Crochet Chat with Ellie Richards
An interview with crochet designer, Ellie Richards, from Foxy Crochet.
If you’re looking for crochet inspiration, look no further. I’m delighted to be interviewing Ellie Richards from Foxy Crochet who offers some great crochet insights for beginners and aspiring crochet designers alike. You may already know Ellie from her adorable crochet designs - like these cute crocheted bunnies below.
But for now, let’s jump right in.
Meet Ellie Richards from Foxy Crochet
Ellie, can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?
“Hi everyone. I’m Ellie from @Foxy.crochet. I am a corporate pension consultant by day and crocheter by night. I live in the UK with my husband, our two adorable kids, and a little Maltese dog. Like other crafty parents, my crafting journey started with me making clothes for my children. I gradually then moved on to crocheting cute little toys.”
How Ellie got hooked on crochet
It’s so lovely that you started crochet by making amigurumi for your children. Could you tell me a little bit more about how your crochet journey started?
“I was introduced to crochet by my wonderful work colleagues. Before lockdown, we used to meet weekly for lunch and to chat about knitting and crochet. I didn’t pick up amigurumi until October 2019 when my daughter wanted a Toy Story toy. We were trying to cut down on plastic toys so I decided to crochet her a Buzz amigurumi. I bought a crochet kit from Aldi and thought this would be a great idea! Well, I was wrong...
“It was such a time-consuming project and I was naive to think that my first make would look exactly like the model in the kit photo. However, to my surprise my daughter really loved my wonky looking Buzz. This inspired me to make more amigurumi for her to play with.
“My second amigurumi was a doll wearing a bunny hat (“Anna the little bunny girl” by Khuc Cay) which was made for my daughter as an Easter present. Since then, I got really hooked on amigurumi. I don’t only make them for my kids, but also for my friends and their children. I remember on numerous occasions staying up until 2am in the morning just to finish off an amigurumi present in time for a birthday party the next day.
Throughout 2020, crocheting amigurumi has really helped me cope with the lockdown in the UK and I have found many new amazing crafty friends (including you, Cilla 😊).”
Aw thanks, Ellie! I totally feel the same. Crochet and my crochet friends (including you!) have definitely helped keep me sane this past year.
It’s also so nice to hear about your first ever make. Still to this day, I’ve never tried a crochet kit. However, I know what it’s like for your first amigurumi not to turn out as expected. This brings me to my next question:
Tips for beginner crocheters
Do you have any top tips for beginner crocheters that you could share?
“My first caveat is that I am not a crochet expert. I am still learning and improving, and there are many crocheters more qualified than me to give advice. However, looking back at the very beginning of my learning journey, the two immediate tips I would share are: (1) Buy good crochet books that have some basic tutorials on crochet stitches, sewing and finishing off etc., and (2) Don’t set your standard too high, just remember to have fun and that practice makes perfect.
“Why books?
“I appreciate that there are many free Youtube tutorials out there so why bother buying books? My guess is that unless you have crochet friends who can point out what you need to search for on YouTube, it is likely you will spend lots of time browsing tutorials without having a list of ‘what to learn’. I used to spend my evenings watching ‘hundreds’ of free tutorials before buying my first crochet book. After reading the crochet books, I made a list of the stitches and techniques (such as sewing, changing colours & embroidery) that I would need to know in order to make the amigurumi in my list. Then I used Youtube as a video guide to learn. So I do recommend buying a crochet book or two that have good reviews if you would like to save time.
“Practice makes perfect
“Some people are gifted at art and crafts. Some need more practice to perfect their skills. I am the latter. So please don’t be disheartened if your first couple of amigurumi are not as you expected. My first amigurumi (Buzz from Toy Story) had lots of holes and faults. However, I do believe everything that you make will have its own charm to the receiver. It’s more about your time and effort spent on the amigurumi that counts.”
Thank you so much for those tips, Ellie. I definitely agree with both wholeheartedly, and also bought a crochet pattern book in the beginning so I would know what to search for on YouTube. It helped so much!
Getting started with crochet designing
I’d love to know more about what made you take the leap from simply crocheting to crochet designing. Can you tell us how and why you started crochet designing?
“One of the reasons why I love crochet is because of its relationship with mathematics. I love maths and it has been a crucial part of my daytime job. Hooks and yarn are not usually associated with science, but a crochet (or knitting) pattern is indeed full of maths formulae. The shapes are formed by the increases and decreases in the number of stitches and the positions of these increases/decreases in each round (for amigurumi).
“After having made some amigurumi for my daughter, I started noticing these patterns and the shapes they form which inspired me to design my own amigurumi.
“However, this wasn’t the main reason why I started designing. My daughter loves role play. She was struggling to keep her crocheted dolls and animals standing up for her imaginary plays, so she asked me whether I could make some that could stand on their own. On top of this, wooden peg dolls were her first favourite toys (and I love Kokeshi dolls) which has led to my peg doll inspired designs. If you check out my Instagram, you will notice that all my designs are quite simple and quick to make, yet I hope you find them cute, educational and suitable for role play. Some of the designs I have created are also with a view for home décor (hence the standable aspect comes into play here 😊).
“Publishing my patterns for sale is another story. Without the encouragement and support from my friends (Janet and Carly), who are also my very first testers, I wouldn’t have thought my designs were good enough to sell.”
Maths and crochet do go hand-in-hand, particularly for designers. I’m also a maths fan myself, so can relate to your fascination of mixing and matching crochet stitches to create particular shapes.
It’s also wonderful to hear about where your design inspiration has come from. For anyone reading that doesn’t know what a Kokeshi doll is, I’ve added a photo below of the Kokeshi doll I own at home, along with another photo of one of Ellie’s gorgeous crochet designs for comparison: Carly & Paul - Mummy and baby puffins. You can easily see how the Kokeshi dolls have inspired Ellie's designs.
Foxy Crochet Favourites
Speaking of your crochet designs, Ellie, do you have a favourite design that you’ve created so far? Also, do you have any hints as to what we might expect to see from you next?
“I think Fern and Fynn the mummy and baby fox are my favourites, they are both based on the same pattern but with different accessories. This was the very first pattern that I designed so I put a lot of time and effort into writing up the pattern and adding lots of tips in the instructions. Also, this pattern defines my brand name and logo: @Foxy.crochet.
“I have quite a lot of ideas at the moment and just need to find the time to turn them into ‘production’. My designs usually stem from my daughter’s requests and my friends’ interests. I have a couple of friends getting married this year so wedding couples are the designs currently at the top of my list.”
What brilliant logo and business name inspiration, Ellie - and I do love Fern and Fynn. They are adorable creations. I also can’t wait to see your wedding couple designs!
Crochet design inspiration
You’ve mentioned a few times that your crochet designs are often inspired by your kids and your friends. I wondered if you could share a bit more about what inspires your designs?
“This may not be a sound strategy but I design-as-I-go. As mentioned above, all my designs are based on my friends and family’s interests. For instance, when my friends told me that they were getting married, my first reaction was to design a wedding couple for them. I want designing to be a relaxing and enjoyable journey, so by doing this I don’t feel l have ever lacked ideas. Each of my designs has its own purpose and is specially dedicated to my friends or children. And if other crocheters also like my designs, then that is a massive plus.”
It is definitely so important to keep the crochet passion alive. I know I’ve felt stuck before when crocheting items on request that didn’t really appeal to me. But getting to design something from scratch for a specific purpose helped inspire me again, as well as a few other techniques that I outlined in the blog post, 11 ways to combat the crochet slump.
Tips for aspiring crochet designers
Do you have any tips for any crocheters contemplating crochet designing for the first time, Ellie?
“I am still a newbie designer myself, however I have been given lots of encouragement from my friends and family, so I would like to do the same for all crocheters who would like to embark on this designing journey. I was advised to crochet as many amigurumi as I could to learn different techniques and to figure out my own style. So this is the same advice that I would like to pass on to you.”
Growing your crochet profile on Instagram
I've been witnessing your crochet designing journey on Instagram, and it's been incredible to see your progress. Not only as a crocheter, but with your phenomenal growth on the platform. You've gone from less than 1,000 followers to over 10,000 followers within a year. Do you have any advice for crocheters who are trying to build their profile on Instagram?
“Thanks, Cilla. I am also super thrilled that I have achieved this milestone within the first year of opening my Instagram crochet account. This is all down to the amazing crafty friends that I got to know throughout the year who were very open to share tips and supported me. Some of the top tips that were shared with me that I would like to pass on are:
Know who your ideal followers are
Focus on your Instagram content
Use a consistent colour theme if possible
Occasionally offer free patterns/giveaways
“It’s really up to you to use which tactics you are comfortable with. You can either do one or two of the above, or a combination of all of them.”
Finding Foxy Crochet
Where can readers go to connect with you and find your crochet patterns?
“Thank you for having read this far and thanks to Cilla for the opportunity to be featured on the blog! If you are intrigued by my designs and want to see more, please visit my Instagram page:
“For a list of my amigurumi patterns available for sale, you can visit my Ravelry & Etsy stores:
Quick fire crochet questions
Lastly, I have a quick fire question round for you, Ellie. This is just a bit of fun to share some of your favourite crochet items and inspiration with fellow crochet readers. Here we go…
Printed or digital crochet patterns? Digital
Favourite yarn? Scheepjes Stonewashed & Ricorumi DK
What type of yarn do you prefer to crochet with: cotton, wool, acrylic, mixed, or other? Cotton mixed
Favourite crochet Instagram account? Kwannie from Studio Manya (@studiomanya on Instagram) and Erinna Lee from The Little Hook Crochet (@littleaquagirl on Instagram)
Most inspirational crochet designer for you? Carla Mitrani from Amour Fou (@amourfou_crochet on Instagram)
Etsy or Ravelry? Ravelry
Aluminium or ergonomic crochet hooks? Ergonomic
Favourite crochet accessory? Clover needles with bent tips
Brilliant! Thank you so much for your time, Ellie, and for sharing more about your crochet journey along with some brilliant crochet tips. I really enjoyed it.
To my readers, I hope you’ve found this interview helpful, and more importantly, I hope it’s inspired you to pick up your yarn and hook.
Until next time, happy crocheting,
Cilla x
