Naming Crochet Patterns

On more than one occasion I’ve been asked where I get the names for my patterns. Some are obvious, The Happy Pets pattern set, for example, includes both a smiling kitty hat and a smiling puppy hat in the pattern set.  Sometimes my family members make suggestions on the name.  My mom named the Picture Perfect Baby Blanket and my husband suggested the name for the shawl, Whispers.  Occasionally a name just pops in my head, Nighty Night Baby Blanket is one of those.

But not every pattern has a name that easily jumps out to me.  Often I have to ponder the options during the design process.  When this happens, the final name can appear to be a little obscure or random but there is always a logical reason.  For example, the Black Raspberry Shawl was named after one of my favorite candles. Every fall the local high school and middle school bands sell candles as a fundraiser. My oldest son plays trombone in the band now but I’ve been buying these candles from the neighborhood kids for a number of years. My favorite scent is one that is a mix of black raspberries and vanilla. While I was working on the shawl design, I had one of the candles on the table next to me. I enjoyed the scent for many hours while I worked out the details of the shawl. In addition, the yarn I used was very similar in color as the candle itself. So when it came time to name and publish the pattern, it was obvious (to me) what to call it. I realize not everyone will use the same yarn and color used to write the pattern.  So if you choose to make your Black Raspberry Shawl in orange or beige, then go for it!

My latest pattern has a story to its name as well: The Charmed Shawl. When I swatched, drew out, chose yarn and started crocheting the initial design, the shawl had a different name.  I’m keeping that name in reserve as it may appear in a later design.  Unfortunately, I ran into a couple of issues as I worked the pattern.  My goal was to design a shawl that used a specific amount of yarn, no more than the 6 balls I had. As I neared the end of the shawl I realized my supply was going to fall short.  So rather than order more yarn, I reworked the body of the shawl a total of three times before I was happy with the results.  In addition, I had to work the edging three times to perfect the lovely eyelet lace with the given amount of remaining yarn.  So…you’ve heard the saying…Three Times the Charm…that is this shawl!  I believe the finished design was well worth reworking as the shawl turned out stunning AND it can be made with exactly 6 balls of Knit Picks Galileo! Phew!