WIP: Shawl and Crochet Tutorial

Reading through some posts from Fiber Arts Friday last week I noticed some questions from folks new to crochet.  The question: How do you hold your work and control tension?

Since I’m still working on my alpaca shawl I thought I’d grab a couple of photos to show how I hold my work.

I like to run the yarn over my index, under my middle and over my ring and pinky.  I found this method works the best for me both knitting continental style and for crochet.  If I tried any other combination I ended up having to take my wedding band off because the yarn would get stuck in it.

For crochet I let the yarn stay far back on my index finger.  I like to reach for the yarn and snag it with the hook.  If I’m continental knitting I’ll move the yarn up past the 1st knuckle so I can control it easier and move my finger back and forth so I can knit and purl without having to change positions.

Starting Chain Tip: If you’re new to crochet and have problem with your initial chain and then attempting the next row try this.  Use a hook 2x as big as what you will be using on your project for the initial chain.  That will prevent you from making the tension in your starting chain too tight and make your 2nd row much easier to complete.

Hope this helps!

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Fiber Arts Friday: Back in the Groove

Welcome Back Fiber Arts Friday Followers!

I’ve finally gotten back into my fiber groove.  However it’s a bit all over the place but who cares, it’s all fiber.

Last weekend the weather STUNK so I stayed inside.  I’m actually thankful from the physical break of farm life and to sit on my couch and spin.  I actually managed to spin up 4 skeinsin all.  (1) Cat skein for my friend, (1) Golden Yellow and (2) natural beige. Sorry I don’t have photos of all of them.

Handspun Alpaca Yarn

If you’re curious about the Green Shawl…. It was on the hook ealier this week but recently I took it off and am working on blocking and fringe.

Crochet Fan Shawl

I hope to have the shawl finished in time for a little showing at Fiberarts International.  Girls night out this Saturday!  Yippy!

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Alpaca Buttonhole Scarf/Cowl Pattern

 Let’s face it, alpaca yarn is expensive and if you’re like me you hate to waste any of it.  I had about 50 or so yards left over from a project and came up with this little pattern to make a cowl.  With 2 buttons finishing it off it happily fits around my neck perfectly like a coker necklace.  I’ve been putting together a scarf using this pattern with other leftovers I have.  I’ll post picks when I get it done.

Click Here for PDF – Crochet Pattern

Materials:

Worsted Weight Yarn
US J10/6.00MM hook
~50-70 yards of yarn. Perfect for leftovers or novelty skeins!

Key:

CH – Chain
SC – Single Crochet
DC – Double Crochet
SK – Skip

Setup Row: Chain 21

Row 1: DC in 4th and 5th chain from hook.  CH 5, SK next 5 CH, DC in next 3 CH, CH 5, SK next 5 CH, DC in next 3 CH, CH3 (counts as 1st DC for next row) Turn.

Row 2: DC in next 2 DC, CH 2, SK 2, SC, CH 2, SK 2, DC in next 3 DC, CH 2, SK 2, SC, CH 2, SK 2, DC in next 3 DC, CH 3 turn.

Row 3: DC in next 2 DC, CH 2, SK 2, SC, CH 2, SK 2, DC in next 3 DC, CH 2, SK 2, SC, CH 2, SK 2, DC in next 3 DC, CH 3 turn.

Row 4: DC in next 2 DC, CH 5, SK 5, DC in next 3 DC, CH 5, SK 5, DC in last 3 DC, CH 3 Turn.

Row 5-?: Repeat rows 2 – 4 until desired length, ending on row 4.

Cowl Finish: Add 4 rows of SC for an area to fasten 2 buttons to.

Scarf Finish: Appox. 150-200 yards of yarn needed. End Scarf on Row 4 and fasten off.

 

WIP: Green Shawl Progress

I’ve been working away on the green fan shawl when I can.  It’s to the point now where I hate doing a row because it takes SO long and there’s little visible growth.  But, I got 3 full pattern rows done on Tuesday which added another 6” to the shawl so I’m happy

crochet_fan_pattern_shawl

Size wise it currently is the length of 1 arm, my chest and to my elbow of the other arm.  I have a 6 foot wing span so I’m thinking it’s about 4.5 ft wide and about 2.75 ft long.  Yes, this is how I measure things.  Very scientific isn’t it?

crochet_fan_pattern_shawl

This is actually the first time I’ve used the 3.75mm crochet hook and it’s been angering my pinky.  The hook shaft must be rubbing on a nerve in my pinky finger and the darn think tingles after just a few minutes.  So I started modifying it.  At first I put on one of the rubber crochet grippies but that did nothing.  Next I added a post-it note and a sticker but it wasn’t fat enough so 3 more stickers were added.  Then the post-it note gave up its grip and the whole thing started to slide around so I added 2 rounds of scotch tape and slid the apparatus over the tape and it stuck nicely.  Lastly I still wanted more bulk on the end so took the rubber grip off my pen and put it on. 

Tada! My nice fat grip 3.75mm crochet hook.  Oh yeah, the only reason I did this is because the new ChiaoGoo hook that I bought that has a nice flat and fat bamboo handle made stitches too loosely compared to the hook I was using. Ugh.  Oh well, I’ll use it on another project from start to finish.

redneck_crochet_hook

With any luck I will have this shawl finished in time to go up for sale this coming Fiber Market Monday. What is Fiber Market Monday?  It’s a new link party specifically geared to promoting handmade fiber items, raw fiber or fiber animals so come on back this coming Monday and check out all the goodies!

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