Issue 33, loosening up with the 100 Day Project

and something to try from the Freeform Study Group

hey everybody,

March was a great month for knitting and crochet. First, the 100 Day Project continued, and I kept up my resolve to let myself loosen up, working with colors and gauges and ideas that are outside of my usual parameters.

Most of the things I make are wearables, and I like to keep them as light as possible for comfort. But texture is fun in freeform crochet, so part of my focus is incorporating texture without worrying about how heavy it will make a wearable accessory. The piece above is nothing but texture: hairy fibers plus post stitches in short wedges of tapered stitches. It ended up looking floral, which I hadn’t expected.

Again, I’m using textures here and not worrying about the weight they bring to the finished product. This project started with some freeform knitting and crochet circles.

Each day I added a little bit, mixing knitting and crochet.

And now it’s time to gently “square it up” and figure out how I might mount it for hanging on the wall. I’ve been procrastinating this part, and it’s probably a good idea to make a template rather than just have a marked photo like this to guide my next steps.

In the evenings, I’m still working on a comfort project, something that doesn’t require decision making. Right now it’s Dawn Barker’s Linen Soup design. So very satisfying.

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Next, there was the Carolina Fiber Fest. With three classes of improv fiber fun of one sort of another, this year’s schedule kept me busy. I was excited to meet a few newsletter subscribers (hello Kate and Kelli!) and see some old friends. On the second day, my class wasn’t until after lunch, so I shopped the market, and I started early. The crowd was still small, and it was lovely to get a chance to chat with some of the vendors before things got crazy.

This year I taught a new class at the festival, the Wonky Freeform Spirals workshop. The crocheters in this class were fearless as they jumped into making these irregular spirals. Their sense of adventure was inspiring.

After the workshop, I did one last review of the guide and published it. So, if you’re itching to try wonky spirals, check it out in my Ravelry store.

something to try

Little bits of Tunisian crochet are fun to use in freeform crochet. Read on for a sampling from one of the Freeform Study Group posts about Tunisian.

my ongoing Study Group scrumble

Hello Yarny Ones,

If you've ever seen any Tunisian crochet designs, you may have noticed that the fabric is not like regular crochet. It looks kind of mysterious, as if it’s a combination of crochet, knitting, and weaving, but it’s all done with a hook.

One row of Tunisian crochet is worked by picking up and loading stitches on to the hook in what’s called the Forward Pass, AND working the stitches off the hook in what’s called the Return Pass. The Forward Pass is worked from right to left, the Return Pass is worked from left to right, and after you’ve done them both, you’ve completed one row. A nice fun fact about Tunisian crochet is that it’s worked with the right side of the fabric facing you at all times.

If you’ve never tried Tunisian, grab some yarn and a hook that 2 or 3 sized larger than you’d typically pair with that yarn, and try this little 4 row swatch of the basic stitch, called Tunisian Simple Stitch (TSS).

1. For the first Forward Pass, chain 13 and pick up a loop in the 2nd chain from the hook and the remaining chains. You’ll end up with 13 loops on the hook.

partway through the first Forward Pass

2. For the first Return Pass, yarn over, pull through 1 loop. (Yarn over, pull through 2 loops) until only 1 loop remains on the hook.

partway through the first Return Pass

3. For the remaining Forward Passes, stitches will be picked up from each vertical bar of the stitches from the previous row. The loop on the hook is already positioned over the first vertical bar from the row below, so skip the first vertical bar, and insert your hook from right to left through the second vertical bar, yarn over, and pull a loop through the vertical bar. Do the same in each of the remaining vertical bars. You'll end up with 13 loops on the hook.

partway through the 2nd Forward Pass

4. Do another Return Pass as described in Line 2. There will be 2 full rows of Tunisian Simple Stitch at this point, each row being made up of a Forward and Return Pass.

Work 2 more full rows (work Lines 3 and 4 twice more). You’ve probably noticed by now that the most recently completed row always looks different than the rows below it. It's more open looking, and it doesn't look as substantial as the previous rows. Binding off makes that last row look like all the rest (see photo below).

5. To bind off, insert the hook into the vertical bar from the row below, yarn over and pull the loop through the vertical bar, then pull that loop through the loop already on the hook (it feels kind of like working a slip stitch into the vertical bar).

6. Keep going across the row until you're out of vertical bars and there's only one loop left on the hook. Cut yarn and fasten off.

7. Notice that in many of these photos, there’s a section of Tunisian crochet that is pinned down. That’s because the fabric for TSS has a very strong tendency to curl on the top and bottom edges. Right now it’s curling in my scrumble, and the little swatch in the photo below is also curling (see the unmanicured finger holding it down). When another freeform element is seamed on or worked into the patch of TSS, the curling will no longer be an issue.

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If you think you might be interested in trying out the Study Group, here’s some more information.

something else you might like

What I’m listening to: Parade, Sweeney Todd, and Big Fish Broadway soundtracks, plus Beethoven string quartets, opus 18.

What I’m reading: Walking in This World by Julia Cameron.

What I’m watching: still making our way through Dexter (TV series).

That’s it for today, thanks for reading!

Lisa