You’ve seen her designs everywhere, now let’s get to know Helen Smith, the designer behind Emkat Crochet

Hey Helen, thanks for letting us interview for our Designer Spotlight! Let’s get started!

Tell us a little bit about yourself – your background, general day to day life, hobbies

A little about me! I’m a mum to my two beautiful daughters aged 18 and 14 and a wife to my husband and we have been married 13 years in August. I am also mummy to 2 furbabys, Poppy the 9 year old Jackapoo and Marley the 6 year old Schweenie and they pretty much go everywhere with us. We live in the lovely market town of Skipton with our family close by. I work part time 3 days a week and also care for my sister who has MS and unfortunately isn’t very well at all and has 24 hour care, she truly is my inspiration! We are an extremely close family with what has happened to my sister and my nephew comes to us for his tea twice a week for a little bit of normality for him. Crochet is definitely my therapy with everything else that is going on but we also have access to my parents caravan which is by the sea and we like to escape there and just take a breather from everyday life!

When and why did you start crafting? 

I have always been very crafty! As a teen, me and my sister used to enjoy cross stitch and then I went into hand stitch embroidery before finding my passion for crochet which will be coming up to 8 years ago now! 

You have a new book coming out in June, this looks amazing – well done! Tell us about the inspiration behind Crochet Illusions Blankets, and what made you want to release a book? 

The inspiration behind my Crochet Illusion Blankets book is something me and my sister used to do as kids at home, it’s called parabolic curves, and we learnt it in maths at school. I wanted to be able to create illusions through the art of crochet! Writing a book is very daunting and I was very nervous about doing it but with everything going on with my sister, she is unable to do most things, this encouraged me to do because she can’t and she is also my number one supporter!! 

Can you let us know your favourite design from the book?  

Oh gosh, I think my favourite design from the book is definitely Dreamy Layers which is full of colour and I actually made it whilst on a family holiday so holds lots of memories too. 

You also ran the winter CAL for Sirdar back in 2023, how did you find the creative process with designing a CAL? 

I enjoyed every minute of this process with designing this CAL. The only thing I was very nervous about was the videos, but I did them and I’m super proud of myself, the blanket was very well received and so many lovely comments and feedback. 

What was your favourite part of the CAL? 

The trees for week 1 were my favourite part of the CAL! Loved the look of the loops on the trees. 

Does your home reflect your crafting passion?  

Surprisingly, not in the slightest! Ha ha!! In my house everything has its place, and all my yarn is tucked away in boxes on shelves all very neat and tidy! I feel my mind is clear if my house is clear, I did try having it all out on display, but it just didn’t sit right with everything else going on and it felt too busy, so the tidiness is very pleasing to me! 

What designers are you loving at the moment? 

I am loving Tipsytessie on Instagram at the moment, and I just love how she recreates a blanket she has quilted in crochet form! There are so many wonderful designers out there! 

Do you have any tips for readers developing a passion for crafting? 

Take your time in learning the craft, it doesn’t come naturally to us all and can take time for us all to learn and always at your own pace! 

Three things you would love to learn/master/execute… 

I have learnt to knit socks this year, so I want to make more socks. I would also love to attempt to knit a jumper for myself and this is on my goals list for 2025! Lastly, I would definitely like to try different stitches in Tunisian crochet. 

What are your future plans for EmKat Crochet? 

Future plans for Emkatcrochet……… I am hosting a workshop at a retreat next year which I am very excited about! Design and make some of the ideas I have going round in my head. I may also have a few CALs coming up! Not forgetting some secret projects too! 

And finally, can you give us a crafting TIP? 

Take your time, it’s not a race. Learn or have a sheet of US & UK terms and always check which terms your pattern is in before starting! 

Thank you SO much Helen for sharing with us. You can follow Emkat Crochet here