Welcome to this month’s Designer Showcase, a brand-new series featuring the talented designers who bring Cascade Yarns patterns to life. Today, we are delighted to introduce Linda Dean, a Master Crocheter who was recently recognized as a Crocheter of Distinction by Crochet Guild Australia.
Learn about her creative journey and design process for crafting pieces that delight makers in our exclusive interview.
Master Instructor Linda Dean has taught since 2010, designed for publications since 2012, and serves as the On-Site Evaluator for the Craft Yarn Council’s Certified Instructor Program.
What first drew you to the craft and later to designing?
I actually started the craft as a child. One summer my family was given a box of books; among them were some “learn to” books from Penny Press. I picked up the Learn to Crochet, found some yarn and a hook, and began to play. It was several years later that I realized I had been designing, without even realizing. Much like many people who create, you have a need to fill, or an idea, and you play to see if you can do it. That is the basis of design.
Twirling Cocoon
Yarn: Cascade 220®
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How did you learn the craft?
In all capacities, I am self-taught. I didn’t realize I was a “designer” until the Crochet Guild of America wanted to recognize me for successfully completing their Masters Program. At the recognition event, I was playing with a stitch and was advised to attend a “Designer Meet and Greet” to connect with magazine editors. I figured I had nothing to lose. I went and sold my first design. It was then that I realized that my creating was the same as designing.
How would you describe your design aesthetic or signature style?
That’s a bit harder for me to capture. I feel all designs must have some function, a practical use, and that simple and clean usually work best. But that doesn’t mean that everything I do fits into that simple of a box.
My creativity flows differently at different times. Among other things, I am an organic designer.
Many of my designs actually find their full voice and understanding as I stitch them.
Cowl Neck Simple Shell
Yarn: Pandamonium
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Where do you find creative inspiration these days?
Inspiration finds itself in many different places. A consistent place has been in architecture, or at least aesthetically. I often take pictures of floor tiles, trim, patterns in walkways, or molding. I find the patterns often inspire some ideas.
However, I’ve also found inspiration from dance steps. Feeling like movement can emulate a stitch movement.
Can you walk us through your design process – from first spark to finished sample?
Usually, I have an image in my head, and then I try to pull it together and recreate it. I had an art teacher in middle school who described my process as “knowing already what it is going to be before I start”.
I didn’t think much about it at the time, but she is correct.
From this, the process is determined by where the design is going to end up.
Tunisian Quilted Baby Blanket
Yarn: Cherub Aran Prints
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What sparks your design process?
It is pretty subjective. The vision for what I am going to create comes from so many different places
but is still derived from my “end vision”.
This vision can come from holding a yarn and seeing what it should be, or from a challenge presented by a student to see if something can be done, or from a floor tile pattern.
Which part of the design journey brings you the most joy?
I probably find the most joy in creating. The stitches themselves still bring me the most joy. I don’t mind sketching, math, or anything else, but I find my most Zen moment is making the item.
Mirrored Cables Fingerless Gloves
Yarn: Anthem
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What’s the most challenging step and how do you tackle it?
The most challenging can fall into 2 different categories. If I have a setback, like not being able to find an easy way to describe how to complete a step, I will put the design down to let it “settle” in my mind to find a different approach.
The difficulty is then picking it up again.
The second challenge comes when everything is actually completed. It is social media outreach. I always find it difficult to keep up with social media expectations.
I will find myself working with my head buried in a project, and I’ll look up and realize I haven’t done any social media for over a week. I constantly need to find a way to focus on it.
What do you look for in a yarn when starting a new design?
I am by no means a yarn snob. It isn’t so much about what I look for in a yarn, as much as I look for what design can be made with this yarn.
I think every yarn has a perfect design within it, and I am just trying to find it, not the other way around. I am not looking for a yarn to fulfil a perfect design.
Simple Shell
Yarn: Botanika®
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Do you have a Cascade Yarns favorite? What makes it special for you?
There are several that I enjoy working with, and it depends upon my mood at the moment. That being said, I never complain about a good Ultra Pima or classic Cascade 220®.
I also have a fondness in my heart for Cherub Aran Prints, and Anthem continues to surprise me every time I use it with just how much of a hidden gem it is.
Where does the inspiration for your Cascade Yarns projects come from?
Many of my Cascade designs have been inspired by conversations with the Cascade team. I try to find things that a particular yarn may never have been, and I take it as a challenge to create such an item with it. Also, just by being surrounded by the yarns, ideas foster and bloom.
LYS Day 2025
Xs and Ohs Mosaic Hat
Yarn: 220 Superwash® + 220 Superwash® Wave
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Do you have a Cascade Yarns favorite? What makes it special for you?
There are several that I enjoy working with, and it depends upon my mood at the moment. That being said, I never complain about a good Ultra Pima or classic Cascade 220®.
I also have a fondness in my heart for Cherub Aran Prints, and Anthem continues to surprise me every time I use it with just how much of a hidden gem it is.
What tips do you have for makers working through your patterns?
To ask questions if they have any. I really try to make my patterns as clear as possible. However, patterns are written in the English language, and there are so many ways to say the same thing. Just because the way I wrote something that makes sense to my technical editor and me does not necessarily mean that it is the way everyone else may think. So, I am happy to try and help in any way I can. That being said, if someone wants to push through on their own, just take your time. If you are feeling frustrated, just put it down and walk away. Ten minutes can be enough to help clear the mind and see the pattern in a different way.
Hexi Granny Coat
Yarn: Pacific®
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What advice would you share with a new maker?
To enjoy yourself. Do not get so distracted with having to make something “perfect”. What you are creating is something no one else can do. If you make a mistake, that is a design element. If you repeat it, that’s a pattern.
What’s lighting you up creatively these days, or what are you excited to work on next?
I have stumbled into some interesting approaches to horizontal cables and utilizing extended slip stitches to create some fun fabrics. Granted, they are the newest techniques I am teaching this year, so it always encapsulates new ideas about what to do with the technique.
Raphael Raccoon
Yarn: Anthem
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What excites you the most about the future of fiber arts?
The future of fiber arts excites me the most in the area that it can create community. In a world so divisive, I believe yarn craft can unite us. We are united in stitches. It allows us to remember that we have more in common, and that we are people. I have watched how yarn can make new friends and bridge gaps. That in itself inspires me to continue in this industry.
I really believe that yarn can save the world.
Explore Linda Dean’s creative world using the links below.
Blog
Facebook
Ravelry
Instagram
More Designer Showcase features coming soon!
Take a look at the creative journeys of other designers behind your favorite Cascade Yarns patterns.
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