I blog straight from my crochet studio most days per week. Why not? I’m here all the time! Behind the scenes stuff: intriguing crochet swatches, yarn tests, stitch experiments, designs in progress. Professional crochet concerns: quality design tools, photo styling, stash management, staying creatively inspired & organized. Crochet Inspirations Newsletter overflow.
The topic is crocheting with two (or more) strands of yarn held together. Here’s a gallery of my double strand crochet projects and designs over the years:
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It was in Sandra, a European pattern magazine. I used apple green sport weight cotton yarn from my stash. These are regular ol’ double crochet and chain stitches. See next photo below for close up view. My sparky son there in the photo with me was probably four or five years old (he’s fifteen now!).
The double crochet stitches [abbreviated dc, or tr in the UK] are grouped into three-row blocks of six stitches each. These are alternated with lacy spaces (i.e., eight-chain bars, to use another Filet Crochet term). For a fun texture change, some of the solid blocks alternate with “blocks” of V-stitch instead. In this case, the V-stitch is [dc, chain 1, dc] in the next stitch twice. (Some V-stitches don’t have a chain-1 between the two dc; you might like this popular newsletter issue, “Unpacking V-Stitches.”)
Personally, I consider this lace crochet pattern to be based loosely on a filet crochet structure. It uses the same logic of double crochets and chain spaces. It’s easy to memorize and feels like filet crochet to me while crocheting it. I like the lacy gingham plaid effect!
Now compare the dark red Tunisian lace pattern swatch. I crocheted this a few months ago for my class on Tunisian Filet Crochet technique. Like the earlier green swatch, I used a sport weight cotton yarn — a test of the DesigningVashti Lotus yarn in Grenadine.
I used Tunisian double crochets (Tdc) in place of the regular dc, and Tunisian yarn overs (Tyo) in place of chains.
One interesting difference is how rope-like the Tyo bars are, compared with the chain-8 bars in green. They look a lot like very tall stitches running horizontally, don’t they? Like double treble crochet stitches, perhaps.
Another difference is how much taller the Tdc blocks are. Here’s an important thing to keep in mind, though: twelve years ago I was still making my dc stitches kind of short and compact. In other words, I used to be a “Rider.” Since then, I’ve gradually altered my crocheting style to be more of a “Lifter.” This is such an important thing to keep in mind about double crochets! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see this post.
Most of the time I can pick up a crochet swatch and identify its top (last row crocheted) and bottom (foundation row). I save crocheted swatches for reference, so it’s important to me to be able to do this confidently and accurately.
Here’s a swatch that puzzles me at first, each time I see it. Then I remember helpful identification clues.
The swatch in hand puzzles me almost as much as this photo of it.
This is true for images of crochet (photos and drawings) as well as for the actual piece.
This means it’s likely that we’re looking at the right side of the stitches. Tunisian stitches usually all face the front, and look distinctly different on the back. Usually.
I can quickly make sense of a new-looking Tunisian crochet swatch if I can identify where the return row stitches line up. The return row is when the loops are worked off of the crochet hook. If I know whether the crocheter is crocheting leftie, then I know which direction the return row stitches should be traveling. They go toward the right edge if crocheted right-handed. (I’m right handed.)
Thirdly, I know two basic ways to make Tunisian crochet lacy. You can:
This issue of my Crochet Inspirations Newsletter briefly contrasts the two kinds.
I’ve started a project page for this in Ravelry. I’ll add updates to it as the project takes shape.
We’re all sleeping in this Sunday morning, including Chippy.
CGOA member Irene Iannelli brings her photography-savvy husband, Alex, to Chain Link conferences. Here’s one Alex snapped at the 2014 summer fashion show banquet, during the guild’s 20th anniversary crochet conference.
Doris Chan designed the lace pants and the bolero in her signature construction method of crocheting in the round from the top down. The drape and fit feel naturally comfortable and sleek. She waited to design these garments until we developed the Lotus yarn for them. They’re made for each other.
Click on the photo for more details on the patterns. Bolero pattern and our Lotus yarn are in the shop.
Even Alex and Irene’s adorable toddling daughter modeled on the runway for the first time! July 26, 2014 at the Radisson in Manchester, New Hampshire.
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