The brand story
Ten years of crochet, a workshop in the corner of a flat, and the road from gifts to patterns.
I have been crocheting for ten years. First as gifts, then on request.
The first piece was a scarf, made one winter when my hands ached from the keyboard and I needed something to do away from a screen. The second was a hat that would not fit my head. The third came out right — and after that there was no stopping.
How it became a brand
For a long time it was not one. I gave away what I made, and when somebody asked whether they could buy it, I was embarrassed. Then more people asked, and at some point it turned out I was spending several hours a week on pieces that were not for me.
Dragonette Crochet came out of that: a name, a site, and the decision that if I am going to do this, I will do it properly. With an invoice, a predictable delivery date, and knowing exactly what is in the yarn I sell.
Where it is made
In one corner of a flat. That is where the yarn lives, where I cut, where I write the patterns and where I pack. There is no workshop behind it, no staff and no warehouse — what is in the shop either exists or it does not.
The downside is that I am slower than a webshop. The upside is that I have held every piece in my hands, and if you ask about one, I know the answer.
How I work
I do not mass produce. Crochet the same dragon twice and the second will come out a little different — the angle of the horns and the curve of the tail are shaped by hand.
Anything I sell gets washed, dried and checked beforehand to see whether it changed. What does not survive a wash does not go on the site.
My patterns are crocheted end to end by at least one other person before I publish them. What I write down as obvious is not necessarily obvious — only somebody else’s hands find that out.
What I most like making
Dragons. That is no secret; the brand name gives it away. But winter accessories are close behind, because those get the most use: a hat somebody wears every day is worth more than an ornament sitting on a shelf.
If you have an idea you would like to see made, write to me — custom requests are my favourite part.