Ever heard of #wildyarning? Or seen some of the crochet chalk bags by HookYarnCarabiner and wondered about the stories behind them? Below is the interview with Ellie of HookYarnCarabiner all about #wildyarning and how her inspiration for many of her patterns come from her travels. She also talks through some tips she has for crochet designers as well as women entrepreneurs.

By Michele of VAMICreations and Ellie of HookYarnCarabiner

Crocheting in the Wild with HookYarnCarabiner

What gave you the idea/inspiration to start HookYarnCarabiner?

I spent my honeymoon living in a van with my husband and rock climbing around the southwest of the U.S. for an entire year. During that time I brought my yarn and hooks and spent our rest days crocheting. Since there was often no service and it was difficult to get access to online patterns I started designing my own for the first time and absolutely loved it! Once we got back and I was following more and more crochet bloggers I thought, ‘I can do this too!’ And Hook Yarn Carabiner was born; which, by the way, is a spin on ‘hook line sinker’ but I added in ‘carabiner’ to represent my love of rock climbing and how I try to reflect my love of the outdoors in my designs. 

How did you get started in crocheting and #WildYarning?

I started crocheting when I was about 8 years old. I was homeschooled until highschool and while homeschooling took lots of fun community classes where I learned to spin wool, knit, weave, sew, and crochet. Sewing and crochet are they two I stuck with and that resonated with me the most. In college, I used crocheting amigurumi as stress relief and loved how versatile and creative it was. Since then I have continued to teach myself new techniques and stitches and love being apart of this yarn art community.

#Wildyarning is a relatively new aspect of crochet for me and one that I am so excited about. On our extended road trip, I ended up crochet in gorgeous locations at our camps or on backpacking trips. I so enjoyed combing the creativity of crochet with the wildness of nature that I decided to start sharing these experiences with others on Instagram using the #wildyarning hashtag and found a community of people who also live getting outside with their yarn. 

How do you choose the yarns you work with?

For personal projects, I prefer to upcycle yarn and try to find it at thrift stores or in my local Buy-Nothing group or locally dyed or spun yarn. For the patterns on my blog, I look for easily accessible and inexpensive yarn. I don’t want there to be any barriers to others taking up crochet and using my patterns. There are so many positives that I get from this passion of mine, I want everyone to experience it. 

How do you choose the patterns you create – ie is there something that you take inspiration from when you start a pattern?

I get inspiration for patterns from many places, but mainly while I am outdoors. When I am hiking or biking or climbing I find my mind wanders to a creative place and lets me think about pattern ideas without the pressure of sitting at my computer or desk. Sometimes I am inspired by yarn or a piece of clothing I see in a store, and sometimes its a completely new idea that pops into my head - it all depends!

What is your favorite style of pattern (chalk bag, home decor, etc) and yarn to work with?

I absolutely love designing chalk bags (small little bags that hold chalk for rock climbers to dust their hands with). There is something about the constraints of the bag shape that I find so fun to work with. Chalk bags remain my favorite kind of pattern to design, though I really enjoy amigurumi and garments as well. I found garments to be the most challenging, especially as I work to create size-inclusive designs and always have my patterns tested. I tend to use worsted weight acrylic yarn with my chalk bags and amigurumi, but love trying new yarn fibers and weights when I design garments. There’s just so many options!

Where is your favorite place that you have traveled and crocheted?

My favorite place that we have traveled to has been Utah. I love the red sandstone and canyons, it is so different from the green forests and grey ocean we have here in northern Washington. I also find the drier weather more conducive to taking my crochet along on trips. I have taken my crochet backpacking, bikepacking, and climbing and really enjoy having it along on these outdoorsy overnighters. I once took a chalk bag design up to the top of a rock climb and got some rows down while perched at the top - it was a blast!

What would you tell a new designer for encouragement?

I would say to make what you want to make - not what you think other people want you to make. When someone designs something they truly love and are passionate about, it really shines through in their work. I find that when I have tried to design things I think my audience will like, it never works out that well. The pattern tends to be a slog and people can always tell if my heart was not in it.

What is something you are passionate about and why? 

As I’ve mentioned before, I really love getting outside and especially being able to bring my crochet outside with me. I think it is so important to take time to unplug and I tend not to do it unless there is no service when I’m up on a mountain or in the woods.

How has COVID changed or impacted your vision/strategy?

The extra stress and unknowns has definitely slowed down my pattern design rate. It also happened to happen when fiber arts are already slowing down for summer, so it is not surprising, but I did feel like my ‘cro-jo’ has not been back to normal yet. I am looking forward to a cozy winter, though I already feel the stress of getting patterns out in time for the holidays - there’s always so much to be done!

What is something that has helped you get through during this global pandemic? Something encouraging or positive?

I took up quilting during covid and learning a new skill has been so helpful. I really like the slow aspect of quilting too, and the meditative feeling of piecing each square together. Crochet has been less of a stress reliever than usual and I think that is because I normally am busier in the summer getting outdoors and naturally crochet less during this time, but because of the extra time at home, my seasonal schedule is all out of whack. I plan to take some ceramics classes this winter and it is nice to have some creative and new things to look forward to while everything is so different this year.

If you had one (or several) things to share with a woman entrepreneur, what would it be? What would you encourage them about?

Reach out to other women entrepreneurs! I have really loved finding and creating a maker community on Instagram and it is so helpful to have a group of woman designers and bloggers to reach out to and ask questions of. No one can do it all alone, reach out, and make connections.

What is a lesson learned for being a woman entrepreneur that you wish someone had told you when you first started?

I wish I had known that success does not happen overnight for most people. It is easy to be swayed by the big bloggers who had quick growth into thinking that this is the norm. Most people building a small business work on it as a side hustle and slowly build their audience and find their place over years, not months. I think I was in a rush to create something big and bustling and that is just not going to happen for everyone, especially since I only work on my blog part-time and continue to work at the same time.

Fun question – if you could meet one person in history or present, who would it be and why?

I would have LOVED to have met RBG, especially now that she has passed away. I have such respect for her and her efforts in the supreme court and before, she was a special person.

What is your dream for HookYarnCarabiner to be (where do you see HookYarnCarabiner in 5+ years)?

Right now HYC is a part-time passion project for me and I would love to see it profitable enough in 5 years to be my one income source! 

If you like this, you may like:

• Ultimate List of Yarn Dyers on Instagram

• Crochet Stitch Tutorials

• Knitting Stitch Tutorials

Looking at some of YarnHookCarabiners’ beautiful crochet patterns, there are so many to choose from and some great colorsway choices from the indie yarn dyers around the world.

A fun and beautiful pattern to create is the snowcapped mountain crochet pattern where you create a beautiful 3D mountain which you can use as a bookend or as a fun pillow for any room depending upon what size yarn you use for it. You can create these mountains with the thick chunky wool of King and Eye Co, or even the bulky yarns of Laine and Lotus, or the stunning Jingle lighter weight yarn or any of their fingering yarns from Rose Hill Yarns. Each would create a uniquely sized mountain and equally stunning.

Another beautiful crochet pattern is the Green Tea Cropped Cardigan Pattern , created on many outside trips, perfect for slightly cold weather and would be perfect in simply put, any of Mothy and the Squid’s colorways to include some fall, Christmas, or solid colorways.

These are just two of YarnHookCarabiner’s awesome crochet patterns. You can find more of her crochet patterns on her website and #wildyarning on her Instagram profile. Thank you to Ellie for the interview and introducing us to the wonderful world of #wildyarning.

What is your favorite #wildyarning pattern to make? I would love to hear from you and not only what your #wildyarning makes are but also, your favorite maker you’d like to nominate for an interview or a topic you’d like to learn more about. :). Send an email to me or comment below! Take care my friend and have a safe and healthy day.