An Interview with Brooke Curtis

Author Interview

Pompom yarn that took months to crack, twenty blankets judged on how they feel rather than how they look, and a publisher willing to print that one of them might take you a year.

Knotions · September 2026 · Harvest Hues

You went viral for your pompom blankets, and for working out a way to crochet with pompom yarn at all. How did that technique actually come together? A long stretch of trial and error, or one lucky attempt that worked?

It took many, many attempts to figure it out! I tried again and again to get it to work, and it got shoved into the back of the cupboard for months when I got cross with it, multiple times. But once it finally clicked it was so simple! And then I wrote the pattern for it, and people fell in love with the pom poms just like I did.

Going viral for one specific thing can be its own kind of pressure. When you started this book, did it feel like pompoms had to be in it, or was it freeing to go somewhere else entirely?

The puff blanket, check blankets, stashbuster blanket, humbug blanket, reversible stitch blanket, fir trees blankets etc. all went pretty viral before the pom pom yarn blankets so I don’t feel pigeon holed into using one specific yarn or stitch. Focusing on trying to go viral sucks all the joy out of crocheting, so all I do is make things I love and have to get out of my head. And I’m so lucky that people seem to enjoy my patterns and designs as much as I do.

Tunisian crochet, mosaic, braiding, and ombre in a single 20 pattern collection is a lot of range for a book aimed at beginners. Was that variety the plan from the start, or the natural result of chasing texture wherever it led?

Tbh I’m just obsessed with blankets, and I’ve been making and designing and collecting satisfying stitches and textures for years. I started my social channels because I just wanted to share them, and they came together naturally as a set of beautiful, cozy, complementary textures in the book. I have one goal when I make a blanket, it has to be satisfying on the hands, and soothing on the mind. If it fits in that category, it fits in the book.

Which of those techniques surprised you by being the most beginner-friendly once you actually wrote it down, and which one fought you hardest on the page?

Tunisian definitely surprised me the most! The first time I saw someone crocheting Tunisian it looked so different and intimidating, but it really is so simple! Once your hands get the feel of keeping your loops on the hook, the stitch becomes almost meditative.

You’ve built your following on video, where you can show a stitch from three angles and someone can rewind it as many times as they need. What translates worst from a video demo to a printed page, and how did you handle that in the book?

I’ve been writing patterns for years, and I think my audience really likes and appreciates my clear, easy to follow, descriptive writing style – the book is a continuation of that. I firmly believe that crochet patterns don’t need to be confusing or difficult to read, and I just try to explain everything I do in plain language, both in print and in my videos.

Braiding and ombre are as much about finishing and color choice as they are about stitch work. How do you teach someone to pick colors on the page, when you can’t hand them the yarn?

Color is such an interesting one – It’s like food. Some people will tell you it’s a crime to cook a steak a certain way, but it’s just about personal taste. And color is the same! It literally doesn’t matter what anyone says about what goes with what or what doesn’t look good. Make whatever you like and pick whatever colors bring you joy. If you like it, it’s never wrong.

Your publisher says outright that a blanket in this book might take a few weeks, a few months, or a few years. That’s an unusually honest thing to print in a craft book. Was that framing yours?

Crocheting is a slow craft and is absolutely as much about really enjoying the process as it is about the finished object. Some of the blankets in the book can be done in a week, some will take months, and some, naturally, will get thrown on the wip pile and forgotten about for a year before you pick it back up and fall in love with it all over again. That’s just how crochet is, and I love and embrace that.

What’s on your hook right now that has nothing at all to do with this book?

I’m an absolute sucker for a classic print. I’ve been working on translating things like houndstooth, camouflage, animal print, into crochet for years – just for fun. Currently I’m trying to crochet a cheetah print I’m happy with!

Which blanket from the book is actually on your own sofa right now?

The humbug blanket is currently on my sofa! Asking me to pick a favourite blanket is like asking me to pick between children… but the humbug blanket… well that one has a special place in my heart. And is pretty much a permanent fixture on my sofa.