Guest Post – “Granny never looked so good”

By Emma Varnam

When I designed Granny Skirt, Claire the Editor was kind enough to let me make it in black. You might have noticed that whilst most of us wear quite a lot of black or navy for both flattering and practical reasons, very few knitting and crochet magazines feature patterns in those colours. I think mostly it because the dark colours are fiendishly hard to photograph well, it is hard to get the definition of the stitch without washing the whole image in a flash. But I have to say that the photos in Inside Crochet are really very good. When I design something I have in mind the outfit  would put together with the garment. I try REALLY hard to design things that I actually want to wear and are practical. This does mean that sometimes I imagine myself to be taller and of a slimmer shape than I actually am, but generally I hope to be wearing the design myself.

So to cut a long story short, I really wanted to Granny Skirt to be in a practical black colour. The idea is that you would wear a contrasting colour slip underneath or perhaps a silky black slip for evening. I imagine it would be teamed with black boots and a denim jacket, an unfussy top (as in the magazine photo), so that the skirt did all the talking.

A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing a crochet skirt… but this season is crochet season and I can’t wait to pop it on. I have seen a number of designs which use an i-cord to gather the skirt at the waist. However I have put an elasticated waist in this design, to ensure I cover my modesty. Otherwise knowing me I would stand up and find that the  I-cord had worked loose to leave me standing in my underwear – you see practical and polite!

Anyway I hope you like it. x

Find out more about Emma at her blog: emmavarnam.co.uk

The pattern for this beautiful granny skirt can be found in Issue 22 of Inside Crochet.

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Interested in guest blogging for Inside Crochet? Send an email to Adrian – we look forward to hearing from you!

Guest post – Emma Varnam

At Inside Crochet we’re hoping that each month we’ll be able to publish a few words by one of the designer’s featured in that month’s issue.

Today we have a few words from Emma Varnam – designer of the beautiful cloche hat on the cover of Issue 21.

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I was really excited the other day to find out that Inside Crochet Magazine had started to blog, even more excited when I saw that one of my designs was on the front cover. Time for a little jig. I have yet to see the magazine to turn the pages, but many of the images are now on Ravelry. September is a big issue in all magazines as it is the main tah dah for the autumn/winter season. That always seems strange here in Britain, as they appear at the begininning of August when we at least think we can wear a tee-shirt and shorts for one or pushing it two days. Anyway I love the September issue of most magazines and when I get my mits on the September issue of Inside Crochet I will be particularly thrilled.


Anyway, above is a photo of a gorgeous model wearing a cloche hat. I think I was inspired by a very glamourous school friend of mine Mrs M, who with her bobbed hair can always rock a 1920s hat.

This is the hat just about to go off to the magazine. If you know anything about magazines, you will know that they prepare many months in advance of printing. The Orla Cloche Hat was made in early April and now appears in the September issue. It is quite a simple pattern using htr(UK)/hdc(US) and a crab stitch edging. I love crab stitch and want it use it more and more.

Think I might do another little jig and hope you have a lovely weekend x

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To find out more about Emma or to see more of her wonderful designs, visit her blog: http://emmavarnam.co.uk