Crochet designers – how many of these incredible people do you know? I’m going to share a few great leaders in the crochet world that really changed my (crochet) life for the better. And by the end of the article, hopefully, you will have discovered a few crochet influencers that have wonderful sites with tutorials or patterns to follow to help improve your basic and/or intermediate crochet skills. Only one of these crochet designers focuses on using thread but practicing “normal” crochet functions just the same. Following and learning from other top crocheters will help you improve your thread results faster! Ready? Let’s dive in!
Julia Tushnicka
I have followed Julia as a role model for about two years now since her intricate work and gorgeous dresses are similar to the style of crocheted lace that I love to do as well. She is a designer and maker in Ukraine. I love Julia’s view on crochet as an art form. It is interesting to me that when she first started, she had reservations, as many other handicraft artisans and starting entrepreneurs do. How could anyone use a hobby to create a business? Would there be enough interested people in the world who would care to learn from her? By the time Julia founded JTHouse, she had already created several hundred garments so one could argue she was already a skilled maker and designer. Like most artisans though, Julia thrives and feeds off creativity. She found purpose after acquiring her first handful of students. Through my own personal entrepreneurial journey and seeking leaders in thread crochet and Irish lace techniques, I found my way to Julia. She seems to be in an incredibly unique position for this niche as I have yet find someone else who provides the type of product she does, of such high quality, in English, and works with students from all over the world. Find her and follow her work at: jthouse.net and https://www.youtube.com/c/JThouse.
Bailey Prado
Bailey Prado is a designer and brand that focuses on modernizing textiles with handmade crochet. While living in London in 2018, her passion for crochet truly came about inspired by the raw and authentic youth culture of the London neighborhoods. Soon after, she established her namesake label in 2019. Bailey Prado emphasizes empowering women of color and aims to promote diversity in the fashion industry while bringing a truly unique style to the crochet world. Pushing the boundaries for modern-day use of yarn and integrating with what’s considered formal attire, Bailey Prado is someone to keep an eye on. Learn more about her here: https://www.baileyprado.com/.
Marley Bird
Marly Bird is an awesome knitwear & crochet designer. She’s worked with many well-known yarn brands, companies, and magazines. Additionally, I love that she shows that life can be well balanced with doing what you love and family life. She learned to crochet from her grandmother in 1999 and learned to knit from a dear friend in 2004. Marley is ultra creative, taking bits and pieces of things and other crafts and then turns around to create something new. Additionally, Marly has an easiness and clarity to her teaching method that she uses in her YouTube channel showing stitches step by step on both HOW and WHY the steps are done a certain way. If you are starting out, picking up after a long pause, or just want to brush up on some skill work, she is a great resource to browse. Connect with her here: https://marlybird.com/.
Sarah-Jayne Fragola
Sarah-Jayne is the creator (aka the secret sauce!) of Bella Coco Crochet. She is UK-based and started her blog back in 2011 and grew with YouTube in 2013. Basically a crochet educator and crochet designer, she typically makes weekly tutorials with either new patterns or stitches for anyone to grow or practice their crochet skills. Her videos are simple, clean and straightforward. She has since grown her site to now include a Bella Coco Store with her favorite crochet-related items, a podcast, and has a fun crochet subscription box (if subscription boxes are your thing!). She occasionally has guest posts for you to be inspired by her favorite artisans and their creations. I love that her goal is to inspire every crocheter of any skill level. I’ll be honest here that I follow her on YouTube more than on her site, but I know I can dive deeper on her site if I need to (which is rare because her videos are that good!). Find out more about her here: https://bellacococrochet.com/ and check out her channel here: https://www.youtube.com/bellacoco.
Kara Gunza
Kara Gunza is the mastermind behind Petals to Picots. I love the nod to crochet terms in her blog name. Kara is very experienced in her crochet skills since she learned it long ago from her Nonna. However, she is also skilled in other forms of fiber arts that she shares as well, like knitting and felting. Designer and creator, she’s been published in several crochet publications such as Simply Crochet, Crochet!, and Homespun to name a few. Kara mainly focuses on accessories, baby wear and home decor but they are classy and timeless and the difficulty ranges from easy beginner to intermediate crochet skill levels. The thing that you can be sure to bookmark from her? A resource page on her site that quick links to handy knitting and crochet references (think stitch symbol charts or a hook size chart, etc.). Check out her site here: https://www.petalstopicots.com/.
And that’s that!
Of course there are so many crochet designers and makers now that are very talented and it can be hard to keep up! These are just my favorites and ones I follow regularly to get inspired, feel motivated to add content, create something new, or find a treat to make as a distraction (and skill practice), etc. If you have a favorite crochet designer or blog you love to follow, list them below! I’d love to pay them a visit… you can never have too many favorites!