Jess Bennett of Rock Salt Plum finds inspiration for her crochet patterns in quilts from her own home, vintage books and American patchwork traditions
Do you ever look at a beautiful piece of non-crochet textile art and think, ‘I wonder if I could crochet that somehow’? I do this all of the time! I really enjoy crochet that looks like knitting, weaving or even embroidery, and this got me thinking about what other crafts crochet could borrow from. And then it hit me – qulits! I love quilts, vintage or modern, and alongside crocheting I also enjoy sewing patchwork and appliqué. So the next step for me was to start thinking about how I can find inspiration for my crochet patterns in some of quilting’s patterns, shapes and methods of construction.
INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE
I picked up a book of traditional American quilt blocks in a charity shop, and that really got me thinking. There are so many different styles and techniques when it comes to sewing quilts, and you can take your inspiration from anything from 19th century whole-cloth quilts (in which a single piece of cloth is quilted) to modern abstract appliqué (in which geometric shapes are pieced together).
I’ve been most drawn to English paper piecing and traditional American patchwork blocks, as I think they look really striking and fit well with how crochet is constructed.
LITTLE CROCHET MOTIFS
English paper piecing and American patchwork blocks are techniques that I’ll explain in more detail later on. The thing that they have in common is that they involve joining small fabric shapes to make a pattern, and you can do the same with crochet motifs, such as squares, hexagons or triangles.
I really enjoy making little crochet motifs (which are a bit like the fabric pieces used in patchwork) and then joining them together. As you don’t need much yarn to make these motifs, this is a great way to use up any mini skeins that you’ve been saving but don’t know what to do with.
It’s also a great way to make use of yarn scraps. Although you don’t need to worry too much about yarn quantities when making patchwork-inspired crochet, accurate blocking is essential so that you can join shapes that fit together well. Take it from me – I’ve tried to join hastily blocked hexagons, and the result was a big mess!
ENGLISH PAPER PIECING
When I was little we had a scrap quilt at home that was made up of hexagons in lots of different green fabrics. My grandmother made the quilt using a method called English paper piecing
