About Gaynor
Gaynor is a crochet-obsessed teacher and pattern designer from Wokingham in Berkshire.
She learned to knit and crochet as a child, trained and worked as a French teacher for over 10 years, and then picked up her hook again 10 years ago. Gaynor jokes that she is “lucky enough to call myself a full-time hooker…”
In 2012, Gaynor set up The Barkham Hookers crochet group with a few friends in her living room. They now run 4 group sessions a week as well as many regular private lessons with over 600 members on Facebook alone. You can find them on Facbook via The Barkham Hookers’ Charity Group, where many of their charity projects can be seen.
She is very proud of the fact that The Barkham Hookers raised over £60,000 for various national and international charities, £52,000 of that for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. Click here to watch Gaynor share a quick and easy method for crocheting a poppy.
Gaynor loves designing and making blankets, many of which can be found as free CALs (crochet-a-longs) on her blog: Confessions of a Barkham Hooker. During the pandemic, she designed the Coronavirus CAL, posting a new section daily then weekly with colourful pictures and detailed notes.
Signature Technique
Crochet Blankets incorporating a variety of patterns and colours
Top Tips
- Crochet is very forgiving. Don’t be afraid to adjust or change the pattern to suit your needs or likes. And remember, if in doubt pull it out!
- Use a larger hook to work a long foundation chain to avoid it curling up.
- If you work quite loosely choose a slightly smaller hook than advised and a larger hook if you work tightly.
- When working in rows do not forget to work into the last stitch – – which is probably the chain 2/3 made at the start of the previous row.
- Use military buttons as the centre in poppies to add something special.
- If you are working with several balls of yarn, chuck them on the floor and let gravity help you keep them untangled.
Videos
Patterns
Posts
Fusible Wadding
I have purchased fusible wadding for a wall hanging made yesterday, but it came off a roll and there were no instructions. Do I just layer up with my project back and front and iron on? Answer: I seem to recall that a good press will adhere the wadding BUT a gentle iron will add to the fusion; so see what works!
To sash or not to sash (your quilt)
I have just finished 12 blocks and i'm ready to put them together.
The question is 'to sash or not to sash'. Is there a rule? Answer: Definitely personal choice but you might also be governed by how big you want the quilt to be; and are you adding more borders? In which the 1st outside sashing could be considered to be a border - see The First Sampler Quilt series if you want to know what I mean.
Also it depends on the block: by putting them together do you get an interesting secondary pattern? or are there more seams that need matching that you don't want?!?!?
Border Fabric need joining but where?
One of my ladies is piecing the top of a 9 block sample quilt..and because she has made her sashing a little wider..when she is putting her border on the it is shorter than the full width of the fabric by a few inches...she will obviously have to add a little but where would you suggest she puts this add on please?