Learning New Crochet Techniques in 2022

Irish crochet

Did you learn any new crochet techniques last year? Are there any crochet techniques that you’d like to learn this year? I love learning new techniques/skills and passing along what I’ve learned along the way to the students in my classes, whether that’s in person or through videos!

I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be teaching 2 crochet techniques at the annual IOLI Convention (International Organization of Lace, Inc) in Mesa, AZ in July of this year! I’ll be teaching a 12-hour class on Irish Crochet and another 12-hour class on Bruges Lace Crochet! I’ll also be teaching a 6-hour class on Irish Crochet. This all takes place the week of July 17 – 22, 2022. For more information about this convention, check out the IOLI website here. There are lots of teachers and lace techniques being taught. It’s going to be a fantastic convention!

Registration for the convention opens in just a few days, on February 15. Classes fill up quickly, so get your registration completed and submitted right away if you’d like to attend one or more of these fabulous lace classes!

Here are photos of the projects in my 12-hour Irish Crochet and Bruges Lace Crochet classes at the IOLI Convention:

Irish crochet
Irish Crochet Class projects
Bruges Lace Crochet class projects

Here are direct links to my 3 classes:

12-hour Irish Crochet class

12-hour Bruges Lace Crochet class

6-hour Irish Crochet class

Irish Crochet is a fabulous technique. It is made with separate textured flower and leaf motifs that are joined together by various methods. I’ll teach you 3 ways to join your Irish Crochet motifs together in my 12-hour class and the 2 easiest ways to join them together in my 6-hour class. A padding cord is used to add more stability and thickness to the pieces.

Bruges Lace Crochet is made with narrow strips of crochet “tapes” that are joined together to form intricate shapes. You’ll learn to make several basic tapes, then jump in to making 3 gorgeous Bruges Lace projects in my 12-hour class.

Since I learned to do bobbin lace 4 years ago, I’ve been even more fascinated with all kinds of lace techniques: crochet, knit, bobbin lace and more! I’ve gone to several Lace Days that the IOLI Lacey Ladies Guild puts on in Phoenix, AZ and I’ve begun to learn a needle lace technique called Aemilia Ars. This is my first attempt at making that lace:

Aemilia Ars needle lace
My first Aemilia Ars needle lace piece

It’s by no means perfect, but it’s a start! I have a long way to go in improving my needle lace skills, but at least I’ve made the initial jump into learning how to do this gorgeous lace technique! It’s challenging to learn a new skill or technique, but it’s a great way to keep our brains active!

I’ve also made my first piece of Romanian Point Lace. The cord for this lace is made with a small steel crochet hook. The lace areas are made with a needle. Here’s that piece for you to see:

My first Romanian Point Lace piece

I hope you all have a great time learning new things and improving your skills this year. I look forward to meeting some of you at the IOLI Convention in July!

Happy crocheting and lace making!

Susan

Sign Up for July 2021 CGOA Crochet Classes!

I just love learning new things, don’t you? I’m very happy to announce that I’ll be teaching 4 online crochet classes next month for the annual CGOA Conference. I’ve taught each of these classes before in person and I’m excited to teach them online/virtually! The nice thing about online/virtual classes is there’s no travel necessary to attend the classes/conference. You can attend classes in the comfort of your own home, which saves lots of time and money! Each crochet class will be taught at Central Standard Time (US time zone) through Zoom. It will be fun to learn new things, so give it a try!

If you’ve never heard of CGOA (Crochet Guild of America), check out the benefits of membership here. I’ve been a CGOA member since 2002 and I started teaching at the CGOA Conference in 2009! It’s a wonderful organization with lots of crochet enthusiasts, including lots of crochet hobbyists, designers, editors and publishers! CGOA members enjoy discounts on classes and lots of other things.  

Registration ends soon, so register today for the classes you want to take!

Below are the 4 classes I’ll be teaching at the virtual CGOA Conference next month.

Invisible Repairs: Tuesday, July 20 from 9:00AM-4:00PM CST (with 1 hour lunch break)

Click on video photo for more information
  • Repair torn, cut, chewed or burned projects
  • Replace stitches and chain spaces, locking them to bottom strands in the row or round above
  • Invisibly seam first and last rows in a crochet cowl
  • Bring damaged crochet projects back to life again



    Intro to Irish Crochet: Friday, July 23 from 1:00PM-4:00PM CST
Click on video photo for more information
  • Introductory class
  • Learn to make basic Irish Crochet rose and leaf motifs
  • Learn to make a background for joining your finished motifs
  • Learn a simple Irish Crochet edging with picots



    Reading & Understanding Crochet Patterns: Monday, July 26 from 1:00PM-4:00PM CST
Click on the video photo above for more information.
  • By learning how to read a pattern, you’ll be able to crochet exciting new projects
  • Learn the rules for reading a crochet pattern
  • Learn abbreviations, right/wrong side, right/left side, right/left front
  • Bring your crochet pattern questions to be answered
  • We will make some practice swatches in class



    Fantastic Filet Crochet: Wednesday, July 28 from 9:00AM-4:00PM CST (with 1-hr lunch break)
Click on the video photo above for more information.
  • Learn the basics of Filet Crochet
  • Learn open mesh, closed mesh, lacets and square mesh
  • Learn increases, decreases and diagonal stitches
  • Learn to read a Filet Crochet chart
  • We will be making a beginning Filet Crochet project and intermediate swatches

I hope to see/meet many of you in my CGOA classes next month!

Here’s a link directly to the CGOA web page to read about all the classes being offered at this year’s CGOA conference and to register for classes.

Happy crocheting to all of you and keep on learning!

Susan