Brixham Mitts by Fay Dashper-Hughes | Annual (issue 5) Pattern Previews
You know that we love all shapes and forms of crafting, and we try to bring that to our Annual too – for issue five in the form of a gorgeous crochet pattern: The Brixham Mitts by Fay Dashper-Hughes! They are perfect to tuck in your pocket for a walk along the beach on a cold, clear day – and to gently thaw almost-frozen hands after a dip into the sea. The Annual (issue five) will be available for preorder mid August.
Meet: The Brixham Mitts by Fay Dashper-Hughes
Fay Dashper-Hughes Brixham Mitts are inspired by the waves gently lapping at the shore. They come in two versions – fingerless and full mitts – and invite you to choose your favourite soothing blues or introduce a pop of bright colour!
This pattern is designed for 4ply / Fingering yarns – we couldn’t resist playing with different colour schemes in our Devonia 4ply, Exmoor Sock and Harvest Hues 4ply:
Left to right:
- Harvest Hues 4ply in Raindrop (MC), Borage (CC1) and Blackthorn (CC2)
- Exmoor Sock in Fairy Thimble (MC), Heedy Peep (CC1) and Bell Heather (CC2)
- Devonia 4ply in Sugar Snap (MC), Sage Sprig (CC1) and Furbelows (CC2)
For the Annual (issue five), we thought it’d be fun to introduce you to our designers and patterns one by one, and ask them a few questions about the inspiration behind the design, what they liked about the yarn they worked with, and their favourite beach memory. Without further ado – meet Fay Dashper-Hughes, the designer of the Brixham Mitts!
Hi Fay! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Let’s start with the idea of your submission for the Annual (issue five):
What’s the main inspiration behind your Brixham Mitts?
There are two things that inspired the Brixham Mitts. Firstly, the sea calls to me like a siren. I love how the landscape changes with every single wave formation. The refresh of never ending waves, colours and smells make me happy and top up my creativity and body battery.
Secondly, although I grew up in Scotland, my Dad was a Devon boy and our family history is deeply rooted in the south coast and Brixham in particular. There’s even a street in Brixham named ‘Dashpers’. So, when the call came out for seaside themed designs I immediately wanted to marry together waves and family history.
What’s your favourite element of the design?
Nothing makes me happier than creating subversive crochet designs. If I get comments like “that’s crochet?” then I knwo I have done my job properly. The Brixham Mitts use waistcoat stitch which creates a ‘knit look’ fabric. It’s a simple stitch that can be used to create colour-work crochet with neat colour change overs.
- Natural colour sample: Devon Naturals 4ply in Ethel (MC), Gertrude (CC1) and Zoe (CC2); ribbing has been knitted for this one
What makes our 4ply yarns and your Brixham Mitts such a great combination?
Brixham Mittens will work with any of the John Arbon Textiles 4ply yarns. I know this because I tested every single one of them with this pattern. I love that you can choose a yarn base that suits your colour palette – bright clashy colours from Exmoor Sock or subtle blues in Harvest Hues. Either way, the bases also offer different softness and bounce options, so you can really tailor your yarn choice and the pattern will work with all of them!
What’s your favourite beach memory?
Thank you so much, Fay, for taking the time to answer our questions! You can find more about Fay over on Instagram, Ravelry and her website.
The Annual (issue five) will be available for preorder mid August. Keep your eyes peeled on the blog for more pattern intros, and on our newsletter for the preorder release!