Inspiration: Stitched crochet

I know that every industry has its trends; fashion and cut-out shoulders, interior decorating and blue walls, food and microdistilleries. It always makes me laugh though when I think about trends I've seen come and go in the world of makers.

Take, for example, latch hook rugs. I was a child of the 90s, these kits were absolutely everywhere, and yes, I had many. I have very distinct memories of little 2 inch bits of yarn strewn everywhere about the house, and a half-finished pillow with a tigers face on it.

What knitter could forget the dawn of the "Fun Fur" epidemic in the early 2000's? You just couldn't escape novelty yarn, I can't tell you how many fluffy scarves I made for holiday gifts and craft fairs during that trend era.

There are the bun hats, the bunting. The wreath craze. Mermaid blankets. Perler beads. The list goes on.

One trend I am unabashedly enjoying at the moment though, is the wall hanging craze. Macrame, weaving, knit tapestry and more, you can't go far on Pinterest or Etsy without seeing a lovely new fibre hanging. I love it. I live in an open plan flat, so practically, a wealth of wall hangings helps to keep echoes down. Aesthetically, I just love wool and fibre in all its iterations, so wall hangings are a winner for me.

Now, on a bit of a creative segue. A crafting trend of my childhood that I never managed to get into was cross stitch. I loved how touchable it was, and I was fascinated with how the little stitched squares could come together to make a picture. But as far as doing it was concerned? It was a trend that passed me by.

But lately, I've been inspired both by the neglected cross stitch, and wall hangings, and how they can come together in a finished product.

Because of the similarities in our names, I love flipping through Mollie Makes. Issue 71 featured this awesome crochet wall hanging with stitching detail, which I absolutely adored, and immediately made. It's handing in my bedroom now, and every time I see it, I want to make more.

I spotted these awesome mud cloth inspired crochet pillows on the Love Crochet Instagram the other day and was totally taken with them. Not a wall hanging (or cross stitch), but I was totally inspired by the way the two crafts came together.

I've just been loving all the progress pictures for the Hygge CAL that I've seen...

And finally, how kitschy-cute are these trivets? I mean, really. 

I've got some designs on the go that incorporate these techniques. I hope I can share the results of my inspiration soon!

Happy stitching,

Molly x