New Book of Crochet Patterns

I'm popping in from my other crochet blog with a crochet yarn & pattern update.

The new Delicate Crochet book is out! It has 23 new crochet patterns designed by ten different designers in a lovely range of projects. Our Lotus yarn is featured in the book along with two new Tunisian crochet designs: Yveline Wrap and Ziggy Vest!

☛ Sharon Silverman did a superb job creating stitch close ups and photo tutorial steps.☚

Using This Book in December

I have December versions of Yveline and Ziggy in mind, see below. December is the perfect time for a crocheter's first browse through this book. Some projects could actually be finished in time to give as gifts, and some are perfect for relaxing amidst the busy holidays. I also see projects in this book that I'd enjoy trying just after Christmas.

For Post-Christmas Crocheting

Every year, from January and into February, I crave delving into a clever new crochet skill. (I know I'm not alone in this because of emails I've gotten over the years from crocheters. In fact maybe there's the seed of a newsletter topic here...)

Yveline

The Yveline Wrap is crocheted in simple offset rows, then surface-crocheted with love knot frills. It may be the first time I've seen love knots (lover's knot, Solomon's knots) with Tunisian crochet in the same project!

What could be breezier than little love knot bubbles? (Faster to crochet, too.) Unexpectedly, they also give a lean, urban chain-link look to a frill embellishment.

I tried single crochet stitches to make petite ruffles for Yveline's earliest swatches but they kept coming out too heavy for the light Tunisian net background. For example, see light green photo here.

A December Yveline Idea

During December I'm going to try a smaller cowl version of Yveline in fine wintery yarns. Right now I'm eyeing a buttery merino wool-silk blend for the background, and lace weight mohair for the surface-love.

This way the mohair is not actually against my skin but still traps warmth! Also, love knots in mohair have always made me swoon. When it's underway I'll add a link to it here.

Pre-frills Yveline.

Pre-frills Yveline.

Another December idea for Yveline is to do just the full-size background for a quicker sleek wrap—oh my gosh try a soft color-shifting yarn! Every row is the same so it's a good TV (mindless) crochet project. It's a versatile shape with lots of drape no matter what yarn you use.

You can always add the frills later (in January?).

A December Ziggy?

The Ziggy Vest is a simple rectangle of an airy Tunisian ripple stitch that I love. Create the armholes after the rectangle is done. (This kind of vest, which can be draped and worn several ways, is often called a "slitted stole" or "waterfall vest".)

Widthwise.

Lengthwise.

I'd love to see this stitch pattern as a warm scarf. This is what I'm musing: if I do the rows lengthwise and change colors for stripes, I can fringe the scarf ends: zero ends to weave in.

I love the pearly sheen the Lotus yarn gives Ziggy's stitch pattern so that's making it hard for me to picture it in warm wools. I guess this means I need to sit with my yarn stash and start swatching.

Since Ziggy's stitch pattern is self healing, I can decide later (after December) whether to turn it into a keyhole scarf. Or even a pullover shrug! (Fold in half lengthwise, seam at each end for sleeves, and cut a head opening slit in the center. Without the head opening it would be a standard shrug which is cool too.)

Crochet Yarn "Put Up": Part 1 of 2 (Yarn Company Journaling Series)

I've been slow-blogging a series about what it's like to start a yarn company...as a crochet designer. Below is entry #8. I last checked in with entry #6 at the end of 2014, on my yarn's first anniversary. 
Where's entry #7? Yesterday I accidentally journaled entry #7 at a different blog. I couldn't help it. It's about what it's like for three involved parties—designer, yarn company, and magazine editor—to use a new yarn for a magazine design.

Yarn Put Ups: When the Priority is on Managing Weight and Length 

This new magazine pattern brings to my mind
some thoughts I've had about yarn put ups.
Fabric Fusion Tote by Jennifer E. Ryan.
Pattern and article in Crochet! Magazine Spring 2015.

Several new crochet designs using DesigningVashti Lotus are coming out in spring 2015 pattern magazines! At right is one that pertains to today's journal entry, because two different Lotus put ups are ideal for it. Smaller Lotus Snacks cakes would be perfect for the yellow and pink stripes of the tote. (Also possibly the teal.)

The "yarn put up" is how yarn is wound into a convenient product. Terms like skein, hank, and ball refer to the final shape. Each has advantages. (Here's a beautiful post about these types.) The amount of yarn is also part of the put up.

You could say that yarn put ups manage chaos. Most yarns are packaged in amounts of one hundred yards or more. These lengths require careful organization to prevent tangled messes. When I was deciding on the optimal length of my Lotus yarn samples, I found I had to stay under two yards to avoid tangles.

Original double-sized 256-yd (100g) Lotus cakes
are stacked behind two of the Lotus "Snacks,"
which are one-third the size (85 yds, 33g).

We all prevent yarn chaos on a smaller scale with our own yarn stashes. As a child I used to untangle my mom's yarn basket periodically. The fastest path to yarn chaos for me, no matter how careful I am, is crocheting from an unwound "hank." (I've tried this in hotel rooms after buying yarn at crochet conferences.) See how my friend Linda Dean reckoned with hers.

Yarn shops will wind your purchased yarn hanks into balls for you. Even practiced employees using a motorized winding system risk tangled mishaps! 

A yarn company manages the yarn chaos on an even bigger scale. It takes careful planning to package yarn in the best size and shape. Manageable skeins need to be both consistent and convenient.

The original put up amount for my Lotus yarn is 256 yards (234 meters), which weighs approx. 3.5 ounces (100 grams). The put up shape is my favorite, a cake. This is a type of center-pull ball that sits flat, and I make sure that it's easy to find the yarn end in the center. It won't roll around whether you pull the yarn end from the center, or from the outside of the ball. It also stacks and stores well.

A pile of hanks; in the center is one
wound into a "cake". This is lace wt
mohair yarn, only 25g; 315 yds
of fuzzy chaos to manage per hank! 
This yarn crocheted: ♡Aery Faery♡

Why 256 yds? It falls into the standard 100g double-sized skein size for the fashion yarn market. This makes it easy to compare its yardage with other yarns of its "sport weight" thickness.

I also chose it because the larger the skein, the fewer the yarn ends to weave in later. I consider that to be a particular value to crocheters. It's not too large to keep it from from being convenient and portable, though.  

The disadvantage of a large put up is that sometimes you only need a small amount, for contrast stripes maybe, or a small project such as jewelry. Or, for a large project when you come up a little short. Maybe you know you have enough yarn to exceed life expectancy, but you still want a just a...snack.  Assorted Snacks, even!

A disadvantage I've weighed (so to speak) is that the price might seem high if a person doesn't realize that Lotus equals two of the more common 50g put-ups. Or, that craft yarns often don't hold to the 50g and 100g skein sizes at all, so you have to calculate number of yards per gram for an equal comparison. (Some craft yarns be crafty at making you think you're getting more yarn than you are. Just sayin'.) 

In yarn shops, watch out for fine, expensive yarns, such as lace weight cashmere, that look like 50g balls but are 25g or 30g (under one ounce) instead!

My new put up size of Lotus is a one-pound cone!
That's over 1,100 yds or about 4.5 100g balls.
I call it "Lotus Z-Bombe" 😃

I've had yarn "put ups" (yarn packaging choices) on my mind since I last blogged. Click here for earlier yarn journaling entries.

About That Rivuline Shawl Tunisian Crochet Stitch Pattern

Rivuline Shawl by Vashti Braha.
I used an H-8 (5 mm) Tunisian crochet hook
with Manos del Uruguay Serena
(sport weight alpaca-cotton blend).

I can finally SPILL the DEETS on the RIVULINE! They concern two main things: a progressively trippy stitch pattern, and the nearly ONE HUNDRED photos I took of it. (The first photo at left is from the book. You should see how different it looks in some of my pre-publication photos below. Also a few of my GAZILLION swatch variations.) 

I received a copy this week of Dora Ohrenstein's latest book, The New Tunisian Crochet: Contemporary Designs from Time-Honored Traditions. The Rivuline Shawl is a new crochet pattern that I designed for the book.

To me now -- 2 years later! -- the Rivuline Shawl is a tactile record of my mind slowly being blown. That's why I have to show you my own secret pics. 

It turns out that Rivuline came packed with eurekas for my pre-Tunisian-freeforming brain. That swaggy border is 100% Tunisian crochet too. Until Rivuline, I didn't know Tunisian crochet could do that!

I like the stitch texture and color tone quality
of this photo. You can see the birth of Petals
in this early Rivuline swatch!

It started with a stitch pattern idea that grabbed a hold of me back when Dora visited me in December, 2010. Dora's visit turned out to be a big ol' Tunisian crochet PARTY. 

She brought wondrous goodies: a Japanese collection of Tunisian crochet stitch patterns with the best collection of stitch symbols and diagrams I've ever seen; and a big stack of Duplet magazine back issues (half of which have cool Tunisian stuff in them).

Petals Cowl/Ring Scarf:
Cashmere and silk 'offset Rivuline' and a beaded seam.

Witness the "Tunisian and Regular Crochet Visit a Hall of Mirrors!" newsletter issue that welled up a few months later. 

A Rivuline stitch variation
and alternate yarn test.

That newsletter topic is really about Rivuline, but I couldn't say so. Instead I show Petals, its offset beaded cowl version. A few months later, Rivuline caused one of my all-time favorite designs to happen: the Tunisian Filet Aero.

Part of the reason I took so many photos is that I had trouble objectively evaluating them. 
Looking back, I now know why: the stitch experiment was a groundbreaking experience for me of Tunisian crochet. (At the same time, I was finding out how different fibers in pink tones are affected by any little change in light source and angle.) 

Swatching for early Rivulines in cotton, milk fiber,
silk, mohair, merino,  Icelandic lace wt wool...

Notice how the textures of the stitch pattern looks so different in the photos. So does the yarn color. (I remember this driving me crazy! And the emails to Dora: "Does _ or _ come across in this photo? How about this one?") 

For many more photos, also see the Petals photo album.

I eventually got a hold of a copy of the Japanese book Dora showed me. That inspired issue #10, "Tunisian Crochet: Breaking Out of Ruts" of my Crochet Inspirations Newsletter.

Book cover of 
The New Tunisian Crochet

By the way, Rivuline may look like traditional rectangular stole construction, design-wise. In reality, the border is a gradual variation of its stitch pattern. This way, a crocheter who's new to this way doing Tunisian crochet has a chance to get used to it before the variations of it begin. 

Another invisible design feature is that the foundation chain is disguised as a Tunisian Purl Stitch row. This was another discovery for me, which I then used for the seam of the Petals loop scarf/cowl, with beads for fun.

Crochet Jewelry Class: Resources

Tomorrow I teach a class in Sarasota, Florida on crocheting jewelry--a.k.a. "jewellry," "jewerly," "jewellery" and other favorite spellings :-)  

Love-Latches (convertible crochet jewelry)

For all of my crochet classes I include a page of resources in the handouts (helpful links, books that I recommend, etc.). However, my jewelry class handout is already several pages long due to so many close-up photos. 

The best class handout for jewelry crochet needs to show several close ups of those precious little details and special crochet stitches that make crochet bracelets, necklaces, rings, brooches, and earrings so fun to make and give as gifts. What to do? 

Irish Pearls

Today I hit on a great idea: I'm going to post the Crochet Jewelry Class Resources list HERE IN THIS BLOG POST! See below. Cool idea, right? This way they're clickable URLs. Also, crocheters anywhere can refer to it, even if you can't attend the Sarasota crochet class tomorrow. (If you think you can attend, it will be held from 1 - 4 pm on March 24, 2012 at an easy-to-find yarn shop on South Tamiami Trail called A Good Yarn.)

[Hi, this is FutureVashti from 2018. See the class resources for all of my classes at my new blog!]

Crochet Jewelry Class: Resources

All class content ©Vashti Braha. Resources recommended for a three-hour class held March 24, 2012 at A Good Yarn yarn shop in Sarasota, Florida USA; and taught nationally at the CGOA Chain Link conference in Reno Nevada in 2012. Please see this blog post also for more crochet jewellery resources I like.

(This is what my shop's crochet jewelry page
looked like in 2012!)

My published Jewelry Crochet downloadable patterns

Some of my not-yet published Jewelry Crochet projects

Crochet Inspirations Newsletter Topics:

Issue #43 "Crocheting Pure Silver Wire"
Issue #38 "A Jewelry Experiment Method"
Issue #17 "Fancy Cords in 360º"

Issue #16 "Flavor-Burst Crochet" (Get jewelry effects with simple stitches) 

Issue #8 "Crochet's Commutative Property" (Convertible crochet projects) 

Issue #18 "Deep Crochet Research" (Foundation Stitches)

Blogged:

"How to Crochet Spiky Puff Stitches" (as used for Palmetto Cuff pattern; with video)

"How to Make a Bead-Stringing Needle (and Why)" 

"Standard Necklace Lengths" 

"Crochet Cords for Pendants: Happy Pairings" 

"Cotton Crochet Thread Sizes and Equivalents" 

"Choosing Cotton Thread for Crochet Jewelry" 

"Using Crochet Jewelry With Wire Free Patterns" 

"Poem-Lariat for a River Goddess" (Freeform Trailing Vine Lariat design)

"Jewelry Design Tips" 
"Photographing Beaded Crochet Jewelry"

Books I've consulted. The most recently published are listed first with short descriptions of the books I recommend and use the most & why:  Click on a title to go to the book's Amazon page for more information.

2010. Ann Benson, Tapestry Bead Crochet: Projects and Techniques. Lark Crafts. This is my favorite source for this specific type of bead crochet. Not only is it very inspirational for me, it also is written by someone who is obviously a good teacher. She even created many of the excellent illustrations.     Author's site: beadseast.com

2009. Pat Harste, Hooked on Jewelry. Sixth and Spring Books. This is my resource for how to use stylish and traditional metal jewelry findings with fiber crochet jewelry designs, and why I might want to. I usually prefer to crochet them, but this author uses them in such an inspiring way. I also love the way the book makes it clear and fun to learn about the jewelry tools and supplies.  Author's Ravelry page.

2007. Waejong Kim and Anna Pulvermakher, Crochet Jewelry. Interweave Press.  This book combines a creative and exciting array of jewelry designs by several crochet designers. I use it as a resource of other designers' "lab notes" and results crocheting jewelry with eclectic materials. (Scroll halfway down through my other blog post for more on this.)

Size #20 crochet thread pendant cords;
some are published in Jewelry With a Hook.

2007. Terry Taylor, Jewelry With a Hook. Lark. Like the Waejong Kim book above, this book is a wide-ranging compilation of creative jewelry crochet designs and materials. So I use it foremost as a source for "lab notes" (how other designers combined eclectic materials). In addition, I like the "Crochet Basics" section at the back of the book. (I would still value this book the same way even if it didn't include four designs of my own.)

2006. Carol Ann Ventura, Bead and Felted Tapestry Crochet. Self published, ISBN 978-09721253-2-1. Carol Ventura is the queen of tapestry crochet in crochet circles, and her self-published books are the next best thing to taking her classes at the CGOA conferences. The one I have includes sections specially for left handers, and for working flat vs. in the round. Author's site: tapestrycrochet.com

2005. Adele Rogers Recklies, Bead Crochet Snakes: History and Technique. This book fascinates me. I had no idea of the history and art of bead crochet ropes as snakes. Beautiful examples. Self published: Reckless Beading Press, ISBN 978-0-9791649-0-3.     Author's site: beadcrochetsnakes.com 

2004. Bethany Barry, Bead Crochet. Interweave Press. This book used to strike me as odd (like the Neiman book below), but not anymore, now that I understand the differences between beaded jewelry that happens to be crocheted, vs. crochet that is used for jewelry and that may include some beads. In other words, jewellery crocheting lies at an intersection of two industries: the crochet ('handknitting') yarn industry, and that of the beaders and other non-crochet jewelry making hobbies, like wirework/wire-wrapping, micro-macrame, etc. The basic materials, tools, and vocabulary can be very different. It's more obvious when you visit a bead shop and then a yarn shop; or the crochet aisle, then the jewelry aisle in a craft store!  Author's site: bethanybarry.com

2004. Lily Chin, Knit and Crochet with Beads. Interweave Press.  A masterful reference especially for exploring the choices crocheters and knitters have when incorporating beads into several kinds of projects besides jewelry.  Author's  site: lilychinsignaturecollection.com

2004. Sherri Haab, Designer Style Jewelry. Watson-Guptill. I enjoy having this one on hand for the techniques I hope to try someday, for example, using resin to create pendants and charms, which would be easy to combine with crochet; or updated possibilities with that "ShrinkyDink®" material I LOVED as a kid. So it has a great list of suppliers at the back of the book.

2004. Mary Libby Neiman, Bead Crochet Basics. Design Originals booklet, ISBN 978-1-5742153-4-2. This slim book is a good reference for me because I'm a newbie when it comes to a particular type of crochet jewelry: "beaded ropes" a.k.a. "tubular bead crochet." The idea is to see all seed beads, no crochet stitches. (Also see Ann Benson's Tapestry Bead Crochet, above.) Like I described Bethany Barry's Bead Crochet book above, this one used to confuse me as a crocheter. Part of the confusion is that both titles use "bead crochet" in a much more limited way than I would with the crocheters I know. Both also seem to be written by and for a general beading/bead shop audience rather than a crocheting audience.   Author's site: d-originals.com

1997. Lydia F Borin, Beadwrangler’s Hands On Crochet with Beads and Fibers. I was happy when a copy of this book fell into my lap because I'd tried to locate a copy for several years, after learning so much about the topic at the author's site, below! Self published: Lyden Enterprises, ISBN 1-891302-01-9.     Author's site: beadwrangler.com

A Tunisian Crochet Tea Cosy/Tea Cozy with Insulating "Rimples"

Tea cozies (in the UK: tea cosies) have been my constant companions as 2012 has gotten off to an eventful start! Most recently I've been drinking record amounts of hot tea to help me recover from a severe head cold, as well as to catch my breath between events. 

Rimply: Ready for Tea Time

The longer my teapot stays hot, the better. Handmade tea cozies work great! If a crochet cowl or hat feels warm and toasty, you can bet the same crochet stitch and yarn will also work well as a tea cosy. 


In fact, a crocheted hat or cowl can quickly be turned into a tea cozy. This is what happened to Rimply, one of my Tunisian crochet cowl designs. I've used it more as a tea cozy than as a cowl since I designed it a year ago. Also, I leave it on a silver teapot when I'm not using it, because it also slows tarnishing.

Same Rimply as a Cowl, but worn upside down.

Tunisian crochet is not known for being stretchy. In this case, though, the combination of wooly yarn, bigger Tunisian crochet hook, and the unique heat-trapping tunnels ('rimples') all contribute stretch to this solid Tunisian Knit Stitch fabric.


To turn this cowl into a tea cosy, all I did was crochet two lengths of chain stitches. One serves as a drawstring along the top edge of the cowl to fit it snugly around the top (where much heat would otherwise escape). The other ties together the cowl just under the teapot handle. These simple ties make Rimply nicely adjustable as a tea cozy.

Another way to style Rimply.
This one was crocheted in a finer
purple yarn that has more drape

In this case, the spout is slender enough and the stitches stretchy enough that I can poke the spout through the stitches. If I were to crochet another one, I'd add an easy buttonhole-type slit for the spout instead.

A Powerful Tunisian Crochet Stitch to Love

Neck Lattice (1 skein!) 
photo ©2011 Vashti Braha

Neck Lattice 
photo ©2011 Interweave Press

I'm giving away a full downloadable edition of the new Simply Crochet   book! 

If you don't know about the main stitch used for Neck Lattice (just published by Interweave Press) and all designs shown in this post, please read on. 

It's one of the two stitches that have liberated my Tunisian crocheting.   (See "Breaking Out of Tunisian Ruts," issue #10 of my Crochet Inspirations newsletter for the other one.)


This amazing Tunisian stitch:

A Shakti Scarf (new design)
shows both sides of fabric

• Conserves yarn. Neck lattice uses ONE SKEIN. So do my other designs based on this stitch. 
• Loves every Tunisian crochet hook size.
• Loves a wide range of yarn weights, thicknesses, and textures.
• Is reversible: looks fabulous on both sides (not always the case with a Tunisian crochet stitch).
• Is fast to crochet (not always the case with a Tunisian crochet stitch).
• Singlehandedly creates a sheer, breezy, weightless Tunisian crochet lace. Not only that, it can be stretchy.

[Have you ever used this stitch? Leave a comment on this blog post about it and you'll be entered to win the Simply Crochet e-book. 
You have until tomorrow, Fri. Dec. 9 at 10pm EST to enter.]

Notice in these photos how different the Tunisian crochet stitch can look depending on fibers, yarn weights, hook sizes, and degree of laciness over the years. (I know the photos are arranged weirdly in this post. It's just the way Blogger is sometimes.)



When Interweave Press published the new Simply Crochet book this month, I took stock of my design journey with this unique Tunisian crochet stitch. Neck Lattice, included in this book, was a pivotal discovery for me as a crocheter. 

Same Neck Lattice pattern and hook size, thicker yarn!

I released my early photos of it (including a prototype) this week, and I remembered the exhilaration of discovering its edge-as-you-go latticework. 

And, the wonder of using the yarn that book editor Robyn Chachula chose for me to use--it's the mottled red alpaca one in the two uppermost photos. 

I had only used fingering weight yarn (sock yarn) for it until she sent me a lace weight yarn. I worried at first, but then I loved seeing the design take shape from only one skein. It grew quickly because I used a big Tunisian crochet hook.

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

For all its power, this Tunisian stitch doesn't seem to be one of the basic stitches one learns after the Tunisian Simple Stitch (Tss), even though it's easy to do! It's not standardized: it goes by more than one name, and explanations for how to do it vary widely. I've seen it called Extended Knit Stitch, Corded Stitch, Tunisian Knit Single Crochet, Tunisian Shaker Stitch, and "Tunisian Knit Stitch with a chain-1."

Here are my other experiments with this stitch over the past year or so. NOTE: several of these are "Shakti Scarves," which are all versions of the same Tunisian Shakti design. 

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

Update:
Tunisian Shakti Scarves crochet superpattern is now available in my DesigningVashti pattern shop, and Ravelry store. 

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

Islander Wrap

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

Undaria Flutter Scarf, New Short Row Design

Check it out: I've just done a whole new kind of blog post, right at my DesigningVashti.com website, and it was easy! It's about my newest crochet pattern coming out very soon, the Undaria Slip Stitch Flutter Scarf. 



You can see a gallery of TEN ways of wearing it over there. 

I'll have more links created after Thanksgiving. For now, here's its Ravelry project page, and its online photo set.


Edited on Dec. 3, 2011 to add: 

• I blogged the story of the "Undaria" name here. 
• You can now download the final pattern at DesigningVashti and in Ravelry.

Being able to blog right from my website is making me irrationally happy and kind of wonderstruck. I've had that website for a little over a year, and it's been slow-going for me to remember how to update it. (I'd rather be designing...) Meanwhile, I know how to blog and enjoy it, and how to create colorful newsletters. 


Wow. A Wordpress-driven website is going to be FUN!