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Have you arrived at this page from Ravelry, Facebook, a blog post, pattern PDF, or elsewhere? Welcome. This is the only place to find the complete list of my archived crochet newsletters, with update notes and direct access to each. Go directly to the list below.

The Originals, Enriched

Each of my archived crochet newsletters is in the process of getting its own permanent page on this website. You’ll be able to leave comments, bookmark and return to it, share, pin, and print out a copy. I love that I can add new stuff as the topic evolves. If I’ve updated it more than once, I’ll note the most recent date at the top of its page.

I’m generally preserving the original issues except for very light editing and link-fixing here and there. Many of the topics continue to evolve. Issue #2 is an example of when I add new material and some original notes that were squeezed out of the issue the first time around. This kind of stuff goes at the end of its page, clearly indicated. In the case of Issue #3, the whole issue got a dramatic overhaul!

How to Find an Issue

Know the number of the issue, or the general date it was sent?

The first-ever issue, #1, was sent September 2, 2010. Issue #100 went out September 1, 2019. Scroll through the list below by issue number, which is also chronological.

I always refer to an issue by its number.

Prefer to browse?

I created this page just for you. And for me, when I just want to scroll through the memories.

Have a topic in mind?

Have a topic in mind, but you don’t know the number or date of the issue(s)? I’m working on a way to display newsletters grouped in subcategories.

Vashti’s Archived Crochet Newsletters Complete List: 2010 to the Present

On a mobile device? Scroll to the left or right if you don’t see FOUR columns (Issue #, Sent Date, Original Title, Notes).

Issue #	Sent Date	Original Title	Notes
#1	2010-09-02	New Crochet Talk: Inaugural Issue
#2	2010-09-16	A Super Crochet Maneuver	Updated title: Crochet Stitch Equivalents (Issue 2)
#3	2010-09-30	A Very Different Kind of Crochet Stitch	Updated title: Limpet Stitch: Crochet Half Hitches (Issue 3)
#4	2010-10-14	Graphing Waterlilies
#5	2010-10-28	A Fever for Neck Warmers
#6	2010-11-11	Thick, Thicker, Thickest
#7	2010-11-24	Tunisian for Yarn Bail Outs
#8	2010-12-09	Commutative Property
#9	2011-01-06	The Ribbing Issue
#10	2011-01-20	Breaking Out of Tunisian Ruts
#11	2011-02-03	Fibers That ‘Sproing’
#12	2011-02-17	Twist Some Loops
#13	2011-03-03	Shrugging Off Winter
#14	2011-03-17	Ireland, Japan, and Crochet Lace
#15	2011-04-01	Unpacking V-Stitches
#16	2011-04-14	Flavor Burst Crochet
#17	2011-04-28	Fancy Cords in 360º
#18	2011-05-13	Deep Crochet Research
#19	2011-05-26	Netting vs. Lace
#20	2011-06-09	Travel Crochet
#21	2011-06-23	Wee Pebble Stitches
#22	2011-07-08	Crochet That Pours
#23	2011-07-21	If Stitch Patterns Could Speak
#24	2011-08-04	Mirroring Stitch Types
#25	2011-08-18	Tweak Those Gaps Along Row Edges?
#26	2011-09-01	Fun With Stitch Blocking
#27	2011-09-15	Stalking the Wild Slip Stitch
#28	2011-10-06	Mohairs for Crochet
#29	2011-10-20	Short Row Startle!
#30	2011-11-05	Yarns of Different Stripes
#31	2011-11-17	Sparkly Crocheting
#32	2011-12-01	Quick Crochet for Kids
#33	2011-12-16	Jumbo Hooks
#34	2011-12-31	Protecting Crochet Creativity
#35	2012-01-14	Draping Simple Shapes
#36	2012-02-17	Ribs, Old & New Grooves
#37	2012-03-08	When Stitches Lean
#38	2012-03-23	A Jewelry Experiment Method
#39	2012-04-24	Love Knot Research
#40	2012-05-14	Pulling Up a Long Loop
#41	2012-07-12	Beachy Kimono & Ruana Shapes
#42	2012-08-11	“Inverse” (NOT Reverse) Crocheting
#43	2012-09-27	Silver Wire Crocheting
#44	2012-11-08	Dainty Eyelets for Winter Lace
#45	2012-11-30	Slip Stitch FAQ	Blogged a version of this: Slip Stitch Crochet FAQ.
#46	2012-12-13	Clones Knots, Open & Closed
#47	2013-02-19	Rayon Threads. Really?
#48	2013-03-14	Diagonal Tunisian Crochet Discovery
#49	2013-04-20	‘TEKSplorations’ for Tunisian Lace	Blogged about the Tunisian Extended Stitch: Tunisian Extended Stitch Ripple.
#50	2013-05-16	Those Crochet Stitch “Feet”
#51	2013-06-18	Lacy Summery Seams
#52	2013-07-18	Slip Stitches, Wool Breeds, & Plying
#53	2013-08-06	Slip Stitch Flowers
#54	2103-09-27	How (& Why?) of Crochet Coffee Cozies
#55	2013-12-02	Fun Yarn Tests, and – BIG NEWS!
#56	2014-01-09	Yarn Color Charms to Make
#57	2014-02-14	Which Beads Added Which Way?
#58	2014-03-13	About That Bump in the Chain
#59	2014-04-01	Star Stitch, the Tunisian Connection
#60	2014-04-25	Star Stitch Lace Pretties!
#61	2014-06-06	When Top Loops Are Optional!
#62	2014-09-06	Hexagonal Lace Types	Blogged overflow from this issue: Beaded Delta Crochet Types of Lace.
#63	2014-10-02	Fun with Double Stranding	Blogged overflow from this issue, Double-Strand Crochet, and more overflow: More on Double Strand Crocheting.
#64	2014-11-07	Dramatic Tunisian Edge Increases	Blogged a version of this: How to Increase Tunisian Crochet Blocks.
#65	2014-12-05	Mock Cables in Slip Stitches	Blogged the project: Crochet Cable Boot Cuff Pattern Progress.
#66	2014-12-21	Hot Trend: Boot Cuffs!
#67	2015-02-05	That Weird Popcorn Stitch Step
#68	2015-05-23	Filet Net Textures, Rotated!
#69	2015-07-04	Wish Bracelets: Why Not Crocheted?
#70	2015-08-14	Starting a Stitch with a Backtrack!
#71	2015-09-19	Beyond Crochet Hook Debates	Blogged: downloadable Crochet Hook Diagram, and Crochet Hook Size Charts.
#72	2015-10-10	“Long Tail” Crochet	Blogged: Long Tail Crochet Foundations.
#73	2015-11-25	How to Shape Star Stitches
#74	2015-12-16	Crochet a Filament of Cheer
#75	2016-01-23	It’s MORE Than an Invisible Decrease!	Blogged a version of this: When to Crochet Between Top Loops.
#76	2016-02-12	Heart Shapes with Slip Stitches	Blogged a free heart pattern to go with this issue: Slip Stitch Crochet Hearts. Also see Crochet Bunnies Flat or Puffy.
#77	2016-03-08	Find the Color Code of Short Striping Yarns	Related blog post: Rosebud Argyle Color Pooling Stitch.
#78	2016-05-02	Möbius Mindbending Experiences	Related blog post: Mindbender Mobius News.
#79	2016-06-11	Steek (Cut) Stitches the Fun Way ✂	Blogged the overflow from this issue: Steeking Crochet (Newsletter Overflow).
#80	2016-09-01	Pattern Schematics for Insiders and Outsiders
#81	2016-11-04	Crocheting Pendant Loops ➰
#82	2016-12-10	Holiday 2016 + Foundation Star How-to	[includes #82.5 (12/15/2016) Updates to Last Week’s Issue]
#83	2017-02-28	Hidden Pictures in CUT Stitches!
#84	2017-05-05	Crocheted Ruffles
#85	2017-07-07	New Stitch Patterns
#86	2017-08-10	Edgings That Multitask
#87	2017-08-24	Announcing a Ruana ‘DAL CAL’ (design-along crochet-along)
#88	2017-11-18	Yarn Overs⤵, Unders⤴, and ‘Purlwise’	Blogged overflow from this issue: Yarn Over, Yarn Under (Newsletter Overflow).
#89	2018-01-13	Crochet Around a Ring *Differently*	Blogged the design that inspired this issue: Last Minute Crochet Jewelry Gift.
#90	2018-03-04	Elegant Tall Stitches
#91	2018-04-07	Crocheting a Yarn’s Twist Energy
#92	2018-05-19	Clever Substitutions
#93	2018-07-21	Unzip Foundation Chains
#94	2018-09-01	Referring to Stitch Parts
#95	2018-10-19	Color Revolution
#96	2018-11-29	Choosing Holiday Projects	Blogged the charts of ideas: Holiday Crochet Project Habits.
#97	2019-02-10	Crochet “Life Lists”	Downloadable PDF of Crochet Bucket List.
#98	2019-04-06	Tricky Tunisian/Afghan Hooks
#99	2019-06-07	Barefoot Sandal Phenomenon
#100	2019-09-01	It’s Issue 100!: Scaling Every Which Way
#101	2020-04-25	How I Reset Major Crochet Slumps
#102	2020-06-13	Wild Whys of Y-Stitches	Currently included in the Tall Stitch Class Resources Page until it gets its own permanent page.
#103	2020-10-09	Big Picture of Crochet	Updated title: What IS Crochet, Really?
#104	2022-01-26	The Paradoxical Return Pass	You might be able to view it here until I add it to this site.
#105	2022-04-22	Ripple Stitch DNA	View it here until I add it to this site.
#106	o	o	o

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The Craft Yarn Council of America provides guidance for classifying crochet projects according to the skill level required. The goal is to help crocheters choose projects they will enjoy. Each skill level has its own easily recognized symbol. The guidelines and symbols have been widely adopted in the industry and are summarized in the chart further down this page.

Vashti’s Advice

Recommended for newer crocheters: the skill level designation for projects is a great place for you to start if you’re still learning the basics.

Experienced crocheter? Use the guidelines to choose a Beginner or Easy level project for travel or “TV crocheting”.

Remember that these levels are very general. As a designer and teacher, I find that some projects fit more neatly in this system than others. Each crochet project is creative and unique—that’s what we love about them!

Look for crochet patterns that get specific about which skills are needed within a skill level. Consider the Intermediate skill level: that’s a particularly broad one. Skill specifics let the crocheter know exactly how the pattern is—and is also not—Intermediate. When I write patterns I go another step beyond even that. I include a list of specific new skills the crocheter will acquire while using the pattern. See image above of the skill level details on page 2 of the Lovelace Scarf pattern.

Are you an advanced crocheter but new to using written crochet patterns? Practice with projects rated Beginner or Easy. The way a pattern is worded, edited, and charted requires its own skill set. After all, crochet instructions can usually be explained or depicted more than one way. A pattern for five sizes that’s tersely edited to fit on one page requires experience to use!

Look for crochet patterns that are designed & written explicitly for more than one skill level, such as when there’s an option for more experienced crocheters to use a specialized stitch variation, while the less experienced can simply skip it. I love writing this type of pattern.

Be wary of using these skill levels to describe the crocheter rather than the project. The generalizations are often not helpful enough and can even be misleading; see my Beyond Basic Crochet page.

The Four Standard Crochet Skill Levels

1. Beginner Projects for first-time crocheters using basic stitches. Minimal shaping.
2. Easy Projects using yarn with basic stitches, repetitive stitch patterns, simple color changes, and simple shaping and finishing.
3. Intermediate Projects using a variety of techniques, such as basic lace patterns or color patterns, mid-level shaping and finishing.
4. Experienced Projects with intricate stitch patterns, techniques and dimension, such as non-repeating patterns, multi-color techniques, fine threads, small hooks, detailed shaping and refined finishing.

Crochet is my favorite form of creative expression. The process of crocheting is as enjoyable for me as the finished result. I love its more traditional expressions of lacy beauty, and I love many less common looks that crochet can also do (and perhaps hasn’t yet). I simply love it all.

This DesigningVashti website is a tribute to this lifelong passion, which has blessed me with many wonderful friends who share my love of crochet.  — Vashti

What is crochet?

Looking for the ultimate big picture of crochet? You’re not alone. See my answer to the question, What IS crochet, really? on its own page.

Crochet is a way to create many things (fancy intricate lace, thick strong cords, colorful blankets, clothing, toys, jewelry, etc) using:

1. Something with a hooked end (usually a stick with a smooth hook carved into one end or both, but can even be one’s finger!), and…
2. A strand of any material (usually yarn or string of any thickness and fiber, and can also be wire, fabric strips, even licorice or garden hose!).

Simply pulling looped strands through other loops with a hooked tool creates an endless variety of crochet stitches. It’s intriguingly complex looking, yet its structure is based on just a few simple principles.

Where did crochet originate? How long ago?

We lack enough evidence to say for sure. Crochet might have originated in more than one place. It has certainly been done, and beautifully, for a very long time.

Is crochet easy or difficult to do?

It’s easy enough for young children to learn, yet too difficult for any machine to do.

For many people it is easy to learn. Some folks just can’t get the hang of it, so it’s an individual matter. Also, sometimes it depends on the teacher.

Is crochet like knitting?

Yes and no.

NO, because the tools (crochet hooks versus knitting needles) feel different enough to use that people can have very strong preferences for one over the other.

YES, because in both cases you are getting a piece of string to cooperate evenly to result in a lovely usable fabric. Handling yarns of different textures and colors is the same pleasure whether you’re crocheting or knitting. In both cases one develops fine hand-eye coordination for tensioning the yarn as it flows through your fingers and becomes stitches. Crocheters and knitters can all use the same yarns, threads, and wire. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise!

NO, because the structures of crocheted and knitted fabrics are different. Crochet stitches are independently created and you can link them to each other from nearly every possible angle. Knitting stitches are so interdependent that they are all completed together, kind of like a wave. In most crochet, you complete each stitch and move it off of the hook as you work. It’s easy to recognize someone knitting because they use two sticks and the stitches are all lined up along them. (Many people see Tunisian crochet as resembling knitting at first glance because the crochet stitches are left on the hook until you complete a whole row.)

YES, because both are therapeutic. Both are simple repetitive activities, so both have that relaxing “yoga” effect on the nerves and brain waves (as you might have heard about in the news).

NO, because each has its own history and traditions.

YES, because you can make the same range of items. Whether it’s a belt, bag, sweater, dress, shawl, scarf, mittens, afghan, dishcloth, rug, bracelet or toy, there is a way to crochet it and a way to knit it, and which way you choose to make it is purely personal preference. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise!

I tried learning to crochet and couldn’t do it. Any suggestions?

Most people can make the foundational stitch of crochet: the Chain Stitch. Traditionally, children practiced by making chain stitches until they used up a whole ball of yarn! That’s a lot of chain stitches. I wonder how many were too bored by this to continue.

Nowadays, beginning crocheters are rarely told to make this many chain stitches, but some learners may need practice handling the yarn and hook together. It’s a new kind of coordination that takes time.

If you learned the chain stitch and then were taught how to do a popular basic stitch called the Single Crochet by crocheting into some chain stitches that you had just made, this could have been the problem and it’s not your fault. This is not necessarily the best next step.

It’s easier and more fun for many beginners if the next step after learning the chain stitch is any of these three:

1. Single Crochet into a ring. This step prepares you to make round items like flowers, hats, bags, granny squares, or doilies for your first project.
2. Single Crochet into holes punched into a piece of leather or vinyl fabric. This step prepares you to make flat four-cornered items like scarves, dish cloths, pillow covers, square bags; also to edge hand knits.
3. Tunisian Simple Stitch into chain stitches. This step also prepares you to make flat four-cornered items like #2 above; often especially helpful for knitters who have had trouble getting the hang of crochet.

How do you know if something is crocheted?

Some people are very good at identifying crochet by sight. Each completed crochet stitch has a telltale chain-like top that is sometimes easy to spot.

However, there are so many different kinds of crochet, and crochet is so versatile, that it’s easy for it be mistaken for other fiber arts, such as knitting, tatting, embroidery, and weaving.

It helps to know what tool was used to make an item. Some Bosnian and Tunisian crochet can look like knits, but they are still crochet, not knit. Only a crochet hook is needed. Knitted stitches require knitting needles instead.

In the case of older pieces, the tool may be missing. More experience may be needed to identify less common types of crochet. The range of textures and looks crochet can have is remarkable. In fact, this range is typically underestimated! This is an ongoing obstacle to bringing the history of crochet into sharper focus. (For more on this, see What IS Crochet, Really?.)

Why crochet by hand when a machine
can do anything faster and better?

Personally, I love that there is still no machine that can crochet. All the crochet you’ve ever seen is handmade—even the mass-produced crochet in stores.

Crocheters can really build up speed! Some people love to crochet for this reason. Even if there were a crochet machine, crochet is still plenty fast enough to be fun to do by hand.

By the way, hand knitting remains plenty of fun even after 1589, when knitting machines were invented. It can’t be fully replaced by machines for many reasons.