Nordic Stitches cowl

I had such a lovely surprise last Saturday when the post arrived and an advance copy of issue 18 of Crochet Now popped through the door.

Back in April I submitted a design proposal to Crochet Now and shortly after I was commissioned to produce a pattern and sample for my design. Throughout I never really believed it was happening so you can imagine my delight when I saw the design in print.

Like many of us who work with yarn, I am always adapting patterns or starting from scratch to make exactly what I (or my little boy) want. My head is also full of things I want to make...if only I had more time. But I had always assumed that I couldn't write a pattern. Setting my making goals for the year I challenged myself to stop procrastinating and give it a try.

Call for design submissions
When I spotted the call for submissions to Crochet Now I thought I should give it go. I immediately had the idea of a chunky cowl (I do love cowls - such a versatile accessory).

 I wanted to design something that was straightforward (for me!), suitable for beginners and lovely to wear. It was particularly important to me to create an item that was accessible to those new to crochet - I want as many people as possible to discover how amazing it is to wear something they've made.

Yarn
I used MillaMia Aran yarn for the swatch - it is a dream to crochet with and so soft. In choosing the colours I really responded to the mood boards provided by Crochet Now. As some of you may know - I don't 'do' mustard! but I played around with different shades in the MillaMia range and I'm so pleased with how they've worked together. My Mum loves mustard - she's just bought a cardigan in the colour - she's very happy to be the recipient of the samples!

Pattern writing
Admittedly it was a very straightforward forward pattern to write up but I loved this part of the process so much. Crochet Now supplied me with their style guide, I worked up the pattern, tested it by making the sample and then wrote it up properly. In a strange way it reminded me of learning to write HTML many years ago!

Making the sample
I found making the sample the most nerve-racking thing and in the end I made two! It was all quite silly but I was intimidated by the finished object appearing in a magazine. I think I will feel very much more relaxed next time. I posted off the sample in early June and then tried to forget about it!

First published design
So there it is...my first published design;

It's just one small page in a magazine crammed with beautiful designs but I feel so proud; I challenged myself out of my comfort zone and I've learnt loads; I've made my Mum a cowl that I know she'll wear a lot and hopefully played a small part in helping those new to crochet develop their skills and confidence by making a wearable accessory.