Quick Update: Crochet Ribbing Comparisons & More

Naturally biases!
Alternating rows of slip stitch
and single crochet.

Hdc in lower third loop;
simply alternate the colors!

I'm buffing and polishing this blog a bit. Isn't the new color scheme refreshing? It's as if I spritzed some tangerine-vanilla room spray.

I'm also trying to figure out how to reproduce my newsletters here. In the meantime I've created a special tab for them (see tabs above this post). Importing the content, especially with the newsletter columns preserved, is surprisingly complicated.

So: crochet ribbing. I have more photos of ribbed crochet stitches that I didn't have room to include in the latest Crochet Inspirations Newsletter issue (#36). 

Another slanter.
Half double crochet (hdc; UK: htc
or htr) rows in different loops.
Good to know about ribbings that
 bias, no?

Here's the photo set I've created for them so far. 

UPDATE: See the follow up newsletter issue #37: "When Stitches Lean."

Isn't slip stitch ribbing amazing?

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.

Winner of Book Giveaway, plus More Stitch Photos

Tunisian Shakti, "Mobi-Dickie" version in bulky yarn

The winner, according to this random number generator, is Colorful Temptations. After I complete this blog post I'll alert the book editor, Robyn Chachula, to release a downloadable copy of the new Simply Crochet book to her. 

Thank you to everyone who entered! I like that my blog visitors from outside of the USA are equally eligible to win because the prize is downloadable.

Tunisian Shakti, "Mobi-Dickie" version in bulky yarn

Meanwhile, here are more photos of the Tunisian crochet stitch I described in the previous post. This one is an experimental möbius (or moebius) cowl--in bulky wool yarn--and a large Tunisian crochet hook! Fast to crochet and pleasantly stretchy. 

Tunisian Shakti, "Mobi-Dickie" version in bulky yarn

I'm adding its pattern details to the Tunisian Shakti Scarves Superpattern in case someone would like to try it.

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! 

I'm Crocheting Slip Stitch Short Rows...

...and I hope every crocheter will try it. I now have a free pattern for you: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/slip-slope-scarf-free-pattern 

See the bumpy short row ends along the top edge?
You can make them melt (as they did in the 2nd photo below), or you can emphasize them as a decorative texture (see 4th and last photo below)

called "Slip Slope Scarf." Even if you've already tried crocheting short rows with other stitches like single crochet (sc or UK: dc) or double crochet (dc or UK: tr), give my slip stitch way a try. 

First set of short rows completed. As you can see in the top photo, they melted in nicely
as more rows were added. I should create a mini-video to also show how thoroughly
stretchy it is: not lumpy or tight where the short rows end.

I can't stop! It's an irresistible combo of: 

I love this color effect.
I think it'll become a design
called..."Slippery Fingers"?

• Fabulous fabric: solid - warm - soft - thin - extra-stretchy - reversible
• Fascinating color and texture effects
• Fun stitching progress: I get to stop in the middle of a row and turn around (instead of always going all the way across to the end). And it's easier. I don't have to manage lumps in my fabric like I do if I use taller stitches (by tapering the stitch heights or messing with the turning chains, for example.) I don't have to stop and figure out which loops to work into when I crochet over a short row (like I do when I've tried tapering rows of taller stitches). 

I just plain enjoy the look and feel of these crochet short rows as I go. Is it like this for you too? I hope you'll try it and let me know.

Slip Tectonics, a neck warmer using two kinds 
of slip stitches to create a self-shaping cowl.

See also my newsletter issue about crocheting slip stitch short rows. 


After I write this, I'll go over to my Crochet Pattern Companion blog and create a photo tutorial for the short row basics.


After Slip Tectonics, I have another pattern coming out using crochet short rows, so if you like the free pattern, keep an eye out for "Thaxton Hood."

We Have a Winner of the Crochet Tote Book Giveaway

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this blog tour giveaway. I'll have to come up with more reasons to do giveaways because it's really fun. It's like hosting a party at my blog! (In fact, if you have a creative idea for one, let me know.)

Using a truly random number generator to select a commenter on my previous blog post, I discovered our winner: 
Congratulations CATLADY, it's your lucky day! 
I hope you enjoy your goodies. I've accumulated a few things from yarn conferences I've attended, so I'm including these in your package: a Della Q project bag with Lorna's Laces pin; samples of different stitch markers; new Eucalan fabric wipes; and crochet hooks from Boye, Susan Bates, and Lion Brand's commemorative pink hook for women's health awareness. I even scrounged up a Leisure Arts pen that I forgot I had! 


The white hang tags have a special significance. Marty and I found out that we both love using them for our crochet projects. I'm sending you two sizes, in case you've never used them. We like to attach the larger size to a swatch so that we can record notes about it; the smaller size is perfect for noting just the hook size used, or page number of a stitch book, or part of a sweater ("left sleeve" for example), etc.


Catlady's comment was: "I generally use a cotton for totes - my "go to" brand is Bernat Handicrafter. And my "go to" colour is pink. :) But, I may try a felted wool tote - I've knit some, but want to see how some crochet stitches felt up for totes. I bought some feltable dk weight wool in pink and grey, that I thought about trying for a tote..."
I wish I had some pink yarn or some Bernat Handicrafter to include! Pink is my "go to" color too, and I need to get more. Maybe Catlady can somehow use two skeins of a rich red Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece yarn, or knows someone who likes red.

Chance to Win: Marty Miller's TOTES FOR ALL REASONS

This is no ordinary book review here at ol' DesigningVashti! I've always wanted to do a giveaway on my blog. 

In honor of Marty Miller's new crochet tote book, Totes for All Reasons, I'm giving away a copy of the book plus some fun crochet swag to a lucky commenter on this blog post. In your comment, please describe the yarn you would use to crochet your next tote (for example color, fiber, brand). Winner will be randomly picked at the end of this Monday Sept. 5 and announced Tuesday morning, September 6. 

Congratulations to Marty on her new book! These crochet totes were carefully designed for this collection to be fun to crochet and to use. I can see Marty's personality all over it and I know it was a blast for her to design these totes. 

When I see this I think YES. I need more fresh flowers
 AND a way to tote them!

I've been yarn shopping with Marty in craft stores and in yarn shops. She has this knack for seeing the tote that a new yarn wants to become. It's remarkable. I've also crocheted with her side by side, and you should see how fast and enthusiastically she can whip up a new tote, right off the top of her head.


Come to think of it, at conferences I've helped lug her crochet class materials to her classes--USING HER TOTES--and I can attest to the strength and comfort of the tote handles she designs. I can't imagine a better designer for a book of crochet totes. Period. 


Also, the photography is beautiful. This is a 24-page Leisure Arts publication, so you can expect clear images, clean layout, and easy to follow instructions. You can expect accuracy because Marty's an expert technical editor of other designers' crochet patterns, including mine. 


After me, there's one more stop on the blog tour. Please visit Kate Steinke's blog tomorrow (Sunday). And also see Marty's blog tour post about the totes she crocheted. She made me want to go and pick up a crochet hook and find a good tote yarn in my stash! Here's the complete tour schedule:


August 29: Marty Miller
August 30: Ellen Gormley
August 31: Drew Emborsky
September 1: Kimberly McAlindin
September 2: Doris Chan
September 3: Vashti Braha (c'est moi)
September 4: Kate Steinke


DON'T FORGET to leave a comment for a chance to win this book and some extra goodies. What yarn would YOU use to crochet your next tote?