Design Your Own Baby Sweater

Coming soon!

Design Your Own Baby Sweater

Missed my Baby Crochet 101 Class? You can take it now in the comfort of your own house. This workshop will be available at Interweave as a video download or as a DVD this July. Each video (download or DVD) includes the a PDF worksheet (that I packed with as much information as I possibly could) and free patterns to test out the techniques we learn. In the baby sweater workshop, the Anna Cardigan and Severin Pullover are the free patterns. The patterns are advanced beginner level for those of you who want to test out my design method before you go crazy on your own version. If you are a chart person, you will not be disappointed. I show how to use crochet symbols to your advantage when working out that sometime funky math. It is the perfect class to take if you really wanted to learn how to make or design garments. Though we do focus on babies, you can translate all the information to adult sweaters. Please let me know if you do make a sweater from the workshop. I would love to make a gallery of finished sweaters!

Hope you enjoy!

Winner and winner

First, I would like to congratulate Amy on winning the TNNA treasures, part 2. I see on her blog she is teaching a ton of crochet classes, I certainly hope that those goodies come in handy while she is teaching!

Second, did you see Toni's blog post on using my Design Your Own Hat DVD to make her own unique hat? I couldn't be prouder of how well hers came out. You will have to check it out. I think I prouder of her hat them I am of any of mine!

And don't forget to enter to win the TNNA treasures only part 3 and 4 (this week and next) left!

TNNA Treasures. part 3

TNNA Treasure Tour, part 3 [aka, please do not pass out on me!]

Goody Bag #3:

Lime Green Bitty Bag from Namaste..... [yes, you heard me. Your own Namaste bag. I love this company. They are just the best. This bag is incredible too. Looks small, but you can fit at least 4 balls of yarn plus, your wallet, cell, and notions. It is so well made too.]

2 balls of Eclipse from Red Heart with a hook or knitting needles so you can start working as soon as you get it.

Tape measure from Craftsy.com

Same game as before. Post a comment here or on Ravelry by July 4th, I will announce the winner on Tuesday. Good Luck!

Sneak Previews: Yarn Company Edition

This week I had 2 finished projects, both which were surprisingly for yarn companies.

The first I could tweet about and you may have seen. It is the Patte Cardigan, but re done for sock yarn. I love the delicate look of the collar against the solid jacket. The pattern and my review Soulmate by Lorna's Laces will be up soon.

The second, I shipped off today. It is a quick crochet project using a worsted weight yarn. I will tell you more details on that later (and where you can find the pattern).

I was just struck that both of these use granny motifs at the collar or hem or sleeve cuff and have a simple stitch pattern every where else. Obviously this is my new thing, since on the hook for next month is the same thing (motif on a skirt part of a sweater). And I did another for Knit and Crochet Now last week. Guess it is my thing. Needing to mix motifs into as many projects as possible.

Digging out and Winner Announced

First up, thank you everyone here and over at Ravelry who entered the drawing for the first part of my TNNA giveaway. We had over 80 people enter which is so exciting! Especially since the goodies just will keep getting better.

With help from my assistant (shouting stop) over breakfast this morning, we randomly stopped at Ginny's name! Congrats to Ginny! SO excited that you won too. Ginny is an amazing crocheter and I can't wait to see what she cooks up with these tools!

Hope you all come back and see what next I am giving away. There are still 3 more groups left to win.

Today I am spending the day digging out from piles of yarn and project; and emails and tweets. Being away for 10 days certainly takes a toll on your studio. Mine is wrecked. Luckily I got through a lot of the house chores; like getting groceries and cleaning. And am down to this mess. I might leave it for a while. I have these grand hopes on re-organizing the studio now that all our stuff is in one place. That's right, we have all our stuff here. No more "summer house" in Cincinnati. While I was traveling the closing for the old house, finally (and painfully) went through. Even though it will take us a few years to pay back the loan we had to take out to close; at least we will not have to have 2 houses to care and worry over. We are now officially Pittsburghers. I know I am looking forward to concentrating on making this house ours after nearly 11 mths of just getting by.

On the task list the next few weeks, is final edits for the encyclopedia, a few last charts and articles for book 3, proposal for book 4 (hey, have to pay off that loan somehow), and 3 magazine projects. Seems light compared to the crazy schedule I have been keeping. Well, enough dwelling, better start tackling that pile.

TNNA Treasures. part 2

Next UP on the TNNA treasures tour

Goody Bag #2:

Della Q small project bag [be sure to check out the hidden pocket on these]

Heel cream by Soak [makes a great hand cream to have in your bag while crocheting]

Eucalan Delicate wash [perfect for wet blocking wool projects]

Hook/ Needle/ and Tape Measure from Red Heart

1 Ball of Lhasa Wilderness by Bijou Basin Ranch [sock weight of yak/ bamboo blend- very very nice]

Buttons from JHB

Magnet from Wacky Woollies Collection at the Dublin Gift Co

Yarn Dot from Polar Knit

Button from Lorna's Laces

I'll be honest here, I did not want to give away the Heel cream, I love it that much! Luckily, I got two so I can share. This is the perfect little group for the stitcher that has everything. Everyone always can use extra tape measures and project bags!

Post a comment here or on Ravelry by June 26, and I will announce the winner on Monday. Good Luck!

What I did on my Summer Vacation

The last 10 days has been quite a lot of traveling for me. It started in Columbus at TNNA and ended in Detroit to tape the next season of Knit and Crochet Now!



Season 4 of Knit and Crochet now will have 13 episodes with projects for babies and kids to garments and accessories to pillows and gifts. It really has a project for everyone on it. There are a ton of tips stuffed into the show, so you will have to watch to see more. I will be on 6 episodes talking crochet, and 5 of those will be new Robyn Chachula patterns. They are so varied of projects that the yarn I had to bring for step-outs took an entire suitcase.

Very nicely my episodes overlapped Drew's so he and I got to hang out together backstage. It was so nice to have my fellow crochet expert to talk episodes with. See when we tape, Drew and Kristin tape their episodes first; then Maggie and I show up and tape ours. Seems so crazy that we are rarely together, but makes it so special when we are! No matter who is around, Brett and I always have a good time, she's my kindred spirit being a fellow Pittsburgher at heart. (At one point both of us where living in each others hometowns to the point of knowing neighbors without knowing each other, crazy. ) And of course Candi is backstage, my mentor in crochet, and we always learn something new from each other. This year we also had Michelle from Simplicity backstage, which was such a nice surprise. She has a fantastic mood that kept all our spirits high even when we got tired, plus lent a hand whenever we were short a step-out or two.

It was such a nice vacation from normal life. I got dressed, showered, and put on make-up everyday. I even got to eat an entire meal sitting down. Crazy! It really was a vacation to just design and crochet and not have to juggle toddler and house as well.



Last season and this season where taped in Detroit Public TV's new building, which is super nice. You can even drive your car into the building to unload, which I got a big chuckle out of driving my stuffed car almost on to the set to unload yarn and such. There are a ton of people behind the scenes on our show. We have 4 cameras on us to get all the views of our hands. There are then a number of people in the control room watching to make sure they get every shot. It is quite impressive how organized they all are behind the scenes.



I have a few more pictures on my flickr set. I believe they will start airing this fall, of course that is all dependent on your local PBS station. Hope you enjoy! I certainly had a blast taping them.

TNNA Treasures. part 1

TNNA (the national needlework association) this past weekend brought me home with so many goodies that I can not keep them all to myself. I just need to share. Marly Bird (designer, author, podcast host) always arranges for a dinner among the designers where we can all relax and chat. It is always the best way to start the conference. This year she got the sponsors to donate products for goody bags. There were so many generous companies that I have to give them a big thank you.

I thought , sure, I could tell you all about them; but how about giving them away so some of you can see first hand how cool these are! I will have 4 sets of goodies. I plan on giving one away each week, so check back to see what else you might be able to get your hands on.

First up:

Goodies #1: Sheep(ish) [which you can check out my post on here], 1 Boye wooden [very pretty] hook, and a Knit Kit [which you can check out my post here]

Everything in this first lot I use. Boye is my go to hook, if I can't find my Clover or Tulipe. Sheep(ish) I am designing a project in as we speak. And the Knit Kit lives in my purse. That puppy has everything in it (down to a crochet hook!)

For a chance to win, leave a comment here on the blog or a comment over at Ravelry by Sunday June 19th. I will pick a winner and announce on Monday.

New Product Weekly

This week I am delighted bring you: Go Crochet! Afghan Design Workbook by Ellen Gormley.

The book is brilliantly presented to the reader's as a workbook. There are 50 motifs that are diagrammed and written out. Then there are sections on how to play with color, lay out, and join them together. If not feeling so adventurous the first time, Ellen gives us 10 afghans to spark our creativity. The one on the front is quite the favorite of mine, as is this motif to the right. You can see that each one is diagrammed and written out. At the bottom there are suggestions on which others you can mix and match with. I am quite in love with the spiral bound. You can lay it open flat which you can not do with other books unless you are like me and break them open.

Ellen gives a number of great tips throughout the book. One of my favorites she mentions is to do all the same round on all the colorful motifs while traveling. That way you only have to carry one color of a yarn at a time. I love when there are good sections of helpful advice, and this book has it. It is definitely one to add to your library, and you will return to over and over.

New eBook at Interweave

Interweave has put together a collection of 6 of my designs into an affordable eBook.

Inside there's:

Ridge Swing Jacket

Blossom Kimono

Szechuan Sweater

Coed Vest

Bordeaux Cropped Jacket

Lucine Tunic

Their description made me blush and smile!

From the website:

"Meet crochet designer Robyn Chachula in this exclusive designer profile eBook! Inspired by nature, vintage fashion, and old Hollywood movies, Robyn adds modern flare to inspired classics with her designs. Discover Robyn’s unique pattern construction in the Designer Profile eBook, with 6 Crochet Patterns by Robyn Chachula. With this eBook you will not only learn the process that Robyn has perfected to create a finished piece but get a closer look at what inspires her designs (including her cute-as-a-button newborn daughter). You will also get six complete patterns that exemplify the romantic yet modern style of Robyn Chachula’s designs."

Summer Interweave Crochet

Look who's design is on the cover again!

Back to back covers if you are keeping track at home.

How amazing is that?

The design has been in my sketch pile forever. It is a basic summer tank top that you can throw on on the hottest days of the year, or layer with a jacket when its cooler out. I am still not convinced if the variegated yarn adds or takes away from the stitch pattern. The stitch pattern is a simple shell repeat, nothing too exciting so I am not sure. I do like the two tone. For me I would love it in a navy/ eggplant/ fuchsia collar and a pale yellow or peach body.

The yarn pictured is Manos del Uruguay Serena (60% baby alpaca, 40% pima cotton). It was heavenly to crochet with. I kept a partial ball here in the studio to play with and pet from time to time. If you do have heat waves like we do, you can easily sub in other yarns. Actually, Lustersheen by Red Heart would work really well in its place. I know, acrylic for an alpaca blend, but it would work. Watch the cottons if you try to sub those in, get something in a blend to make it a bit lighter. The collar takes all the weight and cottons can be heavy.

Speaking of the collar, I did use grosgrain ribbon around the edge on the inside to help strengthen. I know it is a pain to sew in a ribbon, but it is SO worth it! I have a few more photos on my flickr site and Interweave has a few on theirs.

The issue is very pretty with lots and lots of lace tops and retro home items. Definitely take a closer look at Linda Perman's top, the vertical lines are really great; and it would be a pretty simple garment to make. The one that has won me over is Kristin Omdahl's tunic. The sleeves and lace are just stunning.