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The knitting thread is going strong, but it looks like the crochet thread has fallen off the edge of the forum. I think it's time for a new one, post your pictures, patterns, techniques, ravelry IDs or whatever. First, a quick FAQ: Q: What is crochet? A: Crochet is a form of cloth making, similar to (and often confused with) knitting. Crocheted fabrics are formed from a series of interlocking loops made using a hook. Q: How is crochet different from knitting? A: Crochet uses a single hook instead of two needles to make stitches. The technique is completely different from knitting, and crocheted fabrics look distinct from knitted fabrics. Q: What is crochet good for? A: Crochet is an excellent medium for creating both flat fabrics and three-dimensional work. Many techniques in knitting have a crochet equivalent and vice versa. Like knitting, crochet is a perfectly capable form for making sweaters, hats, etc. but what crochet does especially well is three-dimensional and free form work. I personally find making stuffed toys and lacy things much easier in crochet. Q: Is crocheting hard? A: No. The general consensus is that crocheting is easier to learn than knitting. There is also a wide array of resources to learn how to crochet. There are a million different books on crochet, I recommend “Stitch and Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker” as a good beginners resource. There are also a lot of web resources and videos to help you out. A youtube search for “crochet” yields many results. There is also an excellent social networking site for knitters and crocheters called ravelry.com (there is an SA group on Ravelry called “Show me your knits”). Okay, now for the show: This is a cactus made from Icelandic wool. Made using a modified curlicue stitch.  A trapper hat I made. I used a checkerboard around-the-post stitch for the texture.  This is an installation piece I did for a class. Pictures don’t really do it justice, it’s bigger than it looks. It is meant to reference ghosts in old buildings. It was installed it in a bathroom. It is made from an acrylic and mohair yarn. I can post more if anyone is interested.  If anyone wants to find me on Ravelry, my username is BanjoFish.
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Jul 7, 2008 19:24
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Q: How is crochet different from knitting? What are the pro/cons? Ive always been confused with this. Ive tried knitting, and in a good knitting kit you have a crochet hook just for dropped stitches.
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Jul 8, 2008 00:46
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Finally! I suck at knitting but I love crochet. This is the first granny square project I ever did. I made it three years ago, use it all the time, and it's still held up well. It was made with Red Heart acrylic (yeah, I'm cheap with my yarn). Linked because the pictures are huge: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t127/kellycrochets/DCP02145.jpg http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t127/kellycrochets/DCP02144.jpg mariolatry fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Jul 8, 2008 |
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Jul 8, 2008 02:10
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fizban7 posted:Q: How is crochet different from knitting? I'm probably not the best person to answer this question, I'm not a great knitter. Maybe others can chime in here... for now, here is an explanation From learntoknit.com: "Crochet is an extremely versatile and popular technique for making a variety of fashion and home decor accessories. By combining basic crochet stitches and lighter weight or softer yarns, you create a delicate, drapable fabric; a thicker yarn produces a sturdy fabric. Beautiful textured and raised stitches are especially easy to make in crochet. All you need to crochet is a continuous strand of yarn and a single hook. You start with a slip stitch and continue to make loops (called chains), creating a foundation row. Rows are built on this foundation. Crochet stitches are made with loops and wrapping yarn around the hook. The loops are drawn through the wrapped yarn to make the stitches. You can crochet in rows, keeping your work flat, or you can join your stitches, creating a ring and work in the round. One of the most recognized crochet patterns is the Granny Square motif. These colorful crocheted squares or circles are joined together to create afghans and vests. At the fall European couture collection, a Granny Wrap was a big hit and was even featured on a recent cover of Vogue Magazine. Knitting has long been the favorite technique for sweater making because of the detailing and color patterning that is possible, and the supple, drapable fabric the stitches produce. The two basic stitches--knit and purl--can be worked alone or together and form the basis of dozens of designs as well as other stitches. Knitting requires two needles and a continuous strand of yarn. You begin by making a slip knot on one needle and "casting on" the number of stitches you need for the project. (That’s the term for creating the foundation row on one needle.) The basic stitches are created using both needles, wrapping the yarn over one needle and drawing the wrapped yarn through loops on the other needle. Circular knitting needles--long, flexible needles with a point on each end--are growing in popularity because they eliminate seams and the need to continually turn your knitting at the end of a row." BanjoFish fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Jul 8, 2008 |
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Jul 8, 2008 03:49
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Yes! I wasn't sure if I could post this in the knitting thread since it's.. not knitting! This is my first blankey! A giant granny rectangle!  It's a little bit bigger now, still working on it when I feel crafty. I'm going to be making a blue one to match later on for my mom since she fell in love with this one!
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Jul 8, 2008 20:00
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CHEEZball posted:
That thing looks enormous! I'm working on my own granny square blanket, but it's a lot smaller. It's still in progress, obviously.  Here is a case I made for my crochet hooks, its just a piece of cloth with square braids attached, I'm really proud of myself though, because I taught myself how to cable crochet while doing this one.   
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Jul 9, 2008 03:55
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fizban7 posted:What are the pro/cons? Ive always been confused with this. Ive tried knitting, and in a good knitting kit you have a crochet hook just for dropped stitches. I love crochet and can't knit for toffee. But sadly one of the drawbacks is that crochet tends to use more yarn, so it can be more expensive than knitting. I've read it can be around 1/3rd more yarn needed, which can be a big problem when you want to make clothing from the designer-type yarns (I don't know how expensive yarn is in the US but for eg Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK you're often looking at £4.50 a ball here and when you need 6-8 for a 2yos cardigan it really mounts up). I do think it's more versatile, specially for using up small leftovers and stashbusting - there seem to be more modular designs and of course the ever-popular amigurumi. At the moment I'm working on a star-shaped blanket, a vest top for my daughter and some jewellery.
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Jul 9, 2008 12:25
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It's about queen size right now. I'm finishing it with a thick border of the tan yarn to finish it up. It went super fast too, here's the link to the pattern, if you're just beginning, I highly recommend this afghan! http://iamtotallyobsessedwithyarn.blogspot.com/2006/01/granny-square-pattern-with-pictures.html
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Jul 9, 2008 15:40
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Yay! I love seeing other peoples' projects. Unfortunately I'm really ADD when it comes to working on stuff because I'll start one thing and put it away while I begin another. Ravelry has been a blessing and a curse as far as that goes. Right now I have about five unfinished works that I need to get done before the end of summer. Anyway, here is a scarf I made in January, simple wrist warmers and a catnip toy. Nothing terribly fancy :/  $38 for alpaca blend yarn, but worth every penny  Great for keeping fingers free and hands warm for winter photos  My cats liked the feather more than the toy itself. Assholes.
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Jul 10, 2008 07:31
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How did you attach the feather to the cat toy? I think my mogs would love a few of those but I can't work out how you'd secure it.
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Jul 10, 2008 13:36
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discordiaskitten posted:How did you attach the feather to the cat toy? I think my mogs would love a few of those but I can't work out how you'd secure it. I used a pony bead and hot glue  Just stick the feather(s) through before finishing and stuffing the ball, smother the ends with glue and pop a bead on there before it hardens. Then stuff around the bead so that it's not too noticeable and add in your catnip or what have you.
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Jul 11, 2008 06:03
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Banjofish, I'd love to know how you do crochet cables. I've been crocheting for about 3 years and knitting over 2, yet strangely enough I've never heard mention of a crochet cable. Are there any patterns out there that use them, or did you just figure them out yourself?
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Jul 12, 2008 03:18
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DeliciousDarkness posted:Banjofish, I'd love to know how you do crochet cables. I've been crocheting for about 3 years and knitting over 2, yet strangely enough I've never heard mention of a crochet cable. Are there any patterns out there that use them, or did you just figure them out yourself? There are not a lot of good resources on how to cable crochet that I could find. Here is the one I used, it still took me a fair bit of fooling around to figure it out, but if you understand how to do post stitches it won't be too hard. http://tinyurl.com/5ga7dv The best way I can think to describe how it is you basically skip three stitches, crochet three, and then go back and crochet the three you skipped.
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Jul 12, 2008 04:27
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Windy posted:I used a pony bead and hot glue Aaah...thank you! Now why didn't I think of that?  Guess I need to send the OH out for more hot glue, we used it all up making foam monster feet for the little 'un.
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Jul 13, 2008 13:51
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nm I give up
uma fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Nov 16, 2008 |
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Nov 16, 2008 19:40
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I just finished this pillow. I did it in Tunisian crochet, which for anyone who doesn't know, is pretty much a combination of crochet and knitting. The relief stitches are bobbles.   Yarn was Red Heart Super Saver in "Turqa."
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Nov 25, 2008 17:41
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So assuming equal skill with both, would it be faster to knit or crochet say a rectangle of single color in a simple stitch? I am just curious, I haven't done any crochet before and am, at best, a beginner knitter. I am interested in both long term.
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Nov 27, 2008 21:39
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onceling posted:So assuming equal skill with both, would it be faster to knit or crochet say a rectangle of single color in a simple stitch? I am just curious, I haven't done any crochet before and am, at best, a beginner knitter. I am interested in both long term. I think I'm relatively good at knitting, but I find crochet to be faster to work something up.
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Nov 28, 2008 00:28
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onceling posted:So assuming equal skill with both, would it be faster to knit or crochet say a rectangle of single color in a simple stitch? I am just curious, I haven't done any crochet before and am, at best, a beginner knitter. I am interested in both long term. Personally for simple/flat shapes I find knitting to be much faster. However, for rounded objects (like amigurumi) crocheting is faster. Honestly I think it's something that varies from person to person, and learning a new technique for the sake of learning is great, regardless if it's faster or not 
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Nov 28, 2008 04:15
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onceling posted:So assuming equal skill with both, would it be faster to knit or crochet say a rectangle of single color in a simple stitch? I am just curious, I haven't done any crochet before and am, at best, a beginner knitter. I am interested in both long term. Crochet is way, way faster. The trade-off is that it always uses more yarn though.
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Nov 28, 2008 04:55
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See, it kind of depends which way you're talking about it being faster. Let's take garter stitch for knitting and single crochet for crocheting. The process of making a knit stitch typically takes less time than crochet, as there is one less step involved. That's provided you are equally comfortable with both knitting and crocheting. However, let's say that you have a particular size in mind for a flat object. If you are using a comparable gauge, then crochet would get you to where you need to be faster because it's (usually) a larger stitch, provided all things are equal and you are using a comparable hook and needle size for the type of yarn you have. Here's something I found from Royal Yarns to illustrate this idea better: Royal Yarns posted:Yarn Types: Worsted, Afghan, Aran So you can see that there are less crochet stitches required to get up to 4" than knit stitches.
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Nov 28, 2008 17:21
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I just want to say as a knitter I'm totally jealous of you crocheters. No matter how much I've tried all my crochet looks horrible and just winds up in a jumbled mass of knots. Which is a shame because I have an unholy love for granny squares. I don't know why.
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Dec 2, 2008 22:41
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Yay crochet! I'm working on a few projects right now - I've gotten addicted to amigurumi (three dimensional crocheted critters). Right now I'm working on two cthulhus (pattern found on instructables) - one green and one pink for my cousin's baby. After that I'm going to try to make domo-kun for my sister in law and a squid for my father. WARNING: If you get started with amigurumi THERE IS NO STOPPING!
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Dec 3, 2008 04:54
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Oh hi hookers thread. I have a question. I am not generally interested in learning to crochet, however I AM interested in the whole plarn movement and I am obsessed with bags, so naturally I'd like to make a few plastic bag bags. Is it conceivable that I can just skip the yarns and move straight to the plarn when I teach myself how to crochet?
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Dec 5, 2008 16:56
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I'm trying to crochet a simple hat for my daughter but it's gone all.... Ruffly. This thing has more curves than a square dancer's skirt. The instructions I found sounded super simple and I figured it would be a great way to learn to crochet in the round. I got the center going and the the first couple rows worked out fine. The first row, you increase all the way around, the second row you dc one stitch and then increase all the way around, the third row, you dc two stitches and then increase all the way around and so on and so forth... I'm on the 7th row and it looks like a tacky Barbie skirt. HELP!
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Jan 5, 2009 16:56
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Anyone have a recommendation for a GOOD Amigurami instruction style book? I want to make some little plush farm animals and trucks for my young nephews. I tried making a pig recently and he's looking a little....retarded. I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing wrong with the increase/decrease stitches, if that is even the issue at all.
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Jan 5, 2009 23:00
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BrideOfUglycat posted:I'm trying to crochet a simple hat for my daughter but it's gone all.... Ruffly. This thing has more curves than a square dancer's skirt. It sounds like you have too many increases to me...could you perhaps write out the exact instructions for a couple of lines so I can see? Is there a stitch count for each line - how many are you ending up with on each round?
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Jan 6, 2009 11:10
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Mariolatry, your cushion is lovely, awesome colour. I love crochet, but can't seem to get the gist of it. I had a look at an online tute but just can't seem to get the hang. Does anyone have a good beginners tute they know of? Preferably with pictures? Ahm not so good with your fancy words.
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Jan 6, 2009 21:43
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I found this to be handy. There are other tutorials on the left if you go all click happy on the links.
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Jan 7, 2009 03:25
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Woo I chained! Thanks for the tute, love the bi-coloured wool pics. Makes it so much easier for my simple brain to follow.
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Jan 7, 2009 21:33
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teknicolor posted:Oh hi hookers thread. I have a question. I am not generally interested in learning to crochet, however I AM interested in the whole plarn movement and I am obsessed with bags, so naturally I'd like to make a few plastic bag bags. Is it conceivable that I can just skip the yarns and move straight to the plarn when I teach myself how to crochet? I don't see why not. You should probably practice all the basics on plain ol' yarn first though, and don't be surprised if the plastic proves harder to work with. So as not to make this reply otherwise pointless, here's a couple cell phone photos of things I made: a hat  and this weird thing  and I'll try my best to get photos of the other stuff (hats and scarves) I've done. I just got into crochet a few months ago, and I can't wait to get into some of the more interesting stuff.
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Jan 13, 2009 12:07
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discordiaskitten posted:It sounds like you have too many increases to me...could you perhaps write out the exact instructions for a couple of lines so I can see? Is there a stitch count for each line - how many are you ending up with on each round? Unfortunately, my instructions were about as clear as I posted. I've had to put it on hold while I work on a baby blanket for a shower in early February
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Jan 13, 2009 16:08
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BrideOfUglycat posted:Unfortunately, my instructions were about as clear as I posted. Ah...see, I could read those instructions in two different ways, hence the confusion. Say you have five dc in your first ring. The instruction you've given is: quote:the second row you dc one stitch and then increase all the way around Are you doing this for your second ring: dc, inc, inc, inc, inc (etc) all the way round (9 st created from 5 in the previous row) OR dc, inc, dc, inc, dc, etc (7 st created from 5 in the previous row)? Cos if you're doing the former you would certainly be getting too many stitches and that causes the kinking. Also the kind of yarn and hook you're using could be causing problems - you may be working too tight, try switching up 0.5mm from the recommendation and see what happens, you may have to try 1mm bigger if your yarn is skinny and you work very tightly. I usually have to go up 0.5mm this with pretty much anything - if there's a tension square or circle given, make that and see what it measures up as. It's always worth doing, dull as it is. Something else to look at would be how you're finishing each round - some patterns call for you to eg chain three and dc into the same space before working into the previous round, which can give you two extra stitches, and some want you to spiral directly into the previous row, which tends to pull the work up into a dome shape. Great for hats and amigurumi, not so much for flat shapes. Any use?
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Jan 16, 2009 01:56
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I am a crochet newbie. I have wanted to learn to knit or crochet for some time, and my mom who knows a ton of crafts with 'fibre'...yarn or thread or whatever, decided that crochet would be easier than knitting for me to start. It was cool to start, but now I seem to have forgotten what I'm doing, and this is just with the basic stitch. >=( I've got about 6 rows done and beginning the next one, I'm all messed up. I've got big holes and I can't figure out if I'm skipping stitches or what? I seem to have some sort of spatial problem... Also, Mom does not live close by, I see her about once a month, so it is hard to get a refresher. I don't have any friends who crochet either. Xoobee fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Jan 19, 2009 |
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Jan 19, 2009 18:02
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If you have spaces then you are probably skipping stitches. Try keeping count with each row. What size needle are you using? And are you doing a single crotchet or double crotchet? Also, make sure you have the right number of stitches in the turning chain. Hope that helps.
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Jan 19, 2009 18:36
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It's worth having a poke round YouTube for videos of where exactly to place your hook, too, I found that made a lot of difference. Happy Hooker (Debbie Stoller) is a good book for new starters in the US, I'd go with The Crochet Bible (Sue Whiting) if you're in the UK - there are some differences in naming conventions and it's a PITA trying to get US wool in the UK. Can you try practicing with some fairly chunky yarn and a big hook (about 6mm, maybe)? Avoid fuzzy yarn to start with. If you can really see what's going on it'll be a lot easier to get your hook under both parts of each V. Once you're going into the right part of the stitch it'll all fall into place and you'll pick it up in no time (honestly - I started crochet last March and now I make clothes and sell amigurumi stuff on Etsy!).
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Jan 19, 2009 20:12
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Click for huge. I'm a second-time beginner with this. I started by recycling some yarn into that black scarf, which is all dc except for 2 rows sc on the ends. I'm thinking of adding some fringes or something to soften it, so it's not so much RAWR I WEAR BLACK. Next came the red glove, which looks somewhat pink in the picture, but trust me, it's bright red. I crocheted a tube up to the beginning of the thumb, then started working flat and going back and forth to leave a thumb slit, then chained over the top of it and went back to a tube, then chained across the top of the tube in three places to cut it into fingers. Then I went back and added tubes for the fingers and thumb, with appropriate decreases on the thumb tube. It turned out surprisingly hand-shaped, for being made without a pattern by a beginner. Next was the camo glove, where I decided to try something different. That one is sc tube all the way, with aligned increases for the thumb. Once I got a respectable thumb's circumference's worth of increases, I cut the thumb off and continued tubing up to the fingers as before. I added a little bit of tube on the lip of the thumb hole with some scrap yarn of the same color. Most recently, I did the hat from a pattern in a book. Chain a whole lot to start, then turn and come back with : sc, hdc, 2 dc, tc, 2 dc, hdc, repeat from : as needed (depending on gauge), and finish with 7 sl. Turn with the same color and go back with all sc. Drop and replace with other color, and invert the pattern : tc, 2 dc, hdc, sc, hdc, 2 dc, repeat from : as needed, and finish with 7 sl. Turn with the same color and go back with all sc. Replace the sc and tc at the end with chain 2 and chain 4, respectively. Chain 1 when turning on the sl side. I modified this pattern to have the second color be all sc, from the last sc in the pattern to the beginning of the sl, since that's the end that's going to taper anyway. Anyway, the sc/tc side is the brim, and the sl side is the top, so you work a number of rows that are slightly less than the circumference of your head in unstretched height, then sl to the base chain on the wrong side. I made the hat to be rolled by passing through to the other side after stitching together enough for the roll; that way, the inside is the right side when the roll puts the inside outside, and otherwise the outside is the right side. Anyway, you get this nifty wave pattern, and you're looking at the same side of every stitch in the pattern. You look at the back of every sc in the row of scs, and at the front of all the other stitches. The sls vanish when you gather the top of the hat to close it. I did this hat in army green and camo, and I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm thinking of doing another in arbutus and beige or something to give away, maybe with a pompon on the top. Not shown is a blue duvet that I did as a wee lad in a scallop pattern my grandmother taught me. I think she got it out of a magazine or something. Each row is : 5 dc, then dc, ch, dc, repeat from : ad nauseam. The 5 dc goes in the chain from the previous row (under all of it, granny square style), and the dcs from the dc, ch, dc go into the center dc of the block of 5 in the previous row. Start with three rows of solid dc, end with three rows of solid dc, and start and finish each row with 11 dc. I did it like 20 years ago, and as promised, you can hardly see all of your horrible mistakes once it's been a while since you made something. The only mistake that you can really notice is that it's a duvet instead of an afghan, because at 9, I inexplicably had the attention span of a 9 year old, and I didn't want to work on it anymore after like three weeks. Edit: This is all Red Heart acrylic, since I have a bunch of it around, and I'm too cheap to buy fancy yarn until I use up the 20 skeins I already have. ejstheman fucked around with this message at 08:46 on Jan 21, 2009 |
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Jan 21, 2009 08:36
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Nice stuff. When I finish one of the 3 projects I have going I'll post pics.
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Jan 21, 2009 20:20
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I taught myself to crochet this year after longing after it for ages (everyone in my family is a knitter). I'm very greedy on the textiles front, I want to be able to do it ALL and do it NOOOWWWW!!!! Anyway, long story short, I made up this checkerboard square as an alternative to a granny square. It's good for people who don't like working in the round. It looks fugly in the pictures because I only have crap yarn here, I'll change the pics when I get round to making a rainbow square! http://www.wikihow.com/Crochet-a-Checkerboard-Square If you're from the US, just change treble to double and double to single. I haven't made any REAL things from commercial patterns yet, I'm a bit scared of doing that. If I come across something in a kniting pattern I don't understand, I've got mum to help me, but there's no one on the crochet front so I'm worried about ploughing money and time into a project that will never get finished. I'm hoping to do a massive zig zag blanket this year, following a baby pattern that uses a 4mm hook and baby wool from the book I learnt out of, but making it in Lambs Pride Bulky with a 7.5mm instead. Is this a good idea? Will it make an adult size blanket? ^^^^^Nevermind. I just worked out to buy all the colours I want from the only UK based site that stocks it (estimating 2 skeins per colour needed for the blanket) it's going to cost over £100 to make... I can't justify spending that much on wool. madlilnerd fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Jan 25, 2009 |
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Jan 24, 2009 16:18
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ejstheman posted:Click for huge. You did that without a pattern? I've made gloves almost exactly like that with a pattern. The only difference was that they had a ribbed cuff around the bottom. That's really weird (and cool) that you came up with the same idea on your own. It was this pattern btw. Right now I'm working on this scarf. I don't have the patience to just sit down and work on crochet projects for a long time, so it tends to take me forever to finish something. But I really want to buy some pretty new yarn, and I promised myself I wouldn't until I used up my stash, so I'm making myself finish this.
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Jan 25, 2009 07:56
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