Category: Crochet Class Resource Pages

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Crochet class resource pages have really come in handy since I started providing them in 2012. They serve as a one-stop headquarters or hub:
– I can refer students to it during class.
– During registration, it can help a student decide to take the class.
– It can help registered students start pulling together the crochet hooks and yarns for it, try out a recommended crochet pattern as a review, and more.
– Any self-learner can explore more about the class topic at their leisure.
– I can include extra information that doesn’t fit into a standard three-hour class.

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2016 Crochet Stitch Games: Class Resources Page

The original announcement for the 2016 "Stitch Games" class; a ring of stacked rainbow colors!
This page has been updated for the upcoming 2018 “Creative Planned Color Pooling” class scheduled for Saturday, July 28 in Portland, Oregon.

 

Clickable resources for my 2016 Crochet Stitch Games with Colorful Yarns class. Includes patterns for designs shown, and inspiration for new games. Also articles & books recommended in class.

Crochet Patterns & Crochet Alongs

Vashti’s Newsletter Issues

2016 Crochet Stitch Games, Blogged

Inspiration

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Tunisian Eyelet Meshes: Class Resources Page

A clickable list of resources for my 2016 Tunisian Eyelet Meshes class at CGOA’s Chain Link conference: patterns for designs shown, books mentioned, & articles recommended in class. Also, inspiration for new Tunisian eyelet variations.

 

Story of the Tunisian Eyelet Mesh

Patterns

Recommended Issues of My Newsletter

Blogged (older blogs)

Inspiring Tunisian Crochet Books

You might see a lacy stitch variation to try.

  • 1997: Basics of Tunisian Crochet for Beginners, N. Seto, Japan. ISBN 978-4-529-029285
  • 2000 (1991), Rebecca Jones: Tricot Crochet The Complete Book, Lacis Pubs., Berkeley CA. ISBN 978-1-891656-28-6
  • 2004, Angela “ARNie” Grabowski: Encyclopedia of Tunisian Crochet, LoneStar Abilene Pubg LLC, TX. ISBN 978-0-974972-55-8
  • 2004, Carolyn Christmas and Dorris Brooks: 101 Easy Tunisian Stitches™, Annies Attic, IN. ISBN 978-1-931171-74-8
  • 2008: Tunisian Crochet Patterns 100, Nihon Amimono Bunka Kyo-kai, Japan ISBN 978-4-529-04484-4
  • 2009, Kim Guzman: Learn to Do Tunisian Lace Stitches, Annie’s Attic, IN. ISBN 978-1-59635-264-3
  • 2009, Sharon Hernes Silverman: Tunisian Crochet: The Look of Knitting with the Ease of Crocheting, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg PA. ISBN 978-0-811704-84-7
  • 2014, Kim Guzman: Tunisian Crochet Stitch Guide.
  • Duplet magazine issue #61.
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Steeked Tunisian Lace: Class Resources Page

Tunisian simple, knit, and full stitches steeked. Each responds differently.This resource page is for the original 2016 class. In 2018 I expanded the topic to include non-Tunisian stitches too. It’s called Self-Healing Crochet Stitches to Cut and its resource page is here.

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Here’s a clickable list of resources for my 2016 national guild Steeked Tunisian Crochet Lace class. You’ll find patterns for designs shown, books mentioned, & articles recommended in class. Also, fashion inspiration for taking this topic in expressive new directions.

Designs & Patterns

Steeked Tunisian Lace Designs by Others

The Fun Fast Fashions Part!

The full title of this class is Steek (Cut) Tunisian Crochet Lace for Fun, Fast Fashions. I felt the need to differentiate this topic from steeking knit fair isle sweaters and other existing reasons for steeks. Three strong fashion trends converge in this 3-hour class: Clean net lace, graphic/linear texture, and fringe. I’ve created a Pinterest board for each trend:

  • To Try with Tunisian Crochet Nets (linear, visually directional fabric grain as design element)
  • Steeks: Ideas These are often simple shapes that become magically wearable and trendy with just a steek or two.
  • Trend: the New Fringe (I thought today’s fringe was a passing fad but it continues to have a lot of mojo! That’s great for us. Many steeked Tunisian lace nets beg to be fringed.) If you cut a steek across several rows, turning that cut edge into fringe is the ideal thing to do with all the ends.
  • Trend: Simple Crochet Mesh Nets It’s a classic fabric with fresh boho looks. It’ll be a long-term trend because it’s also now going urbane-futuristic-techie.

Recommended issues of Vashti’s Crochet Inspirations Newsletter

Blogged

Books re: Steeked Tunisian Lace?

I could find nothing in books about steeking Tunisian crochet, even though it is so fun, easy, and versatile! (If you know of a source, please leave a comment.) Below are a few books that include some extended stitch patterns.

  • 2000 (1991), Rebecca Jones: Tricot Crochet The Complete Book, Lacis Pubs., Berkeley CA. ISBN 978-1-891656-28-6.
    • Offers three interesting variations of the Tunisian extended stitch net I used for Mesmer: “Open Mesh”, “Josephine Stitch”, and “Point de Chantilly”.
    • The author states, “This makes a very open stitch which grows very quickly. It’s a good stitch to use with a long-fibre mohair for scarfs and stoles.”
  • 2004, Angela “ARNie” Grabowski: Encyclopedia of Tunisian Crochet, LoneStar Abilene Pubg LLC, TX. ISBN 978-0-974972-55-8
    • The author shows several swatches of extended Tunisian stitches. See pages 34-43.
  • 2004, Carolyn Christmas and Dorris Brooks: 101 Easy Tunisian Stitches™, Annies Attic, IN. ISBN 978-1-931171-74-8
  • 2008: Tunisian Crochet Patterns 100, Nihon Amimono Bunka Kyo-kai, Japan ISBN 978-4-529-04484-4
  • 2009, Kim Guzman: Learn to Do Tunisian Lace Stitches, Annie’s Attic, IN. ISBN 978-1-59635-264-3
  • 2014, Kim Guzman: Tunisian Crochet Stitch Guide.
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The Crochet Class Resource Page

What’s a “Crochet Class Resource” Page?

I’ve been creating one crochet class resource page per topic since 2012 when I started teaching three-hour classes at CGOA conferences. Teaching at a conference is not the same as teaching in a yarn shop (in so many ways! That’s a future blog post). 

Almost everyone has traveled to attend a national crochet conference like CGOA’s, so we all have on hand only what we thought to pack. Or had room to pack. In a yarn shop I could assemble a stack of the books and magazine issues I refer to, and leave designs on display in the shop for weeks.

Class Headquarters

My solution is to have one link to a web page with all the things I might refer to in class. I print this one link in the class handouts. Saves so much precious space! I’m happy to make the page accessible to crocheters who can’t attend the class because this is all extra, supplemental, overflow info. It might even help some people to decide to take my class when they’re registering for the conference. As a perpetual student myself, I always love it when footnotes, bibliographies, links, etc. (resources) are provided.

It just plain helps me psychologically–I love knowing that I can add anything to a resource page at any time as a way to communicate with students before and after the class.

It’s an outpost. A headquarters. A portal.

On my to-do list is five such crochet class resource pages. I’ve just finished updating the one for 21st Century Love Knot Adventures. I created it in 2012 and overhaul it every year that I teach it again! Didn’t expect it to take so long but it had lots of outdated links and a big gallery to edit. Figured in this blog post I’d be proudly glowing about having completed three of them.

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Star Stitch Crochet Class Resources

Four kinds of star stitches: corrugated cowl, striped scarf, quilt-like coverlet, sheer glittery lace capelet.

A Star Stitch For Every Purpose is the name of a sold out three-hour crochet class that I taught in July, 2014 at the 20th anniversary annual conference for the national crochet guild (CGOA). I researched over 200 sources from the 1840’s to the present. Class materials included a spiral-bound booklet of star stitches and a step by step how-to section.

Star Stitch: Visit These First

Star Stitch History

The earliest example of star stitches I’ve found so far is in an 1881 issue of a Norwegian magazine. It’s remarkable to me how seldom star stitches have appeared in crochet books since 1881.  

When star stitches do appear in a book or online, they can vary in ways both subtle and dramatic. It’s mainly because it’s a compound stitch. It multiplies the opportunities to vary each step along the way.

This is true not only when completing each star, but also when crocheting the next row into it, and what stitches are in that next row. For example, you can crochet stars into stars – with turning or without. You can alternate a row of stars with a row of, say, single crochet stitches. These simple choices change the look of the stitch, and the experience of crocheting them.

Key historical sources

  • 1881: Nordisk Mønster-Tidende.
  • 1886: Knitting and Crochet.
  • 1891: The Art of Crocheting, by Butterick.
  • 1891: Home Work, by A. M. (Toronto).
  • Late 1800’s: Weldons Practical Crochet, First Series (London).
  • 1910: Fleisher’s Book #8.

More Resources

  • I’ve been unable to locate a print copy of two Japanese “Star Crochet” books mentioned in class, but here is the ISBN for one of the volumes: 978-4-579-11323-1.
  • Star Stitch projects and design prototypes as I add them to Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/projects/vashtirama .
  • For more star stitches as I create them, bookmark this Star Stitches photo album in Flickr.