Make Me Roar - the business that counts Kirstie Allsopp as a fan

Fans of Channel 4 programme Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas, may recognise the work of Kate McCully.
Some of Kate's workSome of Kate's work
Some of Kate's work

She said: “The highlight of my career was when I appeared on the show last year and won the toy category.”

Kate won with a crochet character a reindeer called Reuben.

Based in Eastbourne she set up her first online shop on Etsy in 2008 selling sock monsters, the business then was called Made By Kate.

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Kate
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She said: “I was living in Torquay and it was my a hobby alongside my main job as a retail interior designer

“I made a sock monkey for a friend and then went onto making sock monsters (far more interesting) and soon I had quite a lot so thought I’d better find them all homes.

“I started attending craft fairs which was enormous fun and my husband, Martin, set up my website for me.”

The business became Make Me Roar when Kate started to sell a range of sock monster making kits.

BallerinasBallerinas
Ballerinas
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“I love to encourage people to ‘MAKE’ and my designs are bold, colourful and like to ‘ROAR!’ When I evolved the business into designing and selling crochet patterns, I felt the name still fit so I kept it.”

Kate now makes and sells amigurumi which are crocheted toys. A move into crochet came when she had a go at designing one of her sock monsters in crochet and found she was pretty good at it.

She said: “Since then I have designed a whole range of crocheted toys, from ballerinas to Vikings. I used to sell ready made toys but now I only design patterns so other people can make them.”

Crochet was always something that Kate wanted to do but it took until she came down with a bad case of flu which gave her the opportunity to just sit and do it.

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“I had been to a couple of classes, but couldn’t spend enough time on it to really practice.

“About 10 years ago when I was pregnant with my first child, I was visiting my parents for Christmas and unfortunately came down with a really bad case of flu. All I could do was sit, so my mum got out an old housekeeping book full of needlework crafts and it included crochet.

“My mum and I taught ourselves over a week, and because I couldn’t do much else it finally sunk in. So much so, I was dreaming about crochet.”

One of the things Kate says she loves most about crochet is the design side.

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She said: “I love sketching up a design and working out how to recreate that in crochet. Secondly, the whole process of crocheting is very relaxing. If you are making something simple like a blanket you can crochet in front of the TV or while listening to a good podcast.

“The portability of crochet is fantastic too. All you need is some yarn and a hook and you can take it anywhere. I used to always have a project in the car in case my children fell asleep. I have also been known to crochet at a kids party, playing scrabble or on the train.”

Appearing on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas was a dream come true for Kate.

In the programme presenter Kirstie Allsopp helps viewers create the perfect homemade Christmas, offering viewers the perfect guide to transforming any home into a Christmas spectacle.

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It has tips for crafts people can create at home but also has competitions each week for crafters to create the best festive jumper, hamper or best decorated tree.

Kate received an email in the summer of 2019 saying that the show was looking for contestants.

She said: “I thought ‘I might as well have a go and apply’. So I filled out the application form for the toy category, sent it off and promptly forgot about it and carried on as usual thinking nothing would come of it.”

In the September Kate received a call from Raise the Roof Productions.

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She said: “They said my application had stood out and was I still able to take part on the show?

“Wow, I was so shocked. I immediately said YES! I’m pretty sure they have quite a few people apply for the show and to be selected was a real honour.

“They said they would come down and film my back story first and then the filming for the actual competition would happen a couple of week later in Devon at Kirstie’s Christmas HQ.”

Kate set about designing what she was going to make. She was told she would have four hours on the day to make the toy.

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“If you are a crocheter then I think you’d appreciate that that really isn’t a lot of time to make a whole toy.

“What had caught their eye on my application form was the Alebrijes inspired toy (very colourful Mexican folk art sculptures of mythical creatures), I had made for Simply Crochet magazine.

“Problem was that would take around eight hours to make! So I spent about two weeks designing, redesigning and reducing the number of stitches so I was happy I could make it in the time limit. I even worked out how many stitches I could feasibly do in a minute to work out the maximum amount of stitches my toy needed to be (minus sewing and stuffing). But even then it was going to be tight.”

Kate’s design was a reindeer inspired by the Alebrijes filled with lots of embroidery stitching detail over the top, inspired by the dashes and markings that are painted on the sculptures.

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Kate admits she was little starstruck when she met Kirstie. The competition was also judged by illustrator Jane Foster.

Kate said: “When Jane called out ‘little reindeer’ as the winner my first thought was ‘who’s is that, which way do I turn?’ And then I realised it was me!

“Wow, I couldn’t believe it. Kirstie put a leaf wreath around my neck and handed me the trophy.

“Back in September when I first found out I was going to be on the show, I thought I had won already, so this was the icing on the cake.

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“Everyone deserved to win, and I hope they do feel like winners just for being on the show because everyone put their heart and soul into their piece.

“The trophy sits on my mantelpiece, but I also came home that day with new friends, great memories and an awesome insight on what it takes to make this fabulous show.”

As for her advice for anyone that wants to give it a go she says the first thing to do is find a class near where you live as it helps seeing someone crochet first hand.

She added: “It also depends how you find it easier to learn. Get a good beginners crochet book, or find some beginners videos on YouTube.

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“Once you have got the basic stitches under your belt then have a go at a simple pattern, then you can always refer back to your book or online for anything you don’t understand.”

For more information, visit makemeroar.co.uk

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