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A Crochet Year in Review (2017)

Long term projects define my life in crochet.

Sure, a crocheted item can be quick and easy, but I mean producing patterns, teaching, and other business-oriented projects. For example, I completed two interesting Tunisian crochet patterns in 2017 that will appear in a 2018 book.

I should do this review every year​! It’s easy to lose sight of the wins when so many projects are complex or long-term.

Favorite discoveries in 2017

Discoveries about crochet are what motivate me to design and teach!

  • Crocheting a twisted loop fringe edging at the start of a row is so promising! Make it any length. Add beads to it without stringing them on first. I discovered this with Aquarienne. It was also the perfect thing for the border of Graven.
  • Discovering which crochet stitches are “self-healing” when you cut them (and why) is a game changer! See Zumie. Scroll down to see Lovatar.
  • My experimental yoke worked! The yoke of the Tripuff Tunic is just a draped scarf.
  • Rosepuff inspired new clustered puff swatches that make me swoon, like the one above.
  • I made too many discoveries that are too technical to go into while covering bangles with crochet in December and January! It was completely inspiring and rejuvenating.
  • When I matched my yarn stash to a favorite silk skirt I discovered two things. First, using the skirt’s colors is a tribute to a favorite thing that can inspire me indefinitely (past the life of the skirt). Second, I also matched my yarn colors to a favorite painting and realized chances are good that the yarns you add to your stash also correspond to the colors of favorite items because you are the common denominator.

​DesigningVashti 2017 by the Numbers

  • Our Lotus yarn in magazines: Morning Dew Wrap by Kristin Lynn and  I Do Shawl by Cindy Adams, both in Crochet! Magazine. I published two of my new Lotus patterns, Rosepuff Shawlette and Aquarienne. Two new Tunisian designs coming out in a 2018 book will also feature Lotus yarn.
  • 12 blog posts in 2017 (monthly is ok but my overall average is 17.5 posts per year and I’d like it higher than that).
  • 6 newsletters, so they came out bimonthly in 2017. Originally (2010) they came out every other Thursday. Overall, the average frequency is monthly. The six topics in 2017 were Hidden Pictures in Cut Stitches, Crocheted Ruffles, New/Favorite Stitch Patterns, Edgings That Multitask, Announcing a Ruana DAL-CAL, and Yarn Overs & Yarn Unders.
  • Posted 18 different crochet tips for new crocheters in Facebook and Twitter. One of them became a full blog post.

​Favorite Designs in Development

These favorites link to their project pages in Ravelry if I haven’t blogged about them yet.
Mamruana, Lovatar, Laluna (and the Tripuff Tunic and Graven mentioned above) are all crocheted in our Lotus yarn.
SS-Luscious, Quailfeather, Funwelty, Zumie Vest, and Jumbo Heart Cushion launched 2017 and were all inspired by the weekend workshop I taught in March 2017.

2017: Big Year for Business Improvements​

  • Renovated a seven years old website. I’m still cleaning up broken links and stuff. This 2017 project is spilling over into 2018.
  • Found someone who makes wonderfully intuitive stitch diagrams for my patterns. An easy win!
  • Acquired what we affectionately call a ‘warehouse’ for my shop yarns and hooks (it’s a small Rubbermaid shed). Did important maintenance on my Lotus yarn equipment myself. Got some helpful IKEA office items.
  • Taught a weekend crochet workshop at Mosaic Yarn Studio and got up to speed using Airplay instead of an overhead projector. I loved using that set up.
  • Videos -deep breath- learned how to edit footage, and what filming equipment I wish I had, so I’m further along than in 2016; a hurricane put a dent in that momentum. For 2018 I figure I’ll try again keeping it simple, short, casual. Otherwise I’ll never get anywhere! Ellen Gormley and Mary Beth Temple inspire me.
  • Digitized crochet archives: In 2017 I started a process that works for me. (It also helped me during Hurricane Irma!) Here are my stats: I have 4 or 5 shelves of stuff to digitize; each shelf is 20″ wide. If I’m getting 15 to 18 images per shelf inch, I’ll need 4.5 to 8 gigabytes of storage.

A Year’s Worth of Crochet

I can see why bloggers do a year-end review now that I’ve done it. It feels good to see a year’s worth of highlights–you’ve always done more than you remember. I appreciate everything more. It’s easier to be objective about what is significant. I can see what obstacles I overcame, and what it took to do so, instead of expectations I had at the time that I didn’t meet.

I love to see the glimmerings of 2018 crochet in 2017.

How to Block Crochet Five Ways

An antique, translucently lacy star stitch before blocking and after.
View the high-res version of the above image.

Some of us only use one or two of these five, but you may discover that you use more blocking methods than you thought. (I hope we all use at least one!)

One of the methods below could be the perfect finishing touch for your next crochet project, depending on your yarn and project type. They’re listed from the gentlest to the most aggressive. It also depends on your own preferences. I’ve found that each crocheter has a favorite method.

Special considerations for a specific stitch, technique, or project follow.

1. Dry Block (the gentlest method)

Love knot mesh crocheted in wire always needs to be "fluffed up" manually. I use a crochet hook to do this.
On the left, love knots crocheted in wire are “unblocked”. On the right I’ve manually “dry blocked” them using a fine crochet hook to open them up.

I also think of dry blocking as “hand ironing”. Crocheters do this without even knowing that it has a name. Stretch, spread out, and flatten your crochet piece on something flat. One’s knee always seems to be nearby! Using one’s knee or upper leg is not too bad for a small item, especially if you’re wearing jeans or other fabric that provides a bit of friction. (Don’t use it for measuring a gauge swatch though.) If your surface is hard and flat, such as a table, you can also press it with your hands, i.e. “hand-iron” it.

I’ve read that some crocheters prefer the softer and more handmade look of their thread lace when they dry block it only. (Wet blocking thread crochet is more common, and it can include a stiffener; see below.)

Isn’t wire crochet a great way to illustrate dry blocking?

2. Damp Block

Also known as spray blocking and blocking with mist. Spritz liberally with water, especially the edges, then spread out on a toweled surface to dry. Use a bath towel on a flat surface; the towel offers some friction that I find in most cases replaces the need for pins.

This method is my personal favorite. I blogged about it back in 2010. I also combine it with methods 3 or 4 below: usually I damp block every 6″ to 12″ of rows while I’m crocheting, and then do a final wet block when you’ve completed the project. I like damp blocking partly because it’s the most portable, and partly because it’s fast. It works great for the types of yarn I tend to work with: bamboo, rayon, and plant fibers in general; also merino and alpaca. For most of the year here in humid Florida, wet things simply take too long to dry. 

3. Wet Block

Wet blocking is when you fully immerse the crochet item in water. It’s a simple method that has several options for adding a whole range of effects to your projects. Practice wet blocking and it will develop into an art form. Try adding a fragrance, conditioner, fabric softener, or a stiffener to the water.

Depending on the yarn fibers and colorfastness, soaking can be a benefit or a liability. You can soak plant fibers like cotton, linen, hemp, rayon in warm or cool water a bit. This is Doris Chan’s favorite method.

For wools, immerse briefly in cool water to avoid fulling (felting), then remove excess water gently before spreading out on a toweled surface to dry. I like to add a little hair conditioner to the water if the yarn is wool or silk.

ShamWow super absorbent microfiber cloths are really helpful for speeding up the drying. I use them instead of, or on top of a bath towel on a table.

4. Steam Block

Steam blocking specifically uses the power of moist heat. This method can really pay off if you carefully test first. With practice you’ll develop the visual and tactile cues for how close to hold the steamer to your stitches and for how long, depending on the yarn. You’ll also develop a sense for which effects to aim for with a given yarn and stitch pattern. 

Why risk using this rather aggressive blocking method? It can give acrylic yarns the sheen and drape of silk. Steam blocking is an art that can bring out extra softness and luster in some silk, camel, and llama fibers too.

5. Pin Block

Pin blocking includes stretching an item on blocking wires while wet or steamed. The most important thing about pinning is to use rust proof pins. I don’t own blocking wires, but I sure admire the knitted lace wraps that have been blocked with them. (Personally and non-professionally, I have only ever pinned crocheted snowflakes.)

Special Blocking Considerations

You might enjoy this newsletter issue about the art of blocking crochet. 

Picots 

Tug and pinch each picot to round it out and make it visible, adding more water to them than the rest of the stitches, if necessary. Sometimes I roll each picot between my fingers to compress them and even out their roundness.

Love Knots

Most love knots are intended to be air-filled like a semi-inflated balloon. If yours are, spritz lightly with mist and damp block selectively: stretch and flatten stitches around the love knots. Gently smooth the love knots themselves so that you don’t flatten, deflate, stretch them out, nor weigh them down with too much water. You might feel like it’s not worth blocking them at all, but I tested this in my love knot classes and people could tell the difference.

Conversely, if you want yours to have the limp and collapsed look that is typical of the love knots in the tropics, feel free to wet block and perhaps even steam block them.

Lacy Tunisian Crochet

Class: Tunisian Eyelet Meshes (Crochet Meshes: The Weightless Wrap & Variations)
Blocking Weightless Wrap

The lacy Tunisian crochet that I’ve done responds beautifully to wet blocking. Aim for squared filet eyelets. I tug strongly on the return pass lines to straighten, flatten, and lengthen them evenly. Tug vertically on extended Tunisian stitches to fully extend them, if you used them. 

Garments

Wet blocking is the method here for the stylish fit, silhouette, and elegantly flowing, breezy movement many garments and accessories are intended to have. It’s no wonder that it’s Doris Chan‘s favorite method. Be sure to block the accessories that need to drape stylishly, such as wraps, scarves, collars, and even necklaces.

If you used acrylic yarn, steam blocking can bring out all the fashion drape and gleam, as if you used silk! 

Note that steaming some animal fibers will soften them enough to wear against the neck.

Home Decor

Home decor projects, especially doilies, snowflakes, and afghan squares (also flowers and other appliques) usually need to be as perfectly flat and square, or round, as possible. Wet blocking with pins, wires, or dowels is common with these items. Sometimes starch is added (especially for snowflakes). 

And finally…for all blocked items by all methods:

Let air dry completely, then admire your work and bask in the compliments!

This is a revised version of an earlier (October 2014) blog post at Vashti’s Crochet Pattern Companion. It also forms the basis of a chapter I wrote for the Crochet Guild of America’s Fundamentals of Crochet Masters Program.
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Yarn Overs, Yarn Unders (Newsletter Overflow)

If an image is missing, view it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vashtirama/

Close-ups of Yarn Overs, Yarn Unders, and Yarn-to-Front.
If image is not displaying, go to https://flic.kr/p/DyV1A3.

Yesterday’s issue 88 of Vashti’s Crochet Inspirations Newsletter had only enough room for yarn over highlights. Who knew I’d discover too much material for a newsletter?

Here’s the rest of the story.

More on Yarn Over Basics

I described the basics of yarn overs and yarn unders in the issue already, but that only goes so far. Yarn overs are actually kind of tricky—at least when you think about them and watch yourself in slow motion. I see this in classes. Yarning over is one our most ingrained habits. Prefer a video to the close-ups above? I like PlanetJune’s.

“Clockwise” Depends on Your Point of View

Mixed yarn overs in a foundation chain.
This can also happen if the loop falls off the hook while crocheting the chains and twists before you place it back on the hook. If image isn’t displaying, see it at https://flic.kr/p/DyXB97

Another thing about yarn overs is the rotational movement. It would be easier to describe them if they were linear (just move your hook along a line from point A to B). Instead, we describe what the hook’s motion is, or focus on the yarn’s motion: a “yarn under” is also a “hook over”.

Some describe the motion as clockwise vs. counter (anti-)clockwise, which adds its own ambiguity. The motion your hook and yarn make for a yarn over is counterclockwise…IF you’re looking at it from the shaft end of the hook and IF you’re crocheting right-handed. The same motion suddenly appears clockwise if you watch it head on (from the head end of the hook).

Yarn Unders For Simple Stitches

I’ve swatched several kinds of familiar stitches with yarn unders instead of yarn overs. The stitch didn’t always look different, but in every case, it’s denser and tighter. I struggled at times to maintain an even gauge and to loosen up, depending on the stitch and yarn.

When I’ve preferred the feeling of using yarn unders, they seem lean and efficient, like taking a shortcut. It’s tempting to use yarn unders when finger crocheting and when completing reverse single crochets and loop/fur stitches.  I’m sure a large project with them uses up less yarn! Usually I prefer yarn overs though. I’m used to rhythm of it and the control they give me over my gauge. Sometimes they feel sort of “luxe” or fancy, compared to yarn unders.

Slip Stitches and Single Crochets

Swatch shows single crochet stitches crocheted with yarn-unders only, in rounds with no turning, and with variations: some rounds are moss stitch (chain 1, sc), some are extended sc.If you want to do the old style slip stitch crochet that is so dense it’s waterproof, use yarn unders!

The single crochet stitch (sc, or UK: dc) requires just two yarn overs and is visibly affected by changing just one of them to a yarn under. I expected to find yarn unders in Mark Dittrick’s Hard Crochet book on sculpturally stiff sc.

Change the first yarn over and you get sc with crossed or twisted fronts that look very much like my variation pictured here.The 1886 crossed stitch is significant to me because it was in the influential Complete Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont. I’ve seen the same stitch repeated in other crochet books since. (I don’t know if it occurs before 1886.)

Change just the second yarn over and you get what Rebecca Medina‘s modified sc for tapestry crochet.

Here’s another interesting reason to use some yarn unders for your sc. In her Freeform Knitting and Crochet book, Jenny Dowde recommends alternating a yarn over with a yarn under when starting a surface sc. Doing this prevents the raised row of sc from slanting to the left or right.

Two other stitches that show off yarn unders nicely are half doubles (hdc or UK: htr) and love knots. See the issue for more on those. View the hdc swatch diagram from the issue in high resolution.

A newsletter subscriber mentioned to me that the designer Aoibhe Ni uses yarn unders for special texture effects in her lovely Tunisian crochet designs.

How Many Types of Yarn Overs?

Two crossed loops (half hitches) have been "cast on" at the end of a Tunisian forward pass row.
A method I used for the Five Peaks Shawl.

I think of yarn over types in terms of how to get more yarn on the hook for making stitches. So we have the two obvious types: wrap it one way (Yarn Over), or the other way (Yarn Under).

A third way to add loops to the hook is the crossed loop, which is a simple cast-on in knitting. It’s also a half hitch in macramé. This loop has a twist in one direction or the other, so there are actually two types of them. I used them for Tunisian crochet to increase stitches along one edge of the Five Peaks Shawl.

This kind of loop was the subject of one of my earliest newsletter issues: “A Very Different Kind of Crochet Stitch“. I love Sue Perez’ “Forward Loop Chain” blog post about them.

The yarn-to-front (ytf) shows at the top of this page with the two yarn over types even though strictly speaking it isn’t one. It’s easily confused with the yarn under.

The Yarn Over in other Languages

I found this handy information in the 1989 Vogue Dictionary of Crochet Stitches by Anne Matthews. Here are the non-English pattern equivalents listed for Yarn Over (US) and Yarn Over Hook (UK):

  • Jeté (French)
  • Umschlag (German)
  • Gettato, abbreviated gett (Italian)
  • Arrollado (Spanish)

One More Thing!

I mentioned Jane Rimmer in the issue because I want to make sure you know about her two-part article for CGOA’s Chain Link newsletter: “Yarn Over History and Technique” (Autumn 2014) and “Yarn Overs Part 2: Techniques” (Summer 2015).

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Crochet Tutorials – News

My crochet tutorials and tips (eventually all ten years' worth!) are now brought together under the "Learn" tab at the top of every page of the new DesigningVashti website.

All the Crochet Tutorials in One Place!

I set up a permanent home for my crochet tutorials and tips. Over the years I’ve posted some crochet how-to stuff on one blog and some on another. Still more are tucked away in newsletters, pattern PDFs, and class handouts. Eventually I’ll get all ten years of them under the “Learn” tab, which you can find at the top of every page of this new website. Huzzah! It feels so good to do this.

Crochet Tutorial Categories So Far

As you can see in the photo above, the Learn menu now has these two major categories:

  • Crochet Basics in Depth–For newer crocheters and anyone who likes a more thorough treatment of all things crochet. (My goal is always to write what I haven’t already read elsewhere.)

    Close up of two top loops of a row of crochet stitches slip stitches in this case), showing the distance and shape between the front and back loop of a stitch.
    From “Hook-Led Gauge“.
  • Beyond Crochet Basics–If it’s something that might be considered an Intermediate skill or beyond, it goes here. Newer crocheters are welcome to use this section too. I try to connect each advanced or specialized topic directly to a basic crochet skill so that adventurous beginners can use some of it too.

Each category has a few how-to topics in them so far. Some will sound familiar to you if you’ve used my patterns or read my newsletters, such as “Hook-Led Gauge” in the Crochet Basics section and “When to Crochet BETWEEN Top Loops” in the Beyond Basics section.

Newly Updated

I’m rewriting each one—a little or a lot! Even if I’ve already posted a topic somewhere else. (I enjoy writing but it’s slow-going if I have to find the original images and optimize them.)

? “Crocheting the Love Knot Mesh” is so extensively revised that it’s now all new material.

Please let me know if you use one of my crochet tutorials here and the images are not clear enough. I’m still adjusting the image optimizing settings of this new site to get them truly…optimal.

Three More Tutorial Categories

I’ll be bringing back the Tunisian and Slip Stitch crochet sections that my old site had, but they had not been updatable for seven years. By the time I’m done revising them and adding lots of juicy tutorials, they might have nothing in common with the old ones! These will also be housed in the Learn menu:

  • The New Tunisian Crochet
  • Fun With Slip Stitch Crochet
  • Crocheting Jewelry

All three* are technique based unlike the first two that are purely skill based. The standard crochet skill level model tends to default to regular crochet, so these Tunisian and Slip Stitch categories should complement the skill categories neatly enough.

*Even though the jewelry crochet group is project based, I think of its tutorials as having a technique focus because it’s a specialized application of mostly regular crochet. (I don’t think my old site even had a page for crochet jewelry.)

When to Crochet BETWEEN Top Loops

Diagram and stitch close up that illustrates the space BETWEEN 2 top loops of 2 stitches. That is, between 2 back loops (as shown), or 2 front loops.
Still getting the hang of basic crocheting? Feel free to give this a try. You’ll need to be able to find the top two loops of stitches, which is a beginner skill. Increasing or decreasing internally is for Intermediate-level projects, however. (Internal shaping happens within a row, while external shaping is at the edge of a row.) Also, its invisible effect makes it challenging even for more experienced crocheters!

This is an uncommon stitch insertion point. I found it in use as far back as about 1840 but have not found a name for it, nor a consistent modern use of it. Scroll down to see all the special reasons that I think we should all be making more use of it.

How to Crochet Between Top Loops

Here’s how to get your crochet hook into the yellow triangle spaces between loops as illustrated above.

If you’re crocheting in rounds and you don’t turn to begin a new round,

  1. Insert your crochet hook under the front loop of the next stitch AND under the front loop of the stitch after it
  2. Yarn over and pull a loop through the two stitches: 2 loops on hook; yarn over and pull through the 2 loops to complete a single crochet (sc, or dc outside of the US).

If you’re crocheting in rows and you turn to begin each new row,

  1. Insert your crochet hook under the back loop of the next stitch AND under the back loop of the stitch after it
  2. Yarn over and pull a loop through the two stitches: 2 loops on hook; yarn over and pull through the 2 loops to complete a single crochet (sc, or dc outside of the US).

You don’t have to use only front loops in the round, or back loops in rows; these are just easier to start with because of the way they overlap. Try it with front loops, and then with back loops. You’ll see what I mean.

You also don’t have to do a single crochet. I just used that stitch for convenience.

I developed this system of dots to diagram slip stitch shaping.
I developed this system of dots to diagram slip stitch shaping. It’s based on standard crochet symbols for indicating the front loop (half circle, like a smile) or back loop (same symbol upside down).

When and Why Though?

A lacy 19th century Norwegian star stitch forms a unique web look because some of the stitches are crocheted between the top loops.
1800’s star stitch lace.

In short, it’s amazing. It’s invisibly effective when you want, and lovely when it’s visible. It brings out a fine-grained lacy charm to stitch textures whether you use it for shaping or not.

Lacy star stitches are already lovely; crochet them between top loops and you get the beauty at right. I still swoon when I see it.

Invisible Shaping Method

It’s not just one of many ways to increase or decrease stitches; it is often the best way.

A smoothly curving slip stitch rib rainbow thanks to invisible increases!
Slip stitch rib with invisible shaping.

You can easily add even the stitches you’d normally have to yarn over to add first, such as a slip stitch or a Tunisian simple stitch.

Amigurumi crocheters are already in on the secret. They love this method for decreasing invisibly.

Slip Stitch Crochet aficionados love it especially when increasing because it is so easy and invisible to do with slip stitches. To me it feels like the most natural method to use with slip stitches. It’s my favorite way to shape slip stitch ribbing.

Unique Textural and Decorative Effects

Any shaping method can also be used to create all-over stitch patterns. This “between the top loops” stitch insertion point changes the way holes look, in a really cool woven filigree way sometimes. Scroll down to see what it does to V-stitches.

Mitered Slip Stitch Rib: the invisible increases are stacked in one corner.
Mitered Slip Stitch Rib: the invisible increases stack up in one corner.

You can make the invisible visible when you stack your increases or decreases, such as to make a mitered corner. The result is a neatly polished look. No weird holes. No lumps or weird puckering. It doesn’t interfere with stretch or drape.

There are several ways to increase and decrease but few methods can pass so many tests.

Why It’s a Game Changer

An experimental swatch of slip stitches worked between two top loops. It's stretchy!
An experimental swatch of slip stitches worked between two top loops. It’s stretchy!

It transforms the most common crochet texture of all, its chain-topped look, into a filigree-like woven or lattice look. It’s like weaving air or a bit of cotton candy floss into links of chain mail. At right is some “air” added to slip stitches.

I think it works so well as a shaping method because it takes advantage of how the base of a crochet stitch is willing to compress into the tiny “magic triangle” between top loops. This helps it seem invisible; so does finding secret hiding places between the stitch line up that the eye usually spots.

Most of all I think this is an important stitch insertion point option because it points to deeper relationships between the stitches.

Basic V-Stitch on left; same V-stitch pattern, but worked between two top loops on right.
V-Stitches worked between two top loops on the right.

Two crochet stitches across a flat horizontal plane share a “magic triangle” of space where their top loops overlap. Instead of always starting a new stitch by inserting the hook from front to back (perpendicular to the row), we can move the hook alongside the row, parallel to it. This is something I love about Tunisian Simple Stitch: we crochet the next forward row into front vertical bars in a motion that runs parallel to the row and fabric surface. Great things result, including different kinds of drape, stretch, and texture.

I published an earlier version of this material January 23, 2016 in issue #75 of Vashti’s Crochet Inspirations Newsletter.