next.

What is it like to crochet DesigningVashti Lotus yarn onto t-shirt fabric? Is sport weight yarn a good match? (If I have to use lace weight yarns, I might as well just crochet the whole darn thing.) What does the texture of this yarn look like with a plain cotton machine knit fabric? 

I have mill ends of this “Pink Sugar” color; the dyeing looks more tonal than solid (not in this photo though). Do I like it? What is it generally like to pair Lotus colors with my tee shirt colors?

Can I use a super sharp crochet hook when customizing a tank top with crochet? I want to be able to start crocheting right onto fabric and get a result I like. Would I enjoy doing it more than sewing along the cut edges first? (I sealed the cut edges with an invisible permanent washable no-fray liquid.)

Customing a tank top with crochet to give it a well defined v-neck and picot-trimmed armholes.

How will it all hold up to wearing, machine washing and drying, and the Florida sun? Will the no-fray liquid add enough strength to the edges?

How will I like wearing it? Will I find I have a preference for customizing a tank top with certain kinds of crochet stitches? What if the crochet adds too much weight to the top?

Lots of what-ifs. Will I want to do something similar with my cashmere sweaters? ::gasp::

I have a few pullovers that I want to convert into cardigans. Ideally, give them a roomier fit while I’m at it. Heck, add beads. Cashmere love is a many splendored thing.