Afghan Repair – The Crochet Architect

December 18, 2018December 18, 2018

Big Announcement: My New Annie’s Video

Two months ago, I went to Berne, IN to film 2 crochet videos for Annie’s. Today, the first of the 2 videos is being released on the Annie’s website. I’m SUPER EXCITED about this video! The name of the video is “Crochet ER: Fixing Damage and Mistakes“. I’ve been teaching this topic for 2 years at the CGOA Conference: how to invisibly repair damage to your crochet projects and how to fix mistakes. I LOVE being able to repair any crochet project and I’m THRILLED that Annie’s asked me to do this video!!! Now YOU can learn how to repair damage to your projects (or anyone’s projects) and how to fix the mistakes in your projects (or anyone’s projects) invisibly!

In this video, I teach you how to “read” your stitches by showing and explaining how each stitch looks on the front and back of the stitch. This is VERY important in learning to repair or fix crochet projects. You have to know what stitches were worked (or were supposed to be worked) in order to replace the stitches correctly! When you know the differences between the stitches (how many horizontal, vertical and diagonal strands each stitch has on the front and the back of the stitch, as well as where those strands are located), you’re able to decipher any crochet project and come up with a “game plan” for how to repair or fix it!

Granny Square Swatch before and after repair

Solid Popcorns Swatch before and after repair

In the video, I also demonstrate how to repair 3 crochet swatches (the Granny Square swatch, the Solid Popcorns swatch and the Ripple swatch). You’ll be able to crochet each of these repair swatches (with the included instructions for each swatch) and repair your swatches along with me, enabling you to feel confident repairing your own full-size projects!

Popcorn Rows Swatch before, during and after fixing mistake

Uneven Edges and Hole Swatch before and after fixing the mistakes

If you make mistakes in your projects (and let’s face it, who doesn’t make a mistake every now and then?), you’ll be able to fix your mistakes invisibly by following along with me as I fix mistakes in the included class projects (the Popcorn Rows swatch has a missing popcorn in it and the Uneven Edges and Hole swatch has 2 uneven edges and a hole in it). You’ll be able to crochet the class mistake swatches (with the included instructions for each swatch) and follow along with me as I fix the mistakes in those swatches in class. After fixing the mistakes in your class swatches, you’ll feel more confident to repair the mistakes in YOUR crochet projects!

To successfully repair or fix any crochet project, you’ll follow the steps that I outline in the class video (in order). I’ll be with you every step of the way, showing YOU how to successfully repair or fix YOUR crochet projects. This is wonderful knowledge for EVERY crocheter to have! I’ve used this knowledge/technique to invisibly repair many crochet projects, even projects worked in the back loop or projects with post stitches, which can both be very tricky to repair or fix invisibly! Now YOU will be able to repair or fix any of YOUR crochet projects, as well!

I had a blast working on this video and I hope it will enable you to learn to repair and/or fix your crochet projects with confidence! If you have a question, you can ask me in the class question forum and receive an answer from me within 2-3 business days (usually sooner). My goal for this class is to enable as many crocheters as I can to succeed in repairing and fixing their (or someone else’s) crochet projects invisibly (so no one knows where the repair or fix was made!).

Here are some extra photos from filming this video (some serious and some silly!). I really enjoyed dressing for the part of the “doctor” in the crochet “Emergency Room” (ER) by wearing a lab coat and a stethoscope!

The crazy doctor (me) getting ready to perform surgery on a crochet swatch

Checking the “heart beat” of the crochet swatch

Most of Annie’s video crew and me on the set

If you’d like to take a look at this video, including a free preview, check it out HERE (Note: This is an affiliate link, so if you click on this link and purchase the video through the link, I’ll receive a small commission to help compensate me for my hard work! It won’t cost you any extra to purchase the video through this link and your support would be greatly appreciated!).

If you purchase this video, remember that I’m here to answer your repair/fix questions through the “Ask the Instructor” feature on the Annie’s website. I want YOU to succeed in repairing and fixing YOUR crochet projects so no one will ever know where the repair or fix was done (I have a hard time finding the invisible repair I made to the afghan that our puppy chewed a hole in 3 years ago!).

Happy crocheting and happy repairing and/or fixing your crochet projects!

Susan

April 17, 2018

Teaching at the 2018 CGOA Conference

Now that I’m back from teaching at the Interweave YarnFest in Loveland, CO last week, I thought I’d write a blog post about my next teaching engagement this year.

I’ll be teaching at the CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) Conference in Portland, Oregon from July 25-28, 2018! I always LOVE teaching at the CGOA Conference! There are so many lovely, friendly crocheters at the conference, both professionals and hobbyists! It’s great to meet new crocheters there and spend time with so many of the crocheters who attend every year (or almost every year)! I’ve been attending the CGOA Conference since 2003 and teaching there since 2009. It’s so much fun! If you’ve never attended, I hope this will be the year you make the decision to go and meet like-minded crocheters who all speak the same language of crochet!

To read all about the conference, check out the CGOA website here. To register for the conference, go to this page.

Here are the classes I’ll be teaching in July:

Wed, July 25, 6 – 9 pm:

SIMPLIFYING SYMBOL CROCHET

About the class:

Symbol crochet diagrams are much easier to read and follow than written crochet patterns. Once you learn symbol crochet, you’ll wonder what you ever did without it! You’ll learn what each symbol means, thus enabling you to read and understand symbol crochet diagrams from any pattern, even foreign crochet patterns with international crochet symbols! You’ll even try out your symbol crochet knowledge by making 2 small projects from symbol crochet charts in class. This class includes instructions on starting/working in the round and making motifs, both techniques found in the CGOA Masters of Advanced Crochet Stitches and Techniques program.

Thur, July 26, 9 am – 12 pm:

MULTIPLE MOTIFS

About the class:

Do you love the look of projects made with crochet motifs, but don’t enjoy weaving in all the ends? Then this is the perfect technique for you! With this method of crocheting motifs continuously, instead of separately, the number of ends is decreased dramatically, saving you time and energy! In this class, we’ll make continuous crochet motifs worked in joined rows. You’ll learn how to follow the necessary symbol crochet charts with this motif method. Once you’ve learned how to make many motifs using one continuous strand of yarn or thread, you’ll feel confident tackling any continuous crochet motif pattern.

Fri, July 27, 9 am – 12 pm:

INVISIBLE REPAIRS

About the class:

Do you have a crochet project that’s gotten cut, torn, chewed, etc? Do you want to learn how to professionally repair it? Then this is the class for you! In this class, you’ll learn how to repair all sorts of crochet projects, replacing the “bad” stitches and making your repairs “invisible”! You’ll learn how to replace stitches and chain spaces in the middle of a row, locking the top of the new stitches to the bottom strands of the stitches in the row above. Your work will look as good as new! Learn how to bring your damaged crochet projects back to life again! This technique also works great to “invisibly” seam the first and last rows in a crochet cowl!

Fri, July 27, 2 – 5 pm:

BEGINNING BRUGES LACE CROCHET

About the class:

Bruges Lace Crochet mimics the decorative Bruges Lace made with bobbins in Bruges, Belgium. Bruges Lace Crochet is a fabulous technique and is easy to learn. In this beginning class, we’ll make several different styles of Bruges Lace, as well as curve the lace and join it to make circles, squares and triangles. Once you’ve learned the basics of Bruges Lace Crochet, you’ll be ready to tackle more complex Bruges Lace patterns. If you’re not a “threadie”, don’t fret! Bruges Lace isn’t just for thread crochet. It can be done with yarn, as well. Come and learn to make basic Bruges Lace in crochet.

Sat, July 28, 2 – 5 pm:

Intermediate Bruges Lace Crochet

We’ll take Bruges Lace Crochet to the next level in this intermediate class. You’ll learn many more variations of the lace itself, more joining techniques, and how to curve the lace over itself for more variety. We’ll explore more intricate Bruges Lace designs and you’ll learn how to achieve them in this class. Prerequisite: Beginning Bruges Lace Crochet class should be taken before taking this intermediate class (or have knowledge of the Bruges Lace technique).

I’m excited to be teaching these classes. Last year, my Invisible Repairs class sold out and I was able to add a 2nd class for this “technique” of repairing crochet projects invisibly. This year, I’m teaching Multiple Motifs for the first time (this is also called Continuous Crochet Motifs, which I’ve blogged about before)! I always enjoy teaching Bruges Lace Crochet and Symbol Crochet!

I hope you’ll consider attending the conference. If you attend for the first time because of reading my blog, please stop me at the conference and let me know (or leave a comment below)!

If you’ve attended the CGOA Conference before, what do you enjoy most about the conference?

See you in Portland in July!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

December 17, 2015December 17, 2018

What a Cute (and Destructive) Puppy!

So you’ve lovingly crocheted a gorgeous afghan and you enjoy using that afghan in the winters to help you, or someone in your family, stay warm. Or maybe you’ve received an afghan as a gift from someone else who lovingly crocheted it. And you have a new puppy who loves to chew on everything she/he gets her/his mouth on! You know where I’m going with this, don’t you? Yes, this happened to me last week. Our 6 month old puppy named “Maggie” chewed a hole in our favorite afghan. Here’s a photo of the guilty dog:

Maggie is adorable when she’s being good, playing nicely or sleeping, but she’s not so cute when she’s done something wrong, like last week when she chewed a hole in our favorite afghan. I scolded her and she knew she had done something wrong (she avoided me for about a minute, hung her head low and her tail was between her legs instead of up and wagging), but the damage was already done. So what’s a crocheter to do? Repair it, of course! Here’s a photo of the damage that Maggie did:

I designed this afghan for Crochet World magazine’s August 2010 issue (it’s called “Patchwork Squares Afghan”, in case you’re wondering). You can see the whole afghan on my Ravelry page here. I used Bernat Berella yarn and a size I (5.5mm) crochet hook for this afghan. I actually found that exact yarn and color in my stash (I’m very thankful that some was left over from the afghan itself). Once I cooled down and found the time to do the repair, I got to work on it (just a few days ago). This is how that area of the afghan looks now:

Can you see where I repaired the hole? It’s the bottom 3 rows in the center (the cleaner looking stitches). Well, the repair went so well that I decided to create a crochet class to teach others to repair their crochet projects! I’ll be teaching this class at the CGOA Conference in the very near future!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Susan Lowman

(aka: The Crochet Architect)

March 18, 2012December 17, 2018

Granny Square Afghan Repair

Today, I finally decided it was time to mend the Granny Square afghan that my step-mom made for me several decades ago. One of the yarns that she used basically started disintegrating in the afghan! None of the other yarns came apart, but this one yarn must have been wool and got eaten here and there in the section of that yarn.

Here’s a photo of some of the bad spots:

The bad yarn is the purple yarn that has holes in it just below the yellow yarn that I put on safety pins so those yellow stitches wouldn’t come out.

The bad yarn was in the middle of the afghan instead of at the end (it’ll never happen at the end, that’s one of Murphy’s Laws!). I started my mending where the last stitch with the bad yarn was worked. First, I cut out the bad yarn a little at a time. At the same time, I ran the new yarn (with the help of a tapestry needle) through the bottom of the yellow stitches, from left to right like this:

I was careful NOT to split the yellow strands and to run the new yarn through the bottom of all 3 dc stitches in each group of 3 dc (6 strands total: 2 strands per stitch).

When I got to the beginning of the bad purple yarn, I joined the new purple yarn the same as I would when making a color change (I yarned over with the new color and dropped the old color that was used before the bad purple, making sure there was a long enough tail of both yarns to weave in later).

Then I started crocheting with the new purple, working one section of “3 dc, ch 1” at a time. After crocheting each section, I inserted my crochet hook from left to right in the base of the yellow stitches where I ran the new purple thread through, tightened up the yarn between the yellow stitches and the new purple stitches and pulled the purple loop through the base of the yellow stitches like this:

When I got to a corner, I worked the first set of “3 dc, ch 1”. Then I pulled the purple loop through all 6 yellow dc in the corner and worked the second set of “3 dc, ch 1” like this:

As I worked, I had to pull more new purple thread through all of the yellow stitches to where I was crocheting the new purple stitches. It was a tedious process (it took about 2 hours), but I was able to mend this afghan with great success! Here’s how a section of the afghan looks now with the mending done:

I think it came out quite nice! What do you think? The new stitches look just like the old stitches, except for the shininess of the new yarn. Oh, I also tried to match the gauge that my step-mom used (with some success, but I’m gauge challenged, so it could have been a little better!!!).

I hope this has been helpful for you to feel confident in mending your Granny Square afghan that is in need of some TLC!

Happy crocheting (and repairing),

Susan Lowman