Continuing Crochet - Weeks 3 and 4

These 2 weeks were busy for the Continuing Crochet Class. Week 3 we concentrated on motifs, joining, seaming, and basic construction of garments.

Above is a slightly modified motif pattern from the book Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman. This is a great book with lots of patterns, and includes tips for making your motifs, finishing them, joining, and much more. It is one of the most detailed and useful books on crochet motifs that I have found.

For the second half of class I demonstrated joining motifs, and seaming. I also discussed basic construction for garments. I brought a finished sweater, an unfinished sweater, and a pair of socks, plus we also talked about glove and mitten construction. I brought along the patterns to show as examples. My goal was to show my students the basics of shaping techniques in different patterns and also to show them the schematics for the sweaters. We also discussed the importance of gauge (which had been stressed repeatedly in the beginners class).

Week 4 I taught them the basic afghan (Tunisian) stitch, and supplied them with simple charts (heart, sailboat, clover) that they could use to cross stitch onto their finished fabric swatches. I showed them a scarflette of my own design I made using a different Tunisian stitch:





They picked up the Tunisian Simple Stitch really quickly, and were eager to move onto bead crochet, which they also learned really quick and were surprised at how easy it is. So, here is the finished bead crochet project, a girls beaded drawstring purse of my own design.



Whew! We covered a lot of different subjects these 2 weeks, but my class was ready and eager to learn. I wish I had taken photos of their finished projects, I am kicking myself for not doing so! One lady made a gorgeous motif shawl, and quite a few finished their beaded bags before the 5th class! I am very proud of them all :)

Thanks for stopping by, and next week I will update you on Weeks 5 and 6.

Links: Continuing Crochet - Weeks 1 and 2

Continuing Crochet - Weeks 1 and 2

So I haven't been busy blogging (obviously) but I have been busy crocheting and I thought I would post here about what I've been up to. I am currently teaching a Continuing Crochet class that is 7 weeks long, and this Thursday will be our 6th class. I didn't have a set lesson plan because I wanted to find out from my students what sort of projects they would be interested in learning. So, each week I devise a lesson plan and work up a project for the next class. It has been a success, with 8 to 10 students each week.

The first week, I wanted to keep it fun and get some ideas from the students about future projects, so I started with embellishments.


We learned how to make fringe, tassels, pom poms, and twisted cord. I had square cardboard templates for the fringe/tassels and circular templates for the pom poms. Pictured above are the samples that I made up. The blue variegated tassel is made from size 3 thread.

Week 2 centered around color work. I handed out a ripple scarf pattern that I designed, which includes simple color changes.


I haven't yet decided if I'm going to add fringe to mine or not. I'm real happy with the colors I chose for this project. Several of my students have completed their scarves, and they really enjoyed working this stitch and pattern.

The same week I also introduced them to working from color charts. And here is the chart:

Each square represents 1 stitch in single crochet, and 2 stitches in double crochet. I also provided them with basic instructions to complete a potholder.


Above are pictures of the front and back of my sample. We used the stranding method (also called the carry over method) to work the colors for this project.

Pictured below, the top photo shows the same chart worked in single crochet. The picture below that is a single crochet fabric with cross stitches worked over them.


The cross stitch sample above reminds me that I still haven't completed my Search to Be Square, but I have several samples of that to post later on. I will also update you next week of Continuing Crochet - Weeks 3 and 4.

Thanks for stopping in :)