Crochet Your Treats

San Francisco based Designer Twinkie Chan is just adorable, all things bubbly, lovely and bright.  She is a food knitting creative powerhouse, and she is just as sweet as her imagery and creations.

I have been a huge fan of her work for many years.

If you are looking for a creative crochet pieces to brighten you mood,wardrobe or home look no further.

A few questions with Twinkie.

Do you have anything upcoming you would like to talk about?

I am in sort of a Lay Low Mode right now while I’m finishing crochet samples for a re-launch of my Yummy You! mass-produced line. Everything I do is at this top secret stage, and my life seems really boring on paper and in my blog, but there is so much going on behind the scenes! It was a tough year full of lessons learned, but everything will end up bigger and better on the other side. Keep your fingers crossed for NEW news around the holidays! On a handmade/Etsy level, I’ve been dabbling with making smaller accessories like ice cream scoop hair clips and cupcake iPhone cozies, and I think I have finally perfected my cupcake slouchy hat which will be posted in many flavors soon! I’ve also been dabbling in “painting” with crochet, creating little appliqued pieces on canvas. Similarly, I appliqued and painted a jacket for an art show, and I want to make more! I do miss designing my signature scarves, though, so after I finish all my Yummy You! samples, I’m going to be sure to bust out some great scarf ideas I’ve been sitting on for a while. In the mean time, I am working on keeping more custom scarf listings in my shop of designs I’ve done in the past, so customers can have more control over what they can buy from me.

What inspired you to start making delicious crochet creations?

When I moved to San Francisco from the suburbs, I wanted to wear scarves at night to stay warm, but I wasn’t finding anything cute or fun that I really liked. So I decided to make my own! I’ve always loved cute food imagery, and a lot of yarn colors already make me think of food, so everything just sort of came together! I really wanted to create something different that nobody could get anywhere else and that I would definitely wear myself as an everyday accessory.

How long does it take for you to produce one scarf?

I get this question a lot! I should actually try to clock it some time! I usually work on 3-4 projects at once because I get bored easily of crocheting the same thing over and over again, but if I had to venture a guess, I’d say the cupcake scarf could take me like 6-8 hours, plus whatever extra time I need for embellishing with pom poms or hand-cut felt pieces. Something more basic like the carrot scarf could probably be whipped up in like 2 hours. Frankly, I don’t think I’m a very fast crocheter, because I read people’s blogs who bust out sweaters and giant afghans super quick!

Was it hard to go into mass production or was it sort of a relief?

Definitely a mixture of both! It took me a long time to just get help on a small level with my Etsy shop, because it’s so hard to give up that quality control. But since it takes forever for me to crochet one piece, I knew I had to expand or give up the ghost. My mass-produced products for Yummy You! are still hand-crocheted, and you unfortunately have to compromise on some things to meet certain price points for certain stores. But the fact that I never have to sew together another sushi scarf is AWESOME!! I’m also excited about mass-production because it’s opening more doors for me to expand the brand into t-shirts and hoodies and jewelry and more. The next few years should be exciting. *knock on wood*

At what point did you realize this was becoming your career?

While I was still at my day job in publishing and crocheting at night just for fun, I had laughed and dreamed about doing this silly thing for a living. I really had to take a big leap and just make it happen, though. Enough industry people seemed to be excited about the possibilities of my brand, and I was getting unexpected and great word of mouth support on the internet. I thought maybe there was a tiny possibility I could create a career out of my hobby. But the hand-made aspect of my Etsy shop was making it really difficult to make a living here in San Francisco, so I just decided to quit my job and give myself a year to make something happen on the mass-produced level. To be honest, there are still days (mostly the days I pay bills!) that I wonder if I should go find a desk job again, but I’m gonna stick it out for now and keep pushing!

What do you think the next evolution in your style will be?

I just turned 35, and I do often wonder if it’s time to stop wearing bloomers and knee socks and mary janes. I just have so much fun with it, though! My big aim is to help people have fun with their clothes and not take fashion too seriously. I play dress up every day, but I’m still a responsible human who gets her stuff done. I do have my moments when I try to think of ways to tone down or grow up my yen for overly-cute/little-girl clothing without losing the aesthetic altogether, but I really haven’t figured that out yet.
I tend to completely ignore fashion trends because they don’t appeal to my personality or usually don’t fit my body type. Puff sleeves and peter pan collars never die! I did purchase a knitting loom a few months ago, so once I figure that thing out, I would love to wear and make tooooons of oversized sweaters for the winter!

Do you have any personal projects you work on that do not involve designing?

Oh my gosh. I wish! Right now I am so focused on Yummy You! that I don’t leave much time for anything else. However, my true love is writing, so I always hope that I will make more time for that in the future. I’m an English/Creative Writing major, and while I did write a crochet book (Twinkie Chan’s Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies: 20 Yummy Treats to Wear), there is a part of me that hopes to write a “real” book one day – more words, less photos :P. Right now, I’m also slowly working on cute-ifying my home. Next project: giving my chandelier a resin candy makeover.

What makes you counter productive?

My own stress! You know how you have those days when there is SO much to do, that your brain freaks out and you do nothing but surf the web and eat junk all day? I totally fall victim to that. My only remedy is making lists and breaking everything down into small goals. But I do have my moments where I just watch like 10 episodes of Ally McBeal in a row and eat potato chips. It’s my Ally McBeaLobotomy.

What are some of your favorite foods?

I’m a cheap date. I love potatoes in any form, brownies, and BREAD. I’m a carbivore.

What do you consider “Punk” in this era?

I would say what’s punk is being resourceful, using what you already have and creating something that nobody has created before. I find the whole DIY community to be totally punk rock, even if someone is sewing ruffles and bows for a Blythe doll

Cherry Pie & Key Lime Cozies

Twinkie’s Book displayed at her Renegade Craft Fair booth.

Pancake Scarf, Cake Hair Clips, T-Bone Steak Scarf, Sliced Lime Scarf, Cupcake Set, Radish Scarflet

Label she made for a display at a show.

Cheeseburger Mitts

For More Information visit one or both of her websites:

http://www.yummyyouclothing.com/

http://www.twinkiechan.com/