Crochet Spot

Stay Inspired With Crochet Novels

Tameko — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:01:43 +0000

Crochet as a craft is inspiring to our entire lives, yet we can find inspiration to enhance our crochet experiences. One of those inspirational places is within the pages of fiction novels. There’s nothing like sitting down with a good book allowing yourself to get lost in the setting, the people, the places, and the situations the characters get themselves into throughout the book.

I have found that there are several authors out there who not only love to write good books, but apparently they love to crochet as well. Within the pages of their novels, they have added the element of crochet. Some authors who have used crochet as a major theme in their books will even include patterns within the story or in the back pages after the story has ended.

Here’s a short list of titles and authors who are using the joy of crochet to tell their fictional stories:

Betty Hechtman is an author who has written a series of crochet mystery novels with catchy titles such as “By Hook or By Crook.” Check her selections out if you love a good mystery from time to time.

Kathy Gleason is an author who has written a novel called “When It Happened”, which is about a teenager who loves life and crochet. Then, her world is thrown into a tailspin when she finds out she’s pregnant after the father’s unexpected death.

There are many other crochet novels out there to choose from, all it takes is some research and healthy appetite for good fiction and good crochet. One of the things I noticed with the crochet novels is that there seems to be a lot of mystery novels with crochet as their theme, which can be pretty strange at first. I’ve seen titles such as “Dying to Crochet”, which tells the reader right off the bat what the novel is all about for the most part.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve found tons of mystery novels or a lovely novel about a person going through a challenging time and finding solace in crochet, if it’s a great story and it’s about crochet…it’s inspiring.

Do you know of any good crochet-themed novels? Please leave a comment with your recommendations. We’d love to hear from you.

Happy Crocheting and Happy Reading!

Crochet Pattern: Beaded Chain Bracelet

Candace — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:58 +0000

Bracelets similar to this have been popping up in stores, but why not make one that’s truly your own? Break out your favorite thread and beads and make one to match your favorite outfit–or every outfit.

Skill Level:

Finished Size: 18″ (cm) long, 1/2″ (1.5 cm) wide

Materials:
Size 10 Crochet Thread (1 yard)
Sewing Thread (5 yards)
Seed Beads (320)
Crochet Hook 10 (1.0 mm)

Gauge:
1 beaded chain = 6″ (15 cm)

Need help understanding the crochet abbreviations and symbols? Check out the crochet abbreviation chart.

Crochet Pattern: Beaded Chain Bracelet

End Pieces (Make 2)
Row 1: ch 2, sc in second ch from hook, turn: 1 sc
Row2: ch 1, 2 sc in sc, turn: 2 sc
Row 3: ch 1, sc in first sc, sc2tog, sc in last sc, turn: 3 sc
Row 4: ch 1, sc in first sc, 2sc in next sc, sc in next sc, turn: 4 sc
Row 5: ch 1, sc in first 2 sc, sc2tog, sc in last 2 sc: 5 sc
Finish off.

Chains
Row 1: String 320 beads on sewing thread, sl st in first sc in base of one end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in first sc in base of other end piece: 94 ch
Row 2: Sl st in first sc in base of second end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in first sc in base of first end piece: 94 ch
Row 3: Sl st in 2nd sc in base of first end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in 2nd sc in base of other second piece: 94 ch
Row 4: Sl st in 2nd sc in base of second end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in 2nd sc in base of first end piece: 94 ch
Row 5: Sl st in 3rd sc in base of first end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in 3rd sc in base of other second piece: 94 ch
Row 6: Sl st in 3rd sc in base of second end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in 3rd sc in base of first end piece: 94 ch
Row 7: Sl st in 4th sc in base of first end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in 4th sc in base of other second piece: 94 ch
Row 8: Sl st in 4th sc in base of second end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in 4th sc in base of first end piece: 94 ch
Row 9: Sl st in 5th sc in base of first end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in 5th sc in base of other second piece: 94 ch
Row 10: Sl st in 5th sc in base of second end piece, ch with bead, (ch 2, ch with bead) 31 more times, sl st in 5th sc in base of first end piece: 94 ch

Need help while crocheting? Feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll help you out!

Crochet Pattern: Flower Wrist Pin Cushion

Rachel — Sun, 13 May 2012 18:16:07 +0000

There’s a new pattern in the Crochet Spot Store! This pattern is for a cute and fun pin cushion that has a wrist band. The pin cushion can be worn on your wrist while you work or sew so that your pins are easily accessible. The adjustable wrist band is secured with a button on the underside, but you can use snaps or Velcro as an alternative if desired. The center of the flower is used as the pin cushion, which is nice and thick to hold many pins.

Click here to see full pattern details!

All purchases help to support Crochet Spot and are greatly appreciated! Please log in or create a new account at the Crochet Spot Store to purchase this pattern. Premium Pattern Members may log into the store and download the pattern for free.

Crochet Pattern: Pinwheel

Emilee — Sat, 12 May 2012 04:00:48 +0000

Now that we have some breezy warm afternoons upon us I’m sure you’ve been finding pinwheels at the local dollar shops. Kids can’t resist them. Oftentimes we see them for party decor or even replicated with fabric for quilt blocks. This week I decided to try crocheting a pinwheel and this pattern is what resulted. You can use this project to spruce up throw pillows and other home accessories. Make it out of finer yarn and it makes great appliques, pins, or hair accessories. I used two colors for this pattern but you can easily make each blade out of a different color.

Skill Level:

Finished Size: 4″ (10 cm) long and 4″ (10 cm) wide

Materials:
Pink Medium Worsted Weight Yarn (approximately 50 yards)
Turquoise Medium Worsted Weight Yarn (approximately 50 yards)
Crochet Hook H (5 mm)
1″ (3 cm) Button
Straight Pins
Yarn Needle
Sewing Needle
Sewing Thread

Gauge:
3 sc stitches = 1 inch
3 sc rows = 1 inch

Need help understanding the crochet abbreviations and symbols? Check out the crochet abbreviation chart.

Crochet Pattern: Pinwheel (Make 2 Pink and 2 Blue)

Row 1: ch 3, sc in second ch from hook, 2 sc in next ch, ch 1, turn: 3 sc

Row 2: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn: 5 sc

Row 3: sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn: 5 sc

Row 4: 2 sc in first st, sc in each st across, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn: 7 sc

Row 5: sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn: 7 sc

Row 6: 2 sc in first st, sc in each st across, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn: 9 sc

Row 7: sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn: 9 sc

Row 8: 2 sc in first st, sc in each st across, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn: 11 sc

Row 9: sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn: 11 sc

Row 10: 2 sc in first st, sc in each st across, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn: 13 sc

Row 11-12: sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn: 13 sc

Finish off.

Assembly
First of all, we are going to create the “fan blades” of the pinwheel. I like to use straight pins to pin the triangles in place for easy stitching. With the triangle pointing upwards, fold the left corner of the triangle to the top point of the triangle. Pin in place and repeat with the remaining three triangles.

Now stitch along the left side of the blade catching both layers to secure the blades.

Using yarn and needle sew a pink blade to a blue blade. The blue blade will have the double layered edge and the pink blade will have a straight, single layer edge.

Now sew both halves of the pinwheel together and finish off by sewing a button in the center.

Got a question? Need help with this project? Jot your comments below and I’ll get back with you!

3 Great Life Lessons Taught by Crochet

Tameko — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:39:07 +0000

We can experience life lessons at any given time from anyone and anywhere. Did you know that you can learn life lessons from the art of crochet? In daily life, we all need inspiration, encouragement, and support. Often times, we sit and crochet with the intentions of creating, supporting, and nourishing ourselves and others with our creations.

We have great life lessons passed down to us from family members, friends, and strangers we meet in grocery stores, but we can also learn a great deal to help us each day in life through crochet. Here in this post, I’m only going to touch on three life lessons, but if you really pay attention to your craft, you’ll see there are many more life lessons to learn.

I’m going to give this list to you in the style of David Letterman for fun. Here goes…

Life Lesson #3 – Being Creative. Quite often, when we think of creativity, we only think of the writers, painters, filmmakers, actors, sculptors, etc. There are many people who crochet as a hobby or take part in some other art or craft, who do not consider themselves creative. Every single person is a creative being. It just so happens that a part of our creativity is showing up through our crochet projects. Think about all the times you tweaked patterns to fit your own style or created your own pattern all together. Apply this creative mindfulness to every part of your life. You will find that you have more solutions to your life’s challenges than you think.

Life Lesson #2 – Sharing. This is a lesson that we learn early on in life. I can remember back as far as nursery school and kindergarten class learning how to share with my classmates, friends, and family. This life lesson shows up again in the art of crochet. Think about how many projects you are crocheting right now or for the past year that are for someone else as a birthday gift, get well soon gift, mother’s day gift, or a just because I like you gift. While we may decide to crochet a few items for ourselves, the majority of the time, the art of crochet has our minds on community (sharing).

Life Lesson #1 – Patience. Oh, this is a big life lesson right here. Every day living requires patience. Who requires our patience? Relatives. Friends. Strangers. Co-workers. Ourselves. Everybody, including ourselves requires patience. Crochet teaches this lesson every time we come across a pattern that seemed easy at first, and then we realize it’s a little more complex than we thought. Crochet teaches this lesson every time we mess up a new stitch or an entire row and have to unravel it and start over again. Every time, we start a project aiming for Christmas gifts, but those Christmas gifts become New Year’s gifts or birthday or Valentine’s gift…or maybe even the next year’s Labor Day gift. Patience is a virtue and crochet is one of its teachers.

If you have any life lessons that crochet has taught you, please leave a comment. We look forward to hearing from you.

Happy Crocheting!

Crochet Pattern: Bruges Trim Pouch

Candace — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:06:01 +0000

Bruges lace is really a very easy technique–even a beginner can do it, and the simple edging on this pouch proves it. After making one of these you’ll feel ready to tackle more complicated patterns using the technique–and you’ll have a pouch to keep things in.

Skill Level:

Finished Size: (Pouch) 4″ (10 cm) wide, 4 3/4″ (12 cm) tall

Materials:
Medium Weight Yarn (approximately 20 yards of main pouch color and 15 yards of contrasting trim color)
Crochet Hook H (5.0 mm)
Crochet Hook J (6.0 mm)
Yarn Needle

Gauge:
8 dc = 3″ (7.5 cm)
5 rows = 3″ (7.5 cm)

Need help understanding the crochet abbreviations and symbols? Check out the crochet abbreviation chart.

Crochet Pattern: Bruges Trim Pouch

Pouch
Round 1: with main color, ch 14, dc in BL of 4th ch from hook and in each ch across, working into remaining loops on opposite side of chain, dc in FL of each ch across, sl st in top of beg ch-3: 22 dc
Rounds 2-8: ch 3, dc in each dc around, sl st in top of beg ch-3
Finish off.

Edging
Row 1: with contrasting color, ch 10, dc in 7th ch from hook and in each ch across: 4 dc
Row 2-12: ch 6, turn, dc in each dc across: 4 dc
Finish off. Using photo as a guide, sew edging to pouch with a yarn needle. If you need extra help with the edging, please see the How to Crochet: Bruges Lace tutorial.

Need help while crocheting? Feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll help you out!

How to Crochet: Bruges Lace

Candace — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:37 +0000

Bruges lace is a technique that originated in Belgium that uses structure that consists of a ribbon/tape and chains on either side of the tape that create the lacy effect. This method of creating lace is actually quite simple, but can yield gorgeous results both alone and when mixed with other crochet techniques.

Here you can see a basic Bruges lace tape. If you look at it carefully, you can see that in its most basic form, it is a thin crocheted strip with extra long turning chains.

The real beauty of Bruges lace comes out when you add shaping to it. To make the lace turn and curve, you vary the stitch height in the ribbon. In this example I used sc to shape the piece. The shorter stitches (sc) are worked on the inside of the curve and the taller stitches (dc) are worked on the outside.

This technique is deceptively simple and is great for those who like to work freehand because you can easily adjust your shaping as you go. For those who would rather plan out their work, Bruges lace can also easily be done symmetrically.

For a sample of a Burges lace pattern, feel free to try the Bruges Trim Pouch Crochet Pattern.

If you need any help with the technique, feel free to leave a comment.

Crochet Pattern: Flower Pillow Cover

Rachel — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:15:57 +0000

There’s a new pattern in the Crochet Spot Store! Crochet this pillow cover to cover up a 16″ square pillow. You can use it to cover an old pillow that needs a new look, or a plain white pillow. The cover has one open end that is fastened closed with 6 small buttons. The buttons are designed to be on the inside of the pillow so they’re hidden and the cover appears seamless. The cover can be removed from the pillow at anytime, making it easily washable. The large flower is crocheted all in one solid piece, and then sew to the pillow cover.

Click here to see full pattern details!

The Top Crochet Apps of 2012

A Guest Writer — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:00:37 +0000

Four crochet resources to help you get your stitch on.

A Guest Post by Jane Johnson.

I find that when I’m tasked with doing a lot of technical jobs at work, my creative side really rears its head and expects an artistic outlet. That’s why I picked up crocheting about 2-years ago. I find that it helps me really unwind when I pick up and devout a few hours to some stitch work.

Now when the technical side of my brain collaborates with the artistic side of my brain—which isn’t very often—I use my T-Mobile Samsung Android phone to look for crochet tools to satisfy both sides of my personality. And I’ve uncovered quite a few useful crochet apps for cross stitch and knitting that can help both stitch newbies and pearl veterans alike prefect the craft of crocheting.

Here are my tops picks for getting my stitch on…

1. Easy Stitch ($2.99 – for iPhone)

The Easy Stitch app is a tool for crochet beginners or those returning to the craft after a long hiatus. This app provides step-by-step crochet instructions accompanied by full color illustrations for learning or mastering the craft of crochet, embroidery, and knitting. The app guides you through your craft of choice with step-by-step instructions; a key that describes various crochet materials, supplies, and tools; pattern abbreviations so you can find patterns at your local craft store; a handy conversion chart to convert measurement for materials; plus a few patterns to get you started!

2. Knit/Crochet Tools ($2.01 – for Android)

The Knit/Crochet Tools app gives users access to tons of useful stitching resources—including stitch row counters, a mini-ruler for measuring materials, a calculator, references for various needle and hook sizes, the international symbols associated with crocheting and knitting, as well as crochet and knit abbreviations. This is a great tool to have on hand at your local craft store. I consult it before I make any materials purchases.

3. Crochet Handy ($0.99 – for iPhone)

The Crochet Handy app helps crafters determine exactly how much yarn they’ll need for the next crochet project. Created by Ann Budd, best-selling author of Crocheter’s Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements, this app is a must-have reference for crocheters of all skill levels. Crochet Handy provides visual yardage requirements for sizes ranging from baby to large adult for eight of the most basic and popular crocheted patterns:

Afgans
Caps
Scarves
Ponchos
Baby sweaters
Skirts
Tops

I consult this app whenever I’m buying a pattern online, or buying materials at a yarn shop!

4. Crochet 101 ($2.05 – for Android)

Another great crochet app for newbies, the Crochet 101 tool will teach you the basics thanks to multimedia technology. This app provides an excellent teaching tool for newbies and intermediate crafters alike—with fully-instructional video guides; a guide to pattern reading; sample patterns for beginners; and resource tables to help you decipher, yarn types, hook sizes, and clothing sizes.

Jane is a writer for GoingCellular, a popular site that provides cell phone related news, commentary, reviews on popular providers like T-Mobile.

Crochet Pattern: Flower Hair Pin

Emilee — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:37:33 +0000

This flower is so easy and simple to crochet but it can be used a million ways. Lately I’ve seen crocheted flowers popping up everywhere on clothes, toys, accessories, and home decor. I love the fact that they can be made in little time and yet these simple appliques can really spice up anything their applied to. In your spare time crochet several using scrap yarn and save them in a jar for upcoming projects. If you have some extra bobby pins around the house this is a great way to infuse new life into them.

Skill Level:

Finished Size: 1″ (3 cm) long, 1″ (3 cm) wide

Materials:
Pink Fingering Yarn (approximately 3 yards)
Crochet Hook 7 (1.50 mm)
Hair Pin
Hot Glue Gun or Crazy Glue

Gauge:
4 tr stitches = 1/2″ (1 cm)

Need help understanding the crochet abbreviations and symbols? Check out the crochet abbreviation chart.

Crochet Pattern: Flower Hair Pin
Round 1: ch 7, sl st in first ch made to form a ring, ch 1, (4 tr, sc) into ring 5 times.
Finish off.

Finishing
Use glue to attach the flower to the hair pin. Be sure to allow the glue to dry completely before wearing.

If you need help, feel free to ask a question and I’ll respond as soon as possible! Have fun and happy crocheting!