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
Sounds like you're doing well with your crochet lessons. I'm not so lucky. I've been a "crochet instructor" for several semesters for the Valdosta Technical College's Adult Education program, but have not managed to teach a full class of at least 8 people. Once I had 2 students that came to me, but one was left handed and it was a real struggle. I simply can't tech lefties. Also, the college allots me only 1.5 hours per week (Tuesday night) for 4 weeks - that's 6 hours and there's not much I an do with 6 hours, especially if people don't practice on their own. It's been disappointing for me, probably because I am enthusiastic about crocheting and expected the students to be that way too and not rely on only me to magically make them know how to do it - like through osmosis - or something ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut I'm glad it's working well for you. You must have very willing and capable students. Good for you :-)
Have a great weekend, Julie!
Doris
Sounds like you're having great fun with your class
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Happy day :-)
Thanks so much for joining my Kraft site! I am flattered! I just love all the things you are making and your instructions and photos are tops! I love crocheting so much and always have a project going by my chair! ♥ Kerrie
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