Learn to do Wiggly Crochet Hot Pad and Coaster Video
FREE Wiggly Crochet Pattern
If you’ve never tried Wiggly Crochet and you’d like to give it a try with a FREE Wiggly Crochet pattern, today is your day! Here is my May Flowers Hot Pad & Coaster Set from the Red Heart website. It’s today’s FREE crochet pattern of the day, in honor of National Crochet Month!
You can get this FREE pattern here. This set is made with Aunt Lydia’s Classic Crochet thread in size 10, along with sizes 7 (1.65 mm) and 10 (1.30 mm) steel crochet hooks. If you’ve never done Wiggly Crochet before, check out my tutorial on this page.
I hope you enjoy Wiggly Crochet as much as I do! Check back again tomorrow for another FREE crochet pattern.
Happy crocheting,
Susan
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NEW Wiggly Crochet Tutorial!
Do you know what Wiggly Crochet is or is it one of those crochet techniques that you’ve never heard of before? Have you tried to do Wiggly Crochet, but haven’t been successful? I have a new tutorial for you on how to do Wiggly Crochet. I think you’re going to LOVE it, just like I do!!!
Here’s a sample of a few projects done in Wiggly Crochet:
Can you see how this hot pad is 3-dimensional? Not all crochet techniques do that, but Wiggly Crochet does!
I learned to do Wiggly Crochet over 10 years ago and I’ve enjoyed it tremendously ever since then. I’ve designed a bunch of Wiggly Crochet projects, too. And I have a friend to thank for introducing me to Wiggly Crochet. Thanks so much, Vicki!
To read about how I learned to do Wiggly Crochet and to learn how it’s done so you can enjoy it, too, check out my new Wiggly Crochet tutorial here.
Happy Wiggly Crocheting!
Susan
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Wiggly Crochet Article
Wow! Where did the month of January go? Like many of you, I’ve been busy (with lots of crochet time and family time) and the month just flew by!
So here we are in February already and I have some big news for you. I’m excited to tell you that I wrote my very first crochet article on Wiggly Crochet for the Feb/Mar 2014 issue of Crochet Today magazine. This is the cover of that magazine:
To see the fabulous projects in this issue, just visit the Crochet Today website here. This issue is still available for purchase at many craft stores, so if you’d like to learn to do Wiggly Crochet, what are you waiting for? It’s a lot of fun!!!
Included with the article that teaches you how to do Wiggly Crochet, I designed a Wiggly Crochet Heart swatch that you can make into a pillow, since it measures 12” square (that’s a perfect pillow size!). Here’s a photo of the Heart swatch pattern that’s in the magazine:
I used Red Heart “Luster Sheen” for the foundation mesh and Red Heart “With Love” yarn for the wiggly stitches. This pattern, along with the wiggly crochet chart and some symbol charts, are included in the Feb/Mar 2014 issue of Crochet Today.
I hope you’ll consider learning Wiggly Crochet. It’s a great technique that yields 3-dimensional projects that are perfect for hot pads and coasters, to absorb heat or moisture. I taught a class on Wiggly Crochet at the CGOA Conference in 2010 (in Manchester, NH) and again in 2013 (in Indianapolis, IN). My students loved learning to do Wiggly Crochet and I think you will, too!
Over the last 12 years or so that I’ve been designing crochet patterns, I’ve had 3 books with Wiggly Crochet patterns published: “Hot Stuff for the Holidays” by Jeanette Crews Designs in 2003, “Wiggly Crochet Rugs” by Annie’s in 2009 and “Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths” by Annie’s in 2013. While the first 2 books are out of print, the dishcloths book is still available here. And since Jeanette Crews Designs went out of business, I got the copyright back to the patterns in that book.
If you already know how to do Wiggly Crochet and you’re looking for some Wiggly Crochet patterns, we have some here at The Crochet Architect. We have a wiggly fish rug pattern, 7 wiggly hot pad & coaster sets (most are for specific holidays) and a wiggly playing card set (with the 4 suits: hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades). Check out these patterns and more on our pattern page.
What new crochet technique do you plan to learn this year?
Happy crocheting (and wiggly crocheting),
Susan
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New Wiggly Crochet Hot Pads & Coasters Patterns Available
Are you a fan of Wiggly Crochet? Or are you curious about this fabulous crochet technique? I LOVE wiggly crochet and I really enjoy designing wiggly crochet patterns. I’ve had dozens of wiggly crochet patterns published over the last 10 years, from hot pads & coasters to rugs and dishcloths. Most of my wiggly crochet patterns are under copyright with a publisher, but 6 sets of hot pads and coasters that I had published fell out of copyright recently, so I have the rights back to them now. And what better opportunity to reintroduce them for your enjoyment than on my website? So here they are…
These designs were previously published in the booklet “Hot Stuff for the Holidays” by Jeanette Crews Designs in 2003. This is how the front and back covers of that booklet looked:
Here are our new and improved hot pad and coaster patterns for you:
We’ve taken new photographs, remade the wiggly crochet charts and updated the instructions for each set of hot pads & coasters. All 6 of these holiday Wiggly Crochet Hot Pads and Coasters patterns are available both individually and as a set of 6 right here at The Crochet Architect. The individual patterns are $4.95 each and the complete set of 6 patterns has a special price of just $11.95. That’s a little less than $2 per hot pad & coaster set!
When I first designed these sets of hot pads and coasters, I designed a set for each month of the year (and 2 sets for December). Unfortunately, they didn’t all get published together! The other 7 sets (for January, May, June, August, September, November and December) were published in several books and magazines over the years. Here’s where you can find my other wiggly hot pad & coaster patterns, in case you want to make one for each month of the year:
The July set (Watermelons) was published in Crochet World magazine in June 2008. The November set (Fall Leaves) was published in Crochet World magazine in Oct. 2008. The June set (graduation cap & tassel, along with a scroll) was published in Crochet World magazine in June 2009. The other December set (Christmas wreaths) was published in Crochet World magazine in Oct. 2009. The May set (May flowers) was published on the Coats & Clark website as a free pattern. Here’s the link for that pattern. The September set (an apple for the teacher) was published in the new Leisure Arts book, “Treasury of Holiday Crochet”, by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. The January set (snowflakes) was sold to a publisher, but hasn’t been published, yet.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at my wiggly crochet hot pads and coasters patterns. And I hope you’ll give wiggly crochet a try to expand your crochet skills. You’ll be glad you did!
Happy crocheting,
Susan
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Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths Giveaway Winner
Can we have a drumroll, please? Before I announce the winner in my Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths giveaway, I want to thank all of you who read my blog posts and commented this month. It was really nice to read what everyone said! It appears there are more wiggly crochet lovers out there than I thought!!! How wonderful! Long live wiggly crochet!!!
Okay, I’ve kept you waiting long enough. The lucky winner of the autographed copy of this booklet is… Jessica Ramos! Congratulations, Jessica! Thank you to all of you who entered. For those of you who didn’t win, you can purchase this booklet on the Annie’s website, in print or as a pdf download.
Happy crocheting!
Susan
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Crochet Giveaway and Blog Tour Dates Set
To celebrate the publication of my “Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths” booklet, I’m going to have the first of many giveaways on my blog. At the end of the blog tour for this booklet, one lucky winner will receive an autographed copy of “Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths” in the mail. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this blog post (or the blog post from January 27th on my “Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths” booklet, where you’ll find more information about the patterns inside). Good luck!!!
I’ve finalized the blog tour dates of this booklet with my crochet friends. Here they are in the order in which they’ll appear:
Feb. 13 – Brett Bara
Feb. 18 – Kathryn White
Feb. 21 – Ellen Gormley
Feb. 23 – Andee Graves (update: this date has been changed to Feb. 27)
Feb. 25 – Kara Lyon
Please visit these blogs to read more about my Wiggly Crochet booklet and what each of these very creative people think of it! You’ll also see some fantastic designs and ideas on each of these websites and blogs from some very talented ladies!
As many of you probably already know, Brett Bara is very crafty. She was the editor of Crochet Today magazine for many years and is the host of Knit and Crochet Now, along with other crafty endeavors!
Kathryn White is an extremely talented, award winning thread designer. Her designs are fabulous!!! And she’s a very good friend, too.
Ellen Gormley is a force to be reckoned with in the crochet world! She has many published crochet designs and is a crochet expert on the Knit and Crochet Now show.
Andee Graves is an up and coming crochet designer. She’s gotten a great start on her designing career. She just had her first crochet booklet published by Leisure Arts called “Texting Mitts”. Check it out on her blog or on my blog post for her blog tour (on Feb. 10th)!
Kara Lyon has an awesome talent for designing amigurumi figures. You’ve got to see her designs! I love them!!!
I hope you enjoy this blog tour and getting to know these very talented ladies!
Happy crocheting (and good luck!),
Susan
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“Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths” Announcement and Blog Tour
I’m very excited to announce the publication of my newest crochet booklet, “Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths”, published by Annie’s! Here are photos of the front cover and the other 3 dishcloths that aren’t shown on the front cover:
- Concentric Squares dishcloth
This booklet includes photos, instructions and charts for 6 different wiggly crochet dishcloth projects. These dishcloths are made in an array of beautiful colors of Omega Sinfonia yarn, which is a light worsted weight cotton yarn. Each project measures from 10 ½” x 11” to 12” square, the perfect size for dishcloths. These dishcloths are fun to stitch and make fantastic gifts! If you’d like to order a copy of this booklet, you can find it on the Annie’s website.
If you aren’t familiar with Wiggly Crochet, let me tell you how it’s done. Wiggly Crochet is made in 2 steps. The first step is to crochet the foundation mesh. This mesh looks a lot like the open mesh of filet crochet, made with double crochets and chain-2 spaces. Here’s a photo of a Wiggly Crochet foundation mesh:
The next step is to crochet the “wiggles” onto the top of the foundation mesh, which makes these wiggles stick up and gives the wiggly crochet piece dimension and thickness, which is not found in most other crochet techniques. The wiggles are usually made up of double crochets worked on top of the foundation mesh: around the post of the double crochets and in the chain-2 spaces (not IN the chains themselves, but in the spaces created by the 2 chains). You work the specified number of double crochet in/around each post/chain-space, making a 90 degree turn each time to fill the appropriate areas with the wiggles. It’s the act of turning 90 degrees that makes these stitches wiggle and stick up instead of lying flat! Here’s a photo (taken from the top) of the first round of wiggles worked on a wiggly crochet foundation mesh:
Here’s a photo of those same wiggles (taken from the side), so you can see how dimensional they are:
Isn’t that cool? I love this technique so much that I’ve previously had 2 crochet booklets published on it. The first one was “Hot Stuff for the Holidays”, published by Jeanette Crews Designs in 2003. There are patterns and charts for 6 “holiday-themed” hot pads and coasters in this one (for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, July 4th, Halloween and Christmas). This booklet is extremely hard to find, so if you find one for sale online (and it’s not too expensive), you might consider snatching it up! These designs are worked with size 10 cotton crochet thread (for all of us “threadies”!). Here’s a photo of the front cover of that booklet:
The 2nd wiggly crochet booklet was “Wiggly Crochet Rugs”, published by Annie’s Attic (now just called “Annie’s”) in 2009. This booklet has 5 wiggly crochet rugs in it, complete with instructions and full-color charts. These rugs are made with yarn: the foundation mesh is made with sport weight yarn and the wiggles are made with worsted weight yarn. This booklet might be easier to find, since it was published just 4 years ago. Here’s a photo of that cover:
I’ve also designed some other wiggly crochet projects, which were published by Annie’s (mostly in Crochet World magazine from June 2008 to Feb. 2010). If you’d like to see all of them, please visit my Ravelry designer page. Oh, I almost forgot! I have a FREE wiggly crochet pattern, available on the Red Heart website. You can try this technique for free and see how you like it! Isn’t that great?
If you’re more of a “hands on” type of learner and would like to learn to do wiggly crochet, I’ll be teaching a Wiggly Crochet class at the CGOA Conference this year in Indianapolis. The class schedule hasn’t been made yet, but this class should be scheduled between July 17 and 21 (either from 9AM-12Noon or 2-5PM). To read about this CGOA Conference, please visit the CGOA website (look under the “events” tab on the left-hand side of the page). I would be thrilled to meet you and teach you how to do wiggly crochet in my class!
To celebrate the publication of my new Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths booklet, I’m doing a Blog Tour in February with several of my crochet friends/designers. Each person will blog (or post on Facebook) about this new booklet and possibly give away a copy to a lucky entrant. Please visit each of these blog posts to find out more about my new booklet, as well as reading the blogs of these extremely talented individuals!
The blog participants are as follows (dates to be announced next month):
Andee Graves, Kathryn White, Ellen Gormley, Kara Lyon and Brett Bara
At the end of the blog tour, I’ll be giving away an autographed copy of this new booklet to a lucky winner (US residents only please). To enter the contest, just leave a comment on this blog post telling me which of these dishcloth patterns is your favorite. It’s that simple! A winner will be chosen at random from all of the comments at the end of the blog tour. Good luck to you all!
If you’ve never tried wiggly crochet, you don’t know what you’re missing! If you have tried it and are looking for more wiggly crochet patterns, we have a few of them here at The Crochet Architect. Here they are for your viewing and crocheting pleasure:
Our Wiggly Flower Hot Pad & Coaster Set is the perfect pattern for learning to do wiggly crochet. The small size of the coaster is a quick project and the hot pad is a natural progression for increasing your wiggly crochet skills. The cotton crochet thread that is used makes them ideal for soaking up the moisture from any glass or pitcher in humid weather!
This Wiggly Crochet Playing Cards Set includes a centerpiece and 4 coasters: one for each of the suits of playing cards. This set is unique and would make a great gift for that special person!
When you’ve learned to do wiggly crochet and want to take your skills to the next level, this Wiggly Fish Rug is just the thing! It’s great in any fish-, seashell-, ocean- or tropical-themed bathroom. The texture of the wiggly crochet makes this rug “squishy” to walk on, too!
I hope you’ll give wiggly crochet a try and come to love it as much as I do!
Happy crocheting (and good luck)!
Susan
