Category: freeform crochet

OOAK Freeform Crochet Purple Shrug Bolero with multicolour motifs…

purple shrug 1 DSCF9932

OK,  so I finally found the time to post one of the many new items that I’ve been promising to do… Time just seems to run away from me these days… renovating & establishing a new garden has certainly taken its toll on my crochet work but, never fear, I’ve not abandoned my hook & yarn just yet, but they have been very badly neglected…

So, this little number is one that I finished a while ago & has been sitting (as so many others yet to come) in the ‘To List Box’ – An easy-to-wear purple & multicolor freeform crochet women’s bolero shrug. A gorgeous, fun, OOAK garment for those looking for something truly different.

This is a loose fitting garment Australian size 8 to 10 (US: 4 xsml to 6 sml)

for the purple I used: Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 8 Ply
for the motifs I used a collection of assorted natural & synthetic yarns
This piece has now sold.

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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

Loving those Rainbow Yarns…

rainbow yarnThose of you who are familiar with my work will know how much I love working with colour; experimenting with unusual colour palettes, taking risks with different combinations & always testing the boundaries of what’s considered the norm in regard to ‘what goes with what.’ All those old sayings like, ‘blue & green should never seen’ ‘contrasts must never sit side by side’ are just that, old sayings, & I take little notice of them… hence I’m always on the lookout for yarns that incorporate unusual & interesting colour combinations.

Recently there’s been a trend for gorgeous variegated yarns with striking & long colour changes, of which Noro & Mini Mochi, to name a couple, being particular favourites of mine. So, imagine my delight when I found ‘California’ by Cleackheaton  (100% wool) at my local yarn store… I purchased some balls right away but must admit, after initially making some headbands & a beanie a while back, a couple of which sold quickly, I allowed them to sit idle in my stash for some time until I remembered I still had some left over somewhere.

I had in mind to make a bag… & perhaps I was feeling a little lazy that day… Aussie summers have a habit of doing that… but instead of going through my stash looking for colour combos, I asked myself if working with just the ‘California’ would work & decided to give it a  try … the colours are rich & bright just like our Aussie summers… Oh, but the black is extra… here’s the result & there was enough to make another headband… not bad for working with just one yarn type eh?…

rainbow-bag2rainbow-crayon2

‘Fern’ & ‘Bouvardia’ by Moda Vera (both wool, acrylic blends) are also great finds but I still need to think about those & what I’d like to do with them.

Crochet Felt Hat Beanie Winter Collection

Hello everyone, allow me to introduce  my new winter hat beanie collection… a combination of crochet, felted crochet & wet felting… all made from 100% wool, with assorted cotton & acrylic yarns, glass & wooden bead embellishments.

The collection came about while I was incapacitated some weeks back with a back injury & given strict instructions to take it easy… hmmm… Well, that’s always easier said than done….

So, what to do? I couldn’t just sit around feeling sorry for myself…. a poke around in my stash, I found a whole bag full of feltable yarns purchased some time ago &, as usually happens, completely forgotten about… so, with a collection of favourite DVD’s, I set to work crocheting the hat beanie crowns that I later felted in the washing machine (no strain, no pain)…& they came up a treat… from there I slowly added the crochet bands & embellishments… time well spent, time not wasted & Yes… I did take it easy…. Enjoy!

Over the coming days  these hat beanies will be available for sale on Etsy.