Tag: quickposts

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Yarn Tests for a New Tunisian Crochet Filet Design

Yarn tests for stitch close up photos: color, plying, thickness, etc.
This blog post is third in a short series about the development of a new Tunisian crochet pattern pdf.

Two kinds of yarn tests.

I did two kinds of yarn tests for my new Tunisian crochet filet scarf (first blogged here).

#1. For Tutorial Close Ups

I’ve learned to take three things into account: the yarn’s plying, color, and thickness.

Yarn plies: I have the best luck with a single ply yarn. More than one ply can add a distracting texture, especially in close ups. I love the look and colors of the purple yarn in the first photo, but its plies worried me. (Each individual ply of this unusual 100% cashmere yarn is twisted, but there’s no twist holding them all together.)

The color(s): Yarn colors also matter for Tunisian crochet filet close ups. A single light color shows texture depth the best. I tend to avoid variegated yarns, with exceptions here and there.

Extreme close up of a good quality crochet thread makes it look old and hairy.
Opera crochet thread is known for its polished, silky beauty. This extreme close up is not its best look.

Subtle color shifts can be a real plus with Tunisian crochet, though! I think this might be because it helps the eye distinguish forward pass loops from return pass loops. (Four Peaks images are good examples of this. Strong contrasting color shifts would normally be distracting. This isn’t the case for Four Peaks because of the small, fine-grained Tunisian simple stitches.)

Yarn weight: If I’m taking close up photos, and the camera has a good zoom lens, why does it matter how thin or thick the yarn is? How about using a crisp crochet thread? I discovered the hard way that I have better luck with a thick yarn. With thread and skinny yarns, the individual fibers show up too much in each loop. Even slight fuzziness is magnified. It makes the yarn or thread look old, shaggy, and worn out.

#2. A Winter Yarn

I fell in love with my first Tunisian crochet filet design in wool. That would be…Warm Aeroette! (Hence the “warm” part.) Traditional filet lace has mostly been a cotton thread kind of crochet project. Maybe that’s why I didn’t think of wool at first.

Until Aeroette I’d only had Tunisian crochet filet thoughts in bamboo (Ennis), silk (Aero), and cotton (dishcloth test in my Lotus yarn). It’s thanks to Warm Aeroette that I discovered how nice Four Peaks is is in a toasty aran-weight wool.

I needed to test with classic wool yarn to know Aeroette better. Could it work in something other than Aero’s fancy silk? Unlike Four Peaks, the wool yarn I used isn’t thick; it’s a fingering/sock weight fine-micron merino wool. (Fine-micron merino has a lot in common with cashmere.)

Thin fingering weight gives the tall Tunisian filet stitches a fine-grained texture. In a thick wool like the Mochi Plus (blue photo above), the filet-style lacy eyelets could look clunky or lumpy as a scarf. Would be a lovely afghan border though!

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New Tunisian Crochet Pattern PDF: What Takes So Long?

Both sides of Tunisian crochet often look nice if it's a lacier pattern.
           —-:—-
This blog post is the second part of a short series about the birth of a new crochet pattern pdf. The third is here.
Update: Downloadable PDF for the new Tunisian crochet Warm Aeroette Scarf is officially in the shop.

 

Behind the scenes of a new Tunisian crochet pattern

Pictured is draft #4 of Warm Aeroette Tunisian Crochet Scarf.

I’m a slow, deliberate pattern publisher.

Draft 4 of Warm Aeroette Tunisian Crochet Scarf. Almost done!

I love crocheting and so I think I chronically underestimate how much work it really is! Not only does a step almost always take longer than expected, I don’t always know when I need to recharge. (Each of these is a “step”: a stitch diagram, a photo tutorial, pattern testing, sizing, tech editing, etc.)

The Aeroette pattern has a longer title because this is a downloadable single pattern. The title needs to tell crocheters (and search engines) as much as possible in one line.

Three things can slow down new Tunisian crochet patterns for me:

Each design seems to bring unique issues!

For Aeroette, starting the scarf in one corner is a biggie. It merits a nice step by step photo tutorial. It’s a rare construction method for Tunisian crochet. Also, the best pattern wording evolves slowly sometimes. For Aeroette I’ve revised the wording of how and where the beginning and ending picots go a few times for clarity. Tunisian crochet pattern language has its own conventions.

Temptation of creative design details.

Doris is the same way and we laugh about this. Maybe optimize X, or add Y feature? What about this or that variation? I’d better swatch it in a very different yarn to make sure the design is not dependent on the yarn I’m using.

How educational it is. 

Aeroette started out originally as a practice project for a class on the Aero Tunisian Filet Lace Wrap. My goal with Aeroette is that it serve as a new Tunisian crochet skill building experience.

Sometimes I print a 2-to-a-page draft like you see here, to save paper. To save printer ink, the photos and captions are temporarily tiny. Most images are step-by-step tutorial photos that will all go on a back page. That will make printing them optional to save everyone’s printer ink.

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Not Tunisian Crochet Stitches: a Converted Filet Swatch

This is the first of 3 blog posts on the release of a new Tunisian crochet pattern. The 2nd is here and the third is here.

I used no Tunisian crochet stitches for the swatch on the left only.

Instead, I used single crochet, double crochets, and chains. (US abbreviations: sc, dc, and ch. Outside of the US: dc, tr, ch). The chs and dcs create lacy open spaces in the style of filet crochet. I alternated each filet row with a row of sc. Not traditional for filet crochet, but it does follow filet logic. (This is one reason I wanted to swatch it; see this newsletter issue about a similar experiment.)

Not Tunisian crochet stitches vs Tunisian crochet (filet-style Aeroette Scarf)
No Tunisian crochet stitches at left, converted from the Tunisian crochet Aeroette scarf at right.

The sc rows give the spaces thicker top and bottom “walls” around the spaces. This matches the thicker side “walls” created by the dc pairs.

This stitch pattern is converted from the Warm Aeroette Scarf on the right, which is 100% Tunisian crochet stitches. I was curious to see how much these two would differ in looks, surface texture, and drape.

Single Crochets versus Tunisian Crochet Stitches

The first thing I notice about the left swatch is the single crochets. Specifically, the backs of them. They’re raised, bumpy, and have a distinctive look. To me they emphasize a horizontal grain of the left swatch.

Unlike the rows of Tunisian crochet stitches on the right, I turned after every row of the left swatch. We’re looking at the right side of a dc row alternated with a wrong side of a sc row. The bumpy sc backs also cause the dc rows to recede a bit. This adds to the effect of the sc rows standing out, almost ridge-like.

This effect is mostly absent from the Tunisian swatch on the right. Its surface is uniformly flatter. Tunisian crochet stitches do have their own horizontal texture. They get it from the return passes – that second part of a complete Tunisian row when you crochet the loops off of the hook. In this pattern, the return pass textures are no more raised than the vertical stitch textures created during the forward passes.

Differences I’m Not Seeing

I expected to see a difference in how the yarn’s color changes look, but I don’t really. Maybe the swatch on the left needs to be much bigger. I also expected the Tunisian one to drape more. Perhaps it doesn’t because this is wool, and the hook size is smaller than I usually use for lacy Tunisian crochet stitches. I used a G-7 (4.5 mm) hook. For the non-Tunisian swatch I used a G-6 (4 mm) crochet hook.

The Warm Aeroette Scarf on the right is the next pattern I’ll be adding to the shop. I’ll announce it in my newsletter. You can also track its project page in Ravelry.

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Tunisian Crochet Lace Scarf Pattern Preview

New Corner-to-corner Warm Tunisian scarf with filet border

Fresh off the hook: Warm Aeroette Lace Scarf. Just uploaded these photos. I’m very proud of it. My goal was to take the popular Aero Tunisian Wrap design, which is crocheted in fine silk, and make a warm wool version with a filet-style border. I used a fingering weight (sock weight) merino wool.

And Two More Goals

The second goal was to do a stepping-stone version of Aero. Originally, Aeroette was going to be a Tunisian crochet lace scarf pattern for a class.

It’s a simpler combination of Tunisian crochet stitches that are put together like filet crochet lace, the same way as Aero. This makes it a great way to understand a more dramatic filet-like Tunisian crochet lace scarf pattern. Like, Aero. The Ennis Wrap, also.

C2C and P2P Shapes

The third goal was to take the start-in-one-corner Aero and make it a rectangle instead of a triangle. In other words, corner-to-corner or C2C. Both Aero and Ennis are “P2P” (crocheted point to point.) I love making P2P and C2C lace shawls with Tunisian crochet! You increase steadily along one edge, then decrease steadily to end up at the far corner of the triangle.

The rectangular Aeroette is a similar crocheting experience. You start at the first of four corners (instead of three). Steadily increase, and then decrease, like with Aero and Ennis. End up at the final fourth corner and you’re done: it’s already edged!

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Customized Tank Top with Crochet: Update

I customized a tank top with crochet edgings and a peplum. Looks great on my mannequin.

Remember I started to customize a tank top with crochet?

I cut a tank top to crop it and to give it a deep V-neck. Then I added crochet to it to customize it.

It’s mostly done now, and I like it. This is a size Medium tank top on a Small-size mannequin. In standard sizing, Lindsay the mannequin is on the Extra-Small side of Small. I’m on the Large side of Medium. On me, the waistline of the top sits higher, like an Empire-waist top. Also, on me there is no ruffling where the crochet meets the cut hem.

I uploaded a bunch of photos of this project to its Ravelry project page. (If I take a selfie I’ll add it there too. Maybe even here on the blog if I’m not too shy.)

This is my first attempt at a customized tank top with crochet. Thank goodness for a timely email I received from designer Sue Perez! She shared with me her sewing experience: a V-shaped neckline needs special reinforcing. I took that into account when I chose the crochet stitches and gauge for the neckline.

This experience of refashioning store bought clothes answered lots of questions I had. For example:

The Yarn Thickness Worked Out

It’s standard sport weight, very smooth, and is a cotton mixed with rayon for drape. In crochet thread sizing this would be a Size #3.

I wouldn’t want to go with a yarn that’s any thicker than this, or that has any fleecy loft or friction on the yarn’s surface.

A thinner yarn (a.k.a. a crochet thread Size #5 or #10) would work great, especially for fancier, fussier garments. This sport weight thickness works for the casual nature of a daytime tank top, or for a tee shirt. It also gave me the feeling of making progress quickly enough to stick with it.

Amount of yarn

I’d say it took up to 1.5 balls of Lotus yarn; that’s 325-375 yds.

Method of Attaching the Crochet

Seems fine so far. It will also have to hold up to washing and wear. Crocheting right onto tee shirt fabric like this? Yes, it can be done. I used a needle-sharp steel crochet hook. It was the largest I have and was not quite large enough for the yarn. A larger one might have left noticeably big holes in the fabric though.

I didn’t loooove doing the first row. Funny thing about crochet – that’s often the case. Crocheting into the foundation chains isn’t my favorite thing either, nor is crocheting foundation stitches. I usually want to get whatever the first row is over with. Same with this top.

Holes Where Stitches Meet Fabric

I mostly don’t want to look at the holes where the crochet stitches meet the fabric. When I wear it I don’t notice it at the hem. It stands out in this photo to me because it’s rippling a bit. At the neckline, though, I added a surface crochet row that covers the holes.

A customized tank top with crochet looks pretty nice, doesn’t it? I super love the hem. Those are split clusters of triple trebles.