Petal by petal, stitch by stitch Creativity blooms as fibre artist crochets her own vibrant bouquets The Creators
By: AV Kitching Posted: 2:00 AM CDT Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 Last Modified: 3:34 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 26, 2024 Updates

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This article was published 10/08/2024 (440 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kaylon Mullen doesn’t grow her flowers — she makes them.

Needing no sunlight or water, her tulips, sunflowers, bluebells, lavender and daisies will never wither or die, because they’re made completely out of yarn.

Her tiny cloth houseplants, potted in vessels thrifted from shops around the city, sit on soil also made of fibre.

The textile artist took up crocheting six years ago as a way to keep her hands busy. She was a natural at wielding the hook, having learned the technique from her mother, an accomplished crocheter.

Mullen made quick progress, graduating from the basic stitch to the more intricate loops she uses to make her everlasting blooms and potted plants as well the catnip-stuffed tacos, strawberries, carrots and doughnuts she first created for her cats.

“Crocheting started off as a fun thing and the more I did it, the more I liked it. The first thing I made was a small teddy bear — it has a goofy little face. At that time my partner and I had two cats, so I made something for the cats and it kind of went on from there. I generally like making things, I like anything ‘hands-on,’” she says.

Working with easily accessible and affordable acrylic yarn she also uses natural fibres she “shops” from her mother’s yarn collection.

In her own workspace, Mullen currently has around 500 to 600 types of yarn, and 20-odd hooks, most of which have a metal head and a plastic body. When it comes to crocheting, it’s as much about the hook as it is the material.

“It’s find the feel is very important, otherwise it’s not comfortable or fun to do. There are two main styles of hooks: in-line and tapered. I like the tapered,” she explains.

Mullen typically uses a 2.5-millimetrenthickness hook for the cat toys and a 3.5-mm hook for the bigger items, which facilitates making small and tight stitches. And while she knows how to read a pattern (“I taught myself”), she now crochets from designs she’s created, her hands working instinctively as ideas unfurl in her head.

“It feels like 3D printing,” she laughs. “It just follows itself. I am kind of making it up as I go along.”

She does however look to nature when it comes to crocheting flowers, referring to how petals sit on real blossoms before she embarks on her own bouquets.

She started by making tulips — “they are a common shape and easy to crochet” — before attempting sunflowers. Daffodils, daisies and bluebells followed, the shapes of which she mastered through trial and error. She’s currently working on perfecting her carnations.

“I felt it was really important to get the petal placement right, especially with the sunflower,” she says.

Working with the television on — she likes crocheting while reruns of Brooklyn 99 or Gilmore Girls play in the background — Mullen has made nearly 100 flowers since she started crocheting them in May 2023, when she presented a bunch to her mother for Mother’s Day.

Images of all her creations are posted regularly to her Instagram account @thisisokcrochet, as are details of upcoming markets.

Despite being someone who loves making things, Mullen didn’t consider herself an artist until very recently, she admits.

In fact, it sounds as if she’s uncomfortable with the tag.

“I suppose so… yes, I am a textile artist. I think I felt like the things I was making weren’t intricate or fancy; they’re not great. They are just OK. That’s how I picked my name — OK Crochet.

“It was only when I started making the flowers… that was the difference for me,” she concedes.

It might be time for Mullen to think about changing the name to ‘verygoodcrochet.’ Her art is definitely more than OK.

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca