Over the last month I've taken part in a really fun Tunisian Crochet-along with the Crochet Circle Podcast and after completing a first project decided to squeeze in a second one before the deadline. I tried out Intarsia Tunisian Crochet making a petroglyph man that we spotted at Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here is the design inspiration. I know he doesn't have legs but I took artistic liberties and gave him some.
I could have drawn a chart free-hand to make my petroglyph man but I wanted to get his dimensions right so I used the rather amazing free Stitch Fiddle online tool, uploading the photo to make my own chart. Love it! Stitch Fiddle allows designers to create knitting, cross stitch and crochet charts. For crochet there are three options: colored charts, filet crochet and free form with crochet symbols. I've written charts with symbols before from written patterns for students who prefer them. Now I can do this far more easily. If you want to design Tapestry Crochet or Graphghans I can see Stitch Fiddle being incredibly useful too!
I like my books for a general intro and then I search for a video of the specific technique. The most useful video I found was Tunisian Simple Stitch Intarsia by BethinTX1 (I've subscribed to her channel). Beth is a really talented lady and I like her even more because she's in Texas like me!!
Here is my petroglyph man. My yarn is fluffy navajo churro and my design looks a little rustic and I'm fine with that. I've figured out the technique and made him into a little wall hanging with tassels as a homemade holiday souvenir.
For further details of the CAL, read my blog post Ten Tunisian Crochet Tips, search for #tccTunisianCal on Instagram and see the finished objects thread on the Crochet Circle Podcast Ravelry group. Can't wait for the next new technique!
In preparation for the Crochet Circle Podcast's CAL starting March 3rd I've been reading up on the technique. I was lucky enough to find FOUR Tunisian Crochet books in my public library. Houston is a huge city and our library downtown has over 90 individual titles on crochet. Wow! Although I do love a YouTube video for the specifics of a stitch I prefer to read a comprehensive overview of a technique.
Here are some tips I found useful as a relative newcomer to Tunisian Crochet gleaned from my reading this week. I thought you might find these useful if you're a newbie too.
- Hook length: Your hook can hold a project width three times its length. For wider projects select a hook with a flexible cable attached.
- In Tunisian Crochet the front is always facing you so you don't need to turn.
- Count the stitches on your hook after the forward row. I know from experience that it's easy to lose a stitch!
- In Tunisian Simple Stitch there are the same number of stitches on your hook as on your starting chain.
- Pull the yarn tight at the start of each forward row to prevent a loose stitch.
- Work into the vertical AND horizontal bars of the last stitch of the forward row to stabilize the row. I wish I'd known this when I was doing my CYC swatch (see below)!
- To prevent curl: Work into the back bump of your chain.
- To prevent curl: Go up a hook size.
- To prevent curl: At the beginning of your work, crochet a row of Tunisian purl stitch to redistribute the weight.
- To prevent curl: Block your work.
Making a swatch for my second Craft Yarn Council certificate I remember really struggling with the placement of the last stitch of the forward row of my Tunisian Crochet square. I just couldn't figure it out and the swatch was frogged over and over. I was NOT enjoying myself AT ALL and didn't feel like EVER doing Tunisian Crochet again. But I changed my mind after discovering Entrelac last year. One of my current WIPs is the Tunisian Entrelac Yoga Top and I'm so looking forward to the upcoming CAL!
I had heard of Tunisan knit and purl stitch but there is a whole world of Tunisian crochet stitches and stitch patterns out there. The Honeycomb skirt by Sharon Hernes Silverman is made in a variegated yarn and is simply stunning! Have a look at the project page on Ravelry.
Anyway, before I get carried away I will start with a simple project for the CAL which is the fantastic looking Cobbled Street Cowl. If you're interested in joining in check out the Ravelry group/thread and use #tccTunisianCAL to see the fun on Instagram!
I've decided that this year is going to be the year of the crochet garment. I have made a fair few knitted and crochet garments and designed a couple too but I can definitely finesse my skills. I plan to buy Top Down Crochet Sweaters by Dora Ohrenstein after reading a review by Susan Lowman on her Crochet Architect website.
I learned Tunisian Entrelac Crochet last year making a bright blanket for charity and wrote about it here. I enjoyed the technique so much and since this year is the year of the crochet garment I decided to tackle the Yoga Top by Elena Fedotova. I found out about Elena from Marie Segares in her Instagram #undergroundcraftertakeover. Here's the roundup on Marie's blog. Elena's geometric designs look so fresh and modern. I favorited the Yoga Top straightaway and I really love what she has done here with a traditional crochet granny squares on her Granny Fish Top.
I am now underway. The yoga top is bottom up and mostly seamless (yay for not having to sew sides together).I just love making these tiny squares because they are join as you go, and they just look so unbelievably cute. There are a few color combo suggestions and a blank chart in each size for you to colorize with your own color choices. I did have to restart after making a silly gauge calculation. Usually, I find one row is sufficient to measure horizontal gauge but with Tunisian Entrelac stitch the gauge reduces after adding a second and third row. My top was going to be a tight squeeze so I had to rip it all back and add additional squares. My husband likes to see me ripping items back. He says I'm getting more enjoyment out of the yarn and he's probably right.
Are you tackling something new this year? I'd love to hear.
I'm always trying out new crochet techniques. It's one of my favorite things. And last week I decided to have a go at Tunisian Simple Entrelac stitch. There is a written description and a chart in my favorite crochet bible: The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet by Margaret Hubert I am usually pretty good at reading written patterns and charts don't freak me out either but this stitch had me totally flummoxed. After an hour or so of trying to figure it out I went to google for a video. Mikey of the Crochet Crowd has a extremely good one on this technique: How to Tunsian Crochet - Entrelac Blankets in Rows and this did the trick. I was once more diving into my donated yarn stash and here's my rather seasonal charity blanket. It's all about the pumpkins right now in Texas.
I found making these cute little textured squares incredibly absorbing. I've had a little go at Tunisian before but I didn't fall in love with the technique. It was one of the required swatches when I took my second Craft Yarn Council certificate back in late 2014/early 2015. I recall taking the longest time to figure out what to do with the edges of my swatch. I'm not quite sure what I was doing. I just wasn't happy and ripped it out half a dozen times. I did like the texture of the completed swatch a lot though when I finally got there.
Three things that I now know about Tunisian Simple Entrelac stitch are:
- You can use a standard crochet hook rather than a Tunisian hook for entrelac since you only have at most 7 loops on your hook (well for a six stitch wide square).
- You must chain the number of stitches you want for the whole width of your blanket before you get started.
- You use a crochet hook two sizes larger for Tunisian crochet than a standard crochet hook because the resulting fabric is extremely dense.
There is an amazingly gorgeous top I might try now I that have mastered entrelac technique: Yoga Top by Elena Fedotova Take a look at it. I'm sure you may well be tempted too!
