Category: crochet scarf, wrap, shawl

Filet Crochet Tutorial – The Basics

FIL-TITLE-1This Filet Crochet Tutorial has been a long time coming &, to those of you who have been waiting for it, please accept my apologies… I have to admit that writing the instructions in ‘plain speak’ for easy understanding proved to be a bit more challenging than working the actual technique itself…

Filet crochet lace is possibly one of the easiest techniques to master. Most of you will recognise Filet as fine lace like items such as: curtains, tablecloths & runners, or ground fabric for Irish lace motifs traditionally worked in cotton thread with a steel hook… it’s delicate, old-world & lovely.Book mark

However, if you take it a step further, Filet also makes a fabulous ground fabric for your Freeform motifs, or scarves & shawls, when worked in 8 ply (or your yarn of choice) with an appropriate hook – traditionalist may cringe at this but most of you know my approach by now… I like to mixed it up & give anything a try…

In any case, whether you want to work traditionally or venture out & experiment, the basics for Filet are the same… I hope this comprehensive tutorial gives you everything you need, from reading charts to working an armhole on a vest, & becomes a good reference point that leads the way into this age-old technique.

Patterns are presented to the reader as charts or grids instead of written patterns so with a bit of graph paper you can even create your own designs if you have a mind to.

You can purchase the pattern from here,

ScarfPurse

The Filet crochet tutorial (17 pages) takes you through the basics of Filet Crochet in both written (UK & US terminology) & diagram form & covers the following:

  • How to read charts (graphs) – (pg 2)
  • Determining the number of chains required for foundation chain – (pg 2)
  • What is a Space, Block, Lacet & Bar– (pg 3)
  • Stitch Abbreviations – (pg 3)
  • Stitch Guide (written & drawings): slip st, dc (US sc), tr (US dc) – (pg 4)
  • Stitch Guide continued: dtr (US tr), trtr (US dtr) – tr decrease (US dc decrease) – (pg 5)
  • Basic Filet Mesh Lace (written, diagram & drawing): spaces & blocks  – (pg 6)
  • Basic Filet mesh lace continued: Lacets & bars – (pg 7)
  • Shaping: increasing space at beginning & end of row – (pg 8)
  • Shaping continued: decreasing space at beginning & end of row, increasing block at beginning & end of row, decreasing block at beginning & end of row – (pg 9)
  • Shaping for Garments: increasing blocks at beginning & end of rows – (pg 10)
  • Shaping for garments continued: increasing spaces at beginning & end of rows – (pg 11)
  • Shaping for garments continued: decreasing & decreasing blocks at beginning & end of rows – (pg-12)
  •  Three super easy projects to get you started
  • Book Mark (chart & photo) – (pg 13)
  • Scarf (photo & chart) – (pg 14)
  • Purse – (chart, photo, written, diagrams, drawings) (pg 15 to 17)

filet purse

Freestyle, no pattern, Crochet Lace Scarves… even in the summer heat…

no pattern scarvesOver the holiday break I had little inclination to crochet… here in Australia, this year’s summer has been frightfully hot & the thought of handling yarn has been less than inspiring… nevertheless, while sitting in front of the telly with the fan blasting, sucking on fruity ice-blocks & doing my best to stay as cool as possible, my hands, which have minds of their own, thought differently… ‘idle hands, idle minds’ & all that…

Some months back I wrote a post about ‘Freestyle Crochet made easy’… work a long length of chain, no need to count, & work a different pattern for each row, improvising with plain stitches at the ends where the pattern doesn’t quite fit…

It’s been far too hot to have volumes of crochet fabric sitting on my lap so I decided I could do just the same but this time working short rows back & forth to create a scarf or two… I chose to work in cotton & cotton blends but any yarn you like would be fine.

I’d forgotten how liberating this method is… not a lot of thought needs to go into what pattern to work on which particular row, just do what you like, whatever looks pleasing… perhaps call on those patterns you’ve learnt at some stage or rummage through your pattern books for stitches you’ve never tried…

My hands were right… there’s no need to be idle just find a way to keep creating with the least amount of discomfort…

For this pink scarf I used Seta, Silken Style (Wendy), 100 grams (2 balls), 48% viscose, 40% cotton, 9% silk, 3% nylon

pink cotton silk blend

For this white scarf I used Moda Vera (Nerine), 68 grams (a ball & a bit), 100% cotton

white 100% cotton

That’s a mighty giant crochet hook, but what to do with it?

giant hook2I’ve had this giant, wooden crochet hook for the longest time, I may have found it in an OP shop or perhaps someone gave it to me… I simply can’t remember… in any case, it’s been sitting idle in my hook collection for many years with no idea what size it could be (though compared to a 6.50 mm (US K), it’s mighty big), or what it could be used for…

I’m presuming that some clever person hand-carved it & lovingly sanded it down to feel as smooth as silk… nevertheless, I’ve always found it awkward to work with &, after a few of feeble attempts, just abandoned it…giant hook1

That is, until a couple of months ago when I wanted to crochet some really woolly, chunky scarves, you know the kind that you can wrap around & around yourself, thick & lush to keep out the frostiest cold winds… &, suddenly, that mighty giant hook might just be the ticket… I started with 2 strands of yarn… No, not chunky enough… 3 strands, then 4 but finally settled on 5 strands of what I hope are complimentary colours. It wasn’t nearly as awkward as I remembered & the scarves worked up really fast. I think I got a bit carried away too, hence their length… the yellow/brown one being approx 272 cm (107”) & the green one approx 317.50 cm (125”).

So that’s a couple of scarves… I’m sure there are many more items that could be created with this mighty hook… I just haven’t thought of any yet… Any ideas? Or perhaps you have your own giant hook story… we’d all love to hear them…

green chunkyDSCF9666DSCF9674DSCF9671

Freestyle Knit, Freeform Crochet scarf, shawl, wrap

Just finished this freestyle knit, freeform crochet scarf, shawl, wrap.

I’ve named this piece ‘Creme de Menthe’ for it’s sweet peppermint, turquoise & beige shades & gorgeous, spicy pizzaz – finding the right colours for the freeform motifs was a bit of a challenge but I think they work well & the chunky glass & tiny metallic beads add  that something extra

I’m very pleased with the result…..

Crochet Fan Lace Shawl, Wrap, Scarf Pattern

My newest Crochet Fan Lace Shawl/Scarf/Wrap Pattern is a little different from the norm in that it’s worked from the bottom up, which is fabulous when you have a limited amount of a particular yarn & you’re unsure just how far it will go – just start at the bottom & keep going until you run out of yarn.

The crochet fan lace shawl/scarf/wrap pattern works up quickly & can be worked in your choice of yarn & hook size

I used Scheepjeswol Granada 100% 8 ply cotton for the pattern photo item.

  • The pattern includes:
  • the shawl/scarf pattern
  • both UK & US terminology
  • clear stitch drawings & pattern diagrams (charts)
  • step by step instruction for the Clone Bobble tassel

My Mum gave me 2 x 50 gram balls of this yellow & what I can only  guess to be some kind of acrylic mohair…  demanding I make something…. my first thoughts were ‘eeegads…!!’ Really? It’s so very bright & garish… &, well,.. so yellow…. nevertheless I did as I was told & to my surprise it worked up beautifully &  Mum  is super delighted… so it goes to show… you never know until you have a go….

And then, I simply had to have another go with the crochet fan lace shawl/scarf/wrap pattern this time using 4 ply Mini Mochi by Crystal Palace Yarns. Don’t you just love this yarn? Colour way, texture & workability… all of it, gorgeous…

So there you go folks.. a ‘can do’ for beginners & a quickie for the more experience… have lots of fun with this newbie

You can purchase the Crochet Fan Lace shawl wrap pattern from here or, if you prefer, from Ravely ~ Etsy ~ Zibbet