Meet Steffi Glaves | Author & Designer from 100 Micro Amigurumi
Steffi, you've recently announced your new book, 100 Micro Amigurumi - we're super excited for you, but we want to know, what are you most excited about surrounding the book release!?
I love the photography in this book and I can’t wait for others to see it. Each chapter has an opening spread with the amigurumis posed in their own themed settings. I am so impressed by how the photographers were able to show a sense of scale with the surrounding props and still make the amigurumis look so cute! The Myth and Legend chapter blew me away when I first saw it – there’s a fairytale castle in the background!!
Out of all the projects in the book, if you had to pick a favourite, which would you choose?
Oh gosh, I go between so many different ones! I love the dragon because of its pudgy body and bendy tail and the café because it reminds me of a mini dolls house, but I couldn’t possibly miss out my little hot air balloon and aeroplane in the Travelling chapter. I think that’s the wonderful thing about amigurumi, you can sew a little face onto almost anything and it suddenly becomes impossibly cute and you must have it immediately.
Ok, great, and which project would you say is best for a new crocheter to try?
I would say that the fruit and veg chapter is a great place to start, as the designs are mostly simple blobs in varying shapes. I have snuck in the odd fruit into other chapters too - look out for the pineapple in the Travelling chapter. They are super tiny but you don’t have to go for the exact same hook and threads that I use in the book, you can start off big and work your way down to small!
With a 100 patterns included, it must have taken a lot of time to come up with pattern ideas, where did you draw inspiration from?
A few places I suppose, I wanted to combine themes that are a little less explored and some that are already popular with crocheters. Everybody loves fruit and veg, and I absolutely had to make my own avocado. The About Town chapter came about because I wanted to incorporate the nostalgia for children’s toys and TV programmes that I was feeling at the time. The Back To School chapter came about from my teaching background and my love of stationary.
You specialise in micro crochet, working with threads rather than yarn, and the smallest of all crochet hooks! What drew you to this type of crochet originally?
I started to crochet when I was 18 on a college coach trip to London and used something like a lace-weight cotton and a hook belonging to my great-grandmother, because that is what I had to hand at the time. My first samples were quite awful and looked more like fishing nets, but I had a solid 5 hours there and back to get well-acquainted with holding my thread and hook in a comfortable way and manage my tension. As time progressed, I got into making handwarmers with larger hooks and yarn. It was something nice to do while specialising in metal work and ceramics at university but, when I graduated, I found myself without a workshop with fancy machinery, so I turned to crochet more seriously because it was accessible. During that time, I was getting the bus between York and my hometown of Pickering a lot and naturally reduced the size of my thread and hooks because it was more travel-friendly. Finally, I ended up with sewing thread and those same tiny hooks that belonged to my great-grandmother, only this time they were so fine and delicate that a few snapped in my handbag on the bus!
What advice would you give to someone looking to try micro crochet after years of 'regular sized' crochet?
Start with ‘regular sized’ crochet! Get familiar with the patterns using the hooks and yarns you’re most used to, then work your way down the hook sizes and thread thickness. Not only will you be able to focus on the technique rather than the pattern, but you’ll end up with a few bigger and possibly squishier siblings for your pieces along the way!
Last but not least, in one word, how would you describe the book?
Tiny!
Order your copy of 100 Micro Amigurumi here!
About the Author
Steffi Glaves
Steffi Glaves is a designer/maker specializing in micro crochet motifs and jewellery making. She sells...