Behind the Design: Twinkie Chan Crochets a Whimsical Tea Party
Twinkie Chan is a crochet designer, author, and Creativebug instructor known for her colorful, food-themed accessories like cupcake scarves, hamburger mitts, and slushee cup purses. She lives in San Francisco with a rainbow wall of yarn and a billion pom poms.
Twinkie’s unique work has been featured online, in print, and on television, from BuzzFeed to Mollie Makes, to HGTV to “Fuller House.” To make her signature designs more accessible, she launched a licensed brand called Yummy You! which was carried at retailers like Hot Topic, ThinkGeek, NYLON Shop, and ModCloth.
The demand for her crochet patterns inspired her two crochet books. She has also written patterns for Michaels.com, a column for Simply Crochet Magazine, and created promotional projects for companies like the Craft Yarn Council, Lion Brand Yarn, Lily Sugar ‘n Cream, Sanrio, Pocky, McDonald’s, Facebook Stories, and TikTok.
We got to catch up with Twinkie to talk about the process behind her newest Sweet Tooth Hotel incarnation of Sucre Fluef!, a bakery made entirely from crocheted pastries and sweets.
What makes you tick? Are there certain things from your background that led you down this path to become an artist?
I think I was a fairly serious child and put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. Now I just always want to remember to have fun and keep my heart light. My designs make me smile, and I hope they make others smile, too!
Where does your inspiration come from?
My plastic play food collection from my childhood and cute and colorful sweet treats from all over the world.
Do you have advice for artists who are just starting out?
Keep creating! Get in your groove. Art is a practice. You don't have to know exactly what you're doing right now or where you are going, but just go. You will get there.
Where did the idea for your STH installation come from?
Carbs! You can't keep me away from my carbs.
MEET SUCRE FLEUF!
Crocheted Amigurumi Yarn, courtesy of Red Heart & Lion Brand Yarn
The Layout
Our art installations aren't left to chance, we pre-plan each one using a 3D model. The entire table was planned out to ensure there was plenty of space for each cake, pastry plate and tea pot.
The Treats
Twinkie Chan created brand new crocheted treats to add to the whimsical tea party table at Sucre Fleuf.
The Final Installation
We're so in love!What's next for you?
I have a huge backlog of crocheted projects that I never prepped as finished patterns. I finally want to give myself time to do this. And to self-publish a book of patterns from my STH installation!
Stay tuned at: @twinkiechan | twinkiechan.com