Frequently Asked Questions
There is a yarn store in my hometown called "Imaginknit." I also thought that while my designs were simple, they were a bit quirky in their own way.
Meow-Meow is my stuffed cat that has followed me through the thick and thin. I used to draw sketches of Meow-Meow when I was little (hence the little cat to the left of the blog title). He shows up in pictures once in a while.
Picture of Meow-Meow
Picture of Meow-Meow
Knitting - My first stuffed animal book - Knitted Toys by Susan B. Anderson, inspired me to create my own little toys. As a result, I designed knitted bunnies and cats starting in 2010.
Crochet - The rise of textured doilies from Grace Fearon and Zoya Matyushenko. These designers started in 2016, and before then there was only Patricia Kristoffersen that made regularly designed doilies with texture (rather than flat).
I was also inspired by Russian and Eastern European thread crocheters, who would upload immaculately detailed video tutorials of their patterns on Youtube. I made my first Russian doily back in 2013. I definitely have to say I have a soft spot for Eastern European crochet designs and try to incorporate those techniques into my designs.
Crochet - The rise of textured doilies from Grace Fearon and Zoya Matyushenko. These designers started in 2016, and before then there was only Patricia Kristoffersen that made regularly designed doilies with texture (rather than flat).
I was also inspired by Russian and Eastern European thread crocheters, who would upload immaculately detailed video tutorials of their patterns on Youtube. I made my first Russian doily back in 2013. I definitely have to say I have a soft spot for Eastern European crochet designs and try to incorporate those techniques into my designs.
In general, I get the inspiration from other designs and nature, and then I try to combine them into one cohesive and original product.
Knitting - A lot of math and reference research/planning/sketching beforehand. Then, I execute it by knitting and writing down the pattern as I go along.
Crochet - Surprisingly by using no math, outlines or prior research, haha. You'd think that crocheting would involve more math, which it does. As cliche as this sounds, I just have a sudden urge during the weekend to design something and just "go with the flow" on the doilies. I usually find the final row to be the hardest to figure out, usually ripping this row a few times before I feel like I have it "right."
Knitting - A lot of math and reference research/planning/sketching beforehand. Then, I execute it by knitting and writing down the pattern as I go along.
Crochet - Surprisingly by using no math, outlines or prior research, haha. You'd think that crocheting would involve more math, which it does. As cliche as this sounds, I just have a sudden urge during the weekend to design something and just "go with the flow" on the doilies. I usually find the final row to be the hardest to figure out, usually ripping this row a few times before I feel like I have it "right."
Not at this moment, unfortunately. I will announce on the Ravelry "The Testing Pool" forum group when I need testers for a new pattern.
Please email me at imaginativeknits@gmail.com with any questions you may have about my patterns, and I'll be happy to help! :)
Regarding crochet patterns - yes, you may sell the finished piece online as long as you give credit to the designer (Sophia Hoang of Imaginative Knits) and please do not mass produce the design.
Regarding knitting patterns, the answer is no since the patterns are free.
Regarding knitting patterns, the answer is no since the patterns are free.
Start by seeing what you're "speciality" in your craft is and what you enjoy to make. For me, I've always enjoyed making amigurumi or stuffed animals. Eventually, I found that buying patterns was getting to be expensive (when I could spend more on the yarn or tools I used) so I ended up finding attributes of multiple patterns I liked and tried to combine them into one original piece.
I do offer one free crochet pattern - the Carnation Coaster. One day I do hope to release a free crochet doily pattern.
The reason for this is because the amount of work required to write and process crochet patterns is much more difficult than writing knitting patterns.
I also guarantee that the quality of my free patterns is the same as my paid patterns.
The reason for this is because the amount of work required to write and process crochet patterns is much more difficult than writing knitting patterns.
I also guarantee that the quality of my free patterns is the same as my paid patterns.
It depends on the person. I recommend you try everything (if you never try, you'll never know if you're good or bad at it). You'll realize after a bit whether or not it is for you. What I do recommend for everyone is not to make a large investment when starting out (don't buy a huge table loom before you've used someone else's). I did not spend large amounts of $$$ on yarn until I started designing.
Crocheting and Knitting - Personally, I found crocheting the hardest to learn, but the easiest to become an advanced-level crocheter once you get the hang of it. Knitting is the complete opposite of that - easy to learn but there are very complicated and complex techniques in knitting that I've had yet to try.
It took me a few years to get to the point that my thread crocheting was even. It didn't take as long for knitting. But what I find in my work is that I enjoy complicated crochet patterns but I like to stick with "simple is better" in my knitting projects.
Spinning - Spinning yarn is in its own universe. Spinning yarn is probably the quickest thing you can learn out of the three. However, there's really no point in spinning if you can't crochet/knit/weave or do something with it. It's quite simple in concept - grab fiber, pinch fiber, attach more fiber to continue. Again, tension is critical and the most important part of spinning (unless you're going for art yarn, and even with that you'll have to have good tension and spin for it to hold).
Weaving - I have limited experience in Weaving, but what I've gathered from it, it's not as versatile as knitting or crocheting when it comes to what you can make (Knitting is the most versatile in my opinion). I have made a stuffed animal turtle from woven squares though. I think the one thing I would like to weave some day is a bedspread, since I couldn't picture myself knitting or crocheting one.
Crocheting and Knitting - Personally, I found crocheting the hardest to learn, but the easiest to become an advanced-level crocheter once you get the hang of it. Knitting is the complete opposite of that - easy to learn but there are very complicated and complex techniques in knitting that I've had yet to try.
It took me a few years to get to the point that my thread crocheting was even. It didn't take as long for knitting. But what I find in my work is that I enjoy complicated crochet patterns but I like to stick with "simple is better" in my knitting projects.
Spinning - Spinning yarn is in its own universe. Spinning yarn is probably the quickest thing you can learn out of the three. However, there's really no point in spinning if you can't crochet/knit/weave or do something with it. It's quite simple in concept - grab fiber, pinch fiber, attach more fiber to continue. Again, tension is critical and the most important part of spinning (unless you're going for art yarn, and even with that you'll have to have good tension and spin for it to hold).
Weaving - I have limited experience in Weaving, but what I've gathered from it, it's not as versatile as knitting or crocheting when it comes to what you can make (Knitting is the most versatile in my opinion). I have made a stuffed animal turtle from woven squares though. I think the one thing I would like to weave some day is a bedspread, since I couldn't picture myself knitting or crocheting one.
