Earlier this year, I came across a really neat Etsy shop, OvertonFancies. I saw an article on Facebook about the life size dragon pattern in this shop and was curious to see where it came from, and when I looked through the other listings in this shop, I was blown away by the amount of detail in these crochet creations.
Marie, the shop owner, has many beautiful patterns, but I of course was drawn to the dragons. Among these whimsical creatures were two that I knew I needed to create, and I wanted to share this project I’ve been working on.
“I find it amazing that I can take balls of yarn and put them together in a certain way and have a beautiful result,” Marie said. “I really like to challenge myself. I’m constantly researching new stitches and ways to get the results I want.”
Marie, who has been crocheting for about 10 years now, started out by looking for a way to maximize time spent around running errands.
“I found myself with so much idle time picking my kids up from school or at soccer practice or doctor’s appointments. I found if I just kept a project with me I could still be productive.”
The patterns for the hummingbird dragon and the monarch dragon spoke to me, and I decided I’d try out the monarch one first since it required the least amount of colors. Something interesting about these patterns it that they use crochet thread (both double and single strands) instead of regular yarn, which really helps make the details look more delicate, and the overall dragon is smaller than it would have been with yarn.
“I like the level of detail I can do with crochet thread. It is kind of like using smaller pixels. When I use yarn, I have to go kind of large for the same level of detail. I use [a] single thread when I want it to be smaller and more flexible.”
If you aren’t able to get crochet thread, I think you could use a single strand of regular yarn for the main parts of the dragon (you’d have to play with hook size), and you would probably still want to get a smaller weight of yarn for the details, but I think some of the finer details wouldn’t feel the same.
I bought the thread for my monarch dragon from Herrschners, and then I decided to needlefelt the details.
Overall, this was a fun and unique project to tackle. For me, it was definitely a longer term project since my crochet time is my lunch break at work. It took many hours, more than I could count. I’m pretty sure this was my first time working with crochet thread too, so that was interesting; it gave the final project a smooth feel!
The part I struggled with the most is definitely the legs (both front and back). I loved seeing how Marie shaped the different pieces, but I kept messing up the legs and they’re a little twisted. I was able to correct this a little bit as I attached them to the body, but I figure this is a practice makes perfect scenario :).
Marie’s journey into creating crochet patterns began by changing existing patterns to tailor them better to her needs. From there, she moved toward making them herself.
“Eventually that gave me the confidence to start making my own,” Marie said. “The very first pattern I created for my then 13 year old son. He had made a picture of a sea dragon and I made it come to life with crochet. It was a great bonding experience for us because every day he would come home from school and we would talk about what I had done and my next plans.” Marie treasures the special time this gave her with son. “Now he is 17, and I still consult with him a lot on my creatures and what his thoughts are.”
I loved learning this about Marie! What a great way to make this medium extra memorable by getting loved ones involved. I was also curious about what kind of process Marie went through to create her beautiful creations.
“I spend a lot of time thinking about what creatures I will do next,” she said. “Eventually, one will appeal to me enough that I will do research.”
From there, Marie looks at pictures, articles, and new stitches to determine what this creature may look like. “After the research, I put all my thoughts down on paper and give it a try; there are often many revisions at this point,” she said. “One of the most important things I have learned is that in the creative process sometimes you need to know when to keep your mistakes. Often my creatures evolve into something a little different than what I was originally thinking”
Someone after my own heart, Marie says one of her favorite creatures to make is dragons.
“Because they are a fantasy creature, my design is only limited by my imagination. Plus, my kids love them.”
There are many dragon mashups in her shop. Dragon-animal mashups are so fascinating to me since there are so many possibilities. Not only do I love creating them myself, I love seeing how other people take these on. Some of these mashups you’ll see in Marie’s shop (besides the 2 patterns I purchased) are a dragon kitty, sea dragon, and butterfly dragon, but she has other kinds of dragons and animals as well!
Speaking of shop, you can find these patterns on Etsy at OvertonFancies! The shop contains patterns only, not finished products since they are so time intensive.
“I usually take them to our local county fair and then choose one of my kids to give them to for Christmas,” Marie said.
Marie also had some great parting words that I’d love to share with you all, as I think it’s important to remember this in our busy day-to-day lives:
I just want to encourage people to be willing to try something new. I was about 30 before I learned to crochet and I remember thinking I wish my mother had taught me. With all the video tutorials online now, it is almost like having a “mother” in your living room. I think a lot of us limit ourselves when we are capable of so much more. I have 7 children, and I am a part-time cardiac nurse and getting ready to graduate with my master’s degree in nurse midwifery. You would be amazed what you can accomplish just 20 minutes at a time.
It’s so true! I often find myself wasting more time thinking about how I need more time to work on a project that I would actually get something done if I just sat down and got to work.
Thank you Marie of OvertonFancies for designing such beautiful creations. I look forward to hooking more, and I hope you crocheters check them out too!