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 :)

My Search to Be Square - Part 1

I love to cross stitch on crocheted fabric and I had made an afghan several years ago that featured our family name and a cabin graphic with some pine trees. So when I came across this free KG Chart for Cross Stitch program I got excited and downloaded it. In no time I was able to easily create graph patterns. It is a simple program to master. I drew out a "J" monogram by hand and scanned and imported it into the program. What's great is that this program will create a chart from any image and it is easily editable for stitch placement and color changes. You can also view the chart in "real view" and it looks like an actual cross stitched piece!

Having this program got me to thinking about the crocheted fabric that you cross stitch on and I remember having read somewhere about a "square" crochet stitch. Of course I can't remember where I read that, and searching online was no help. What I do remember from what I read is that using the seed stitch will give you a truer square. Single crochet is fine, but is not truly square being wider than tall. So I worked up a swatch in seed stitch (or the seed stitch as I know it to be). And while I was at it, I decided to work up a simple stitch chart for it using Inkscape which is also a free program.



Here is my swatch pattern:
With a size H (5.0 mm) crochet hook and worsted weight (medium) yarn.
Row 1 (RS): ch 24, sc in 2nd ch from hook, *ch 1, sk next, sc in next. Rep from * across. (23 sts)
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc in next, sc in next ch1 sp, ch 1, sk next, sc in ch 1 sp. Rep from * across to last, sc in last sc.
Row 3: ch 1, turn, sc in next, *ch 1, sk next, sc in next ch 1 sp. Rep from * across.
Rep rows 2 and 3 alternately for pattern.

Abbreviations used in pattern:
RS - right side, or the side of the fabric you want to show (or face out)
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
sk - skip
sp - space
rep - repeat
My swatch is 23 rows high, and is square - Yay!






Now all I have to do is figure out where the cross stitches should go. To me it doesn't look there is a square pattern in the fabric. *sigh*
I will continue and stitch up some other swatches too; in single crochet, "square" single crochet, and also a Tunisian swatch.

So for now my search to be square continues . . .


Links - KG software - http://www.iktsoft.net/kgchart-en/kgchart/
Inskscape - http://www.inkscape.org/