Knitter’s Spotlight: Robyn Chachula

Robyn Chachula claims that her transition from structural engineer to crochet designer was relatively smooth. She simply changed her medium from concrete to yarn! Instead of renovating buildings, she has used her talents to produced hundreds of beautiful patterns, each a unique blend of fashion, architecture and classic silhouettes.

In addition to being one of the biggest names in crochet, Robyn is also a mom of two. Somehow, she still found time to design an exclusive line of patterns for Berroco! You might recognize Innsbrook and Berne as free patterns from our KnitBits newsletter. Don’t forget to sign up, because we’ll be sharing more of Robyn’s patterns throughout the fall!

How long have you been crocheting? Who taught you?

I have been crocheting for 11 years. My mom taught me the basic stitches and then I became obsessed with learning everything I can. I still am learning. 

How did you become a designer?

I fell in love with crochet and got frustrated at not being able to find patterns that appealed to me. I started with small projects and, when I was confident enough, I submitted to Crochet Me on a whim. The editor wrote back to me immediately and my career was born. The confidence of getting one design accepted encouraged me submit to other magazines and then my first book proposal. Now I’m a featured expert on the TV show, Knit and Crochet Now!

What inspired this collection for Berroco?

The style of the projects was a collaboration between Norah and me. She sent me inspiration photos, I sent her sketches, she sent me notes, I sent her swatches and so on. I was going for modern classic. Pieces that you can wear for quite a while, yet still feel in fashion. As for the techniques, I tried exploring texture in lace by adding post stitches within classic pineapple stitch patterns or open spaces in cables. 

Any interesting stories about the design process?

For one of the projects, I had to use my sneaky tip for cutting crochet. I had sent a photo to Norah and outright said that I thought the project looked funny. She agreed. I cut off about 6 inches from the hem before I sent it in and I was so thrilled at how it turned out. Which one of the designs did I cut? I’ll never tell!

If you could crochet something for anyone in the world it would be?

I’d love to be able to crochet a new hat or toy of each of my nieces and nephews every year. However, I have more than 20 of them and no time to do it. So I have to be happy with making them each one thing. I try to shoot for making something when they are born, but sometimes it can take me all the way to their high school graduations before I finally finish. 

What’s your favorite thing about crochet?

I love the freedom you have with crochet. You can switch the direction of your work at anytime and create something unique. And if that unique turns ugly, you can rip out quickly and try again.

Learn more about Robyn and her designs at www.crochetbyfaye.com.