crochet tutorial – The Crochet Architect

July 17, 2020December 20, 2020

Tapestry Crochet Tutorial with Free Pattern

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve just released a new crochet video on my YouTube channel to teach the Tapestry Crochet technique. This video was a lot of fun to put together! I really like this technique because it’s one of the techniques that uses more than one color in a row or round! Plus the designs you can create with it are endless! Check out my new Tapestry Crochet video here.

With this technique, you use 2 or more colors in each row/round. You change colors, according to a chart, and “carry” the unused color(s) underneath the stitches being worked. It’s a great technique to use when you don’t want to have long strands of yarn on the back of your work!

This new Tapestry Crochet technique video teaches you how to begin and end rows of Tapestry Crochet, carry the yarn, change colors and make the fringe. All while having fun making the snowflake coaster project that’s included in the video. The Snowflake Coaster chart is available for free on my Free Patterns page.

I love designing small projects for learning a new technique. There’s nothing like being able to finish a crochet project quickly, all while successfully learning a new technique! And small projects are great for practicing a new technique. If you make a mistake, your huge project isn’t ruined!

If you enjoy the this technique, you may want to make something larger than a coaster in this technique. That’s where my “Stained Glass Snowflake Scarf” and “It Takes All Colors Snowflakes Afghan” patterns come into play! Both of these designs use the exact same Tapestry Crochet technique that I’m teaching in this new video.

If you haven’t tried the technique before, what are you waiting for? It’s a wonderful technique with many fabulous projects that can be made from it! Check out my new Tapestry Crochet video here.

And speaking of Tapestry Crochet, I bought a new Tapestry Crochet book last week called “Colourful Wayuu Bags to Crochet” by Rianne de Graaf. You can see this book on Amazon here. Rianne has designed some really pretty bags in the Tapestry Crochet technique. These bags are so cool! Rianne even teaches how to make the straps and cords for the bags in this book.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Tapestry Crochet and will give it a try. You’ll be glad you did!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

New Tutorial: Decorative Slip Stitch Edging

I love the look of decorative edgings, especially when they’re easy and fast to do! I added a decorative edging to the skirt and collar on my Bear Mitts pattern, as well as the edges of my Button Flower Pin pattern.

I LOVE the effect I get when I work this slip stitch edging and it’s super simple to do, too! To find out how to work this edging, check out my new tutorial here.

Happy crocheting,

Susan

November 20, 2014

Tutorial: Working in the Back Bump of the Foundation Chain

Have you ever seen a crochet pattern that instructs you to work in the back “bump” (or back “bar” or back “hump”) of the foundation chain? Do you know what part of the foundation chain this is? If you’ve never worked in the back bump of the foundation chain, you’re in for a treat! This is the best thing since sliced bread (well, almost)!

So why would someone want to work into a different loop of the foundation chain than they always work into? In this instance, it is because working in the back bump gives you a nice bottom edge of your project that mimics the top edge of the project. This is what I’m talking about:

Can you see the chain edge at the bottom? Doesn’t that look nice? I LOVE working into the back bump of the foundation chain. Not only does it look nice, it gives a stronger bottom edge, as well.

I’ve made a tutorial for you explaining how to work into the back bump of the foundation chain. You can find it on my “tutorials” page here. I hope you’ll check it out and give it a try. You’ll be glad you did!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

April 25, 2014

The Yarn Over and CGOA Videos

If you’re new to crochet or you learned to crochet from someone else, how do you know if you’re crocheting correctly? Do you hold the hook correctly? Are you holding your yarn correctly? Are you yarning over correctly? These are some of the questions you may be asking yourself. Whenever I’m doing something in crochet incorrectly, I really appreciate someone telling me the correct way to do it so I can improve my crochet skills and knowledge. So I thought I’d share with you the correct way to do a “yarn over” in crochet.

Every stitch in crochet uses a yarn over at some point in time, whether it’s at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the stitch (or in all 3 places). There are many good crochet books written that explain and show how to do the yarn over and the crochet stitches formed by the yarn over correctly. Also, in this age of the internet and internet/website videos, there some great crochet videos to watch that will show you a multitude of fabulous crochet stitches and techniques. I think it’s wonderful to have so much helpful information at my fingertips to learn more about crochet. You probably share this enthusiasm for learning new crochet stitches and techniques, too!

But you know the saying: “Buyer Beware”! Disclaimer: NOT ALL CROCHET VIDEOS ARE CORRECT!

I’d love to be able to say that all of the crochet videos I’ve watched on the internet are sharing the correct information, but that’s simply not true. I’ve seen some videos where the person demonstrating the stitch is saying “yarn over”, but she’s simply grabbing the yarn (with the yarn in front of the crochet hook) and isn’t doing the yarn over correctly. To do a “true” yarn over, you must bring the yarn around the back of the crochet hook, over the top and to the front, like this:

If you’re not making your yarn overs in this manner, then you’re doing them incorrectly. Here’s the incorrect way to do your yarn overs:

Do you see the difference? When you’re doing your yarn overs correctly, the yarn goes over the top of the hook from the back to the front. It doesn’t just sit in front of the hook to grab it: that’s NOT a “yarn over”!

To see some crochet videos, including the correct way to do a yarn over, please visit the CGOA website here if you’re right-handed or here if you’re left-handed. In each of these videos, Kim Guzman, a respected crochet designer, teacher and author, shows how to do a yarn over correctly. The yarn over is used for making the chain, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet and treble crochet. It’s also used for many other crochet stitches and techniques, including Filet Crochet, Bruges Lace, Wiggly Crochet, Tunisian Crochet, Hairpin Lace, Broomstick Lace and more. As a CGOA Board member, we discussed adding crochet videos to the CGOA website last year and Kim was enthusiastic about doing them for us (thank you so much, Kim). Kim is a wonderful crochet teacher with lots of knowledge and patience! So check out the crochet videos on the CGOA website to make sure you’re doing your yarn overs correctly! And if you don’t know about all that CGOA (the Crochet Guild of America) has to offer, then check out the rest of the updated CGOA website while you’re there!

As one of the co-chairs and a portfolio reviewer in the CGOA Masters program, I enjoy discussing crochet stitches, techniques and patterns to find out how some people work their stitches (correctly and incorrectly). I learn so much from these discussions! They help me to understand how the written crochet instructions can be interpreted in different ways, which in turn helps me improve my pattern writing and technical editing skills! I’m all for improvement throughout my life!

Are there any crochet stitches, techniques or patterns you’d like to discuss?

Until next time…

Happy crocheting,

Susan

February 6, 2014February 9, 2015

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

December 28, 2013November 25, 2020

Stiffening Crocheted Snowflakes

Many years ago, I crocheted some snowflakes for my Christmas tree. But, true to my procrastinating nature (aka: other things were more important to do, so this got pushed to the bottom of the list), I waited until last week to stiffen these crochet snowflakes. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t always procrastinate. But I find myself doing the crocheting of projects quite easily, while the finishing of many projects takes me a lot longer to warm up to doing! Are you the same way? Also, I don’t relish the idea of getting the stiffening solution all over my hands! I suppose I could always wear rubber gloves, but where’s the fun in that?

Last week, I was inspired to stiffen these snowflakes because of a crochet design that I just finished for a major crochet magazine (the design is still a secret, but you’ll find out in about 6 months what it is when the magazine comes out).

I’d guess that not too many people have stiffened crochet snowflakes or know how to do it, so I decided to write a tutorial on how to stiffen them. You can find it right here on my “Tutorials” page. So if you’d like to learn how to stiffen snowflakes, then please take a look at the tutorial.

Update (11/25/20): I have a YouTube video for learning to stiffen crochet snowflakes. You can find that video here.

Anyway, here’s a photo of the 9 snowflakes I stiffened to use on next year’s Christmas tree (I already had this year’s tree decorated, so I didn’t want to change it!):

Aren’t they pretty? I crocheted them from the Leisure Arts book called “White Christmas in Thread Crochet” by Kathryn A. Clark, a very talented crochet designer. This book includes 54 projects from snowflakes to icicles to tree toppers to tree skirts and garland. It’s a great book! Here’s a photo of the front cover of this book:

I’ve had this book for many years (it was published in 2001). My copy isn’t that pretty anymore because I’ve taken it with me to many places, including little league baseball games when my sons were much younger. Since I love thread crochet, these snowflakes were a natural project for me to make!

If you enjoy working with crochet thread, why not give some crocheted snowflakes a try! You’ll be glad you did and your Christmas tree will look fabulous!!! Or if you’re looking for a unique gift, these snowflakes make fabulous gifts!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

April 28, 2013June 23, 2013

The Slip Knot: Right versus Wrong

Have you ever made a crochet project in the round and couldn’t tighten the center hole to make it smaller or disappear completely? Last week, when I was teaching my mother-in-law how to read a crochet pattern and to work in the round, I realized that she was making her slip knot incorrectly. Her center hole wouldn’t close up after working her first round! So I watched her make a slip knot and it was backwards. I thought there may be many other crocheters who make their slip knot backwards, too. So I’ve made a tutorial on how to make your slip knot the “right” way!!! Please check out my new “Tutorials” page to read more and find out how to make a slip knot correctly.

After you’ve checked out the tutorial, you can practice making the slip knot and working a simple granny square with the “3-Round Granny Square” pattern on our “Free Patterns” page.

Happy crocheting,

Susan

April 1, 2012August 21, 2015

Filet Crochet Hints and Tips

I’ve done Filet Crochet for many years and along the way, I’ve learned some important things. If you are having trouble with your filet crochet, please take a few minutes to read these hints and tips!

1. If your dc stitches are too short and you have trouble getting the proper row gauge, try using an extended dc instead of a dc to make taller stitches. To make an extended dc (edc), YO, insert hook in specified st or sp and draw up a lp, YO and draw through 1 lp on hook, [YO and draw through 2 lps on hook] 2 times.

2. Turn work counterclockwise at end of each row for best results (the opposite direction as turning a page in a book).

3. For last stitch of each row, work into back loop and back bar of turning ch at end of row to get edges to lay flatter.

4. To help keep your place on the filet chart, use a magnetic board, ruler, pencil, etc. Make an extra copy of the chart, if desired. If using a magnetic board, put a magnetic strip above the current row so you can see the row below to help keep stitches lined up and mistakes to a minimum. If you don’t have a magnetic board, you may want to mark through the rows on the extra copy of the chart as you complete them.

5. Always wash and block filet pieces when finished for best results. I like to wash/soak my filet in the kitchen sink with a small amount of liquid laundry detergent. This removes any dirt and grease that may have accumulated while crocheting. Then I rinse the filet piece, squeeze out the excess water (DO NOT WRING) and put it on a clean kitchen towel to absorb more moisture. For more on blocking, read my “blocking” post here.