Tag Archives: knit

Knit It! Crochet It! The Dialog Shawl

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Creating a design that is both knit and crochet has its own set of challenges, one mainly being that I am not an expert knitter. However I have created a design with the help of a couple of friends that I think is pretty impressive.

Dialog Crochet Shawl by Linda Dean www.lindadeancrochet.com

Dialog Shawl, Crochet version

The Dialog Shawl is created with short rows with alternating panels of a solid and lace fabric. It is a fun pattern to work up as it uses basic stitches but still keeps you mentally engaged, but not so much as to cause stress. The only difference between the knit and crochet version is that the panels of the crochet version are bigger and thus there are only 4 triangles instead of the 6 that are found in the knit version.

I love that this is a one skein project. It is featured in Baby Alpaca Silk Petite Yarn from Lisa Souza Dyeworks, and I definitely draw to the color of Peacock, but I think this design can easily worked up in various colors, and may look distinctly different and fabulous in a variegated yarn. This yarn is really awesome, and I have used it for several projects over the years. It is a light/fine weight yarn that has a beautiful hand and is a pleasure to work. I also feature a shawl pin with this design, it was after all part of the inspiration for the design, and it is actually a Shawl Button from Lickin Flames. Each Shawl Button is handmade, beautiful, and completely unique. The one that inspired me was a Raku button in Bronze with a shiny black accent.

Dialog Knit Shawl by Linda Dean wwww.lindadeancrochet.com

Dialog Shawl, Knit version

I cannot say that I have ever been particularly inspired to create a design from a pin or button before, usually I attempt to create a design that can be worn independently of such items. However, recently I have come to see how this piece of art can really had to the overall effect of my crochet (or in part of this design, knit). It is like a subtle accent point that helps add to the overall effect, bringing everything to a new level.

Overall I am completely thrilled with this design, and I hope you enjoy it too. As is the case with all of my knit/crochet designs one pattern contains both versions, so if you are bi-stitchual you can work both versions, and if you prefer one craft over the other you have it right before you.

Where Arts Can Learn from Each Other

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ScannedImageThis last week I had the opportunity to spend some tie at a knitting workshop. The Hangtown Fibers Guild, my local non-denominational Fiber Guild that has to be given credit for all the encouragement and support of my entering the Crochet Industry, was hosting Lucy Neatby for a day long workshop on a variety of knitting techniques. I helped arrange the workshop, and in handling the support I was able to glean some information from the beginning of the day.

The technique that made me smile was the knitters Provisional Cast On. Casting on is how a knit project begins, it is how to add loops to the needle, and there are various ways to do this. The traditional Provisional Cast On, begins with a crochet chain, and then loops are pulled through the chains, much like the beginning of Tunisian Crochet. During this workshop a variation of this technique was taught, essentially it is crocheting over the knitting needle.

I had an ever widening grin, as this is a skill the crocheters use in all sorts of ways. This is a technique that has been used to cover clothes hangers, to create bracelets, to make rugs. It is a simple part of a crocheters skills, and here it has another use in the world of knitting.

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Pull the yarn overs around the item you want to crochet over.

The basic of this skill is to simply have a loop on your hook, and with the object you want to crochet over in front of the working yarn, you move your hook to yarn over and pull a loop over the item. At this point you can pull through the loop on your hook (a chain stitch) or yarn over and pull through both loops (a single crochet US, or double crochet UK).

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Crocheting over a canning jar ring, I have created a wreath ornament.

Recently I have used this technique to crochet over mason canning rings with green yarn, to create wreath ornaments for the holiday season.

Every skill we learn is an additional tool we have, to grow in all the arts.

Knitted Yarn that Allows Crochet Stitches to Shine!

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ScannedImageLooking for something different to crochet with? Want something with a little stretch and great stitch definition? Well Red Heart Strata comes to mind.

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Single and Double Crochet in Red Heart Strata yarn, every part of the stitch is highlighted.

This 76% acrylic, 24% nylon…well for lack of a better term….yarn, can fit the build. Strata is actually a more like a knit fabric, but it is not any cut strips like some T-Shirt yarns, it is a knit tube around a soft fill. This tube filled with fluff, creates a “yarn” that has some body and does not lay flat on itself when used. As the encasing is knit in what appears to be the fashion of an I-cord, there is no seam, no fray edges, just a smooth round pliable material.

The stitch definition with Strata is very impressive. The unique structure of this “yarn” with the soft roundness of the strand allows parts of your stitches to become more visible in a sense, causing a different appearance with even every day stitches. By this I mean that even a fabric of just simple or double crochet will look like there is great texture. It allows every yarn over and every pull through an opportunity to stand out on their own, and almost seem separate from the overall body of the stitch. I think this gives crochet a fun opportunity, as with minimal effort you can get a fabric that has a textured feel.

This is definitely a “yarn” to be worked on large hooks and needles, as even through it feels like a more medium weight, it works up as a bulky. This allows for fast projects, however with the small yardage per ball, just 95yrds/86m, you may require more skeins that first imagined to complete a desired project.

I can easily envision household items with is “yarn”, like towels or trivets, potholders or mats, maybe even a nice bath robe or pool side cover up. With the overall tendency of this “yarn” to seem heavy, and stretch, I would caution garment construction in most cases.

Overall though an interesting “yarn” that can offer a lot to the imagination.

2 Designs, 1 Pattern- Cross-Hatch Wrap, Knit it! Crochet it!

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ScannedImageI always like to create a personal challenge for myself, and in this case it is knitting. I know, I am a crocheter, so why am I challenging myself with knitting? Working with Lisa Souza’s Yarn I have found it interesting how knitters have stopped by her booth over the years, admired my crochet samples, yet upon hearing it is crochet, immediately set it down and walk away stating the “I don’t know how to crochet”. I explain that there are lessons, and they can learn, but they like many others are already happy with the hobbies they have and are not wanting to add additional ones.

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Cross-Hatch Crochet Wrap

So, I decided to show how both art forms could produce a fun project. Cross-Hatch Wrap is the second design I have released that has 2 patterns in one. There is a knit version and a crochet version pattern together. The designs look very similar, yet are created by different methods, and always using only 1 skein of yarn.

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Cross-Hatch Knit Wrap

I will admit that this creates an interesting challenge for me, as I am a very fast crocheter and a very slow knitter. So Lisa Souza has agreed to help by knitting a version for me. It also gives me the opportunity to get some insight into the mind of a knitter. Lisa tells me that I take her out of her comfort zone, and have her looking at her knitting a little differently. I think this is a good thing for anyone. A fresh perspective brings a new understanding, and a burst of growth to the work that you do.

Cross-Hatch Wrap is worked with crossed drop stitches, creating a subtle and alluring effect. The one skein of Baby Alpaca Silk Petite is incredibly soft, and so light that it almost feels like nothing but air. If you either knit or crochet, or need a gift for someone that loves yarn, this design will hopefully have you looking at your own work a little differently, and take you out of your comfort zone, just a bit.

Sweet Memories with Sato Sugar Shawl

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ScannedImageI have some fond memories of my latest design.

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Original version in blue, published in cream.

Sato Sugar Shawl originally entered the world at a fashion show in San Diego, at the annual Crochet Guild of America Chainlink (or otherwise referred to as the Knit & Crochet Show). I had created it from 1 skein of a new yarn from Lisa Souza Dyeworks, Aurora, and seriously just finished it on my way to the show. I hadn’t even formally given it a name or anything.

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Sato Sugar Shawl, photo courtesy of Annie’s

I was encouraged to enter it in the annual members fashion show that happens at the banquet dinner. I agreed to model it, as I was already assisting in modeling other items for the show. I was hastily writing up its description in the back of the staging area, to be read by Ellen Gormley, editor of Crochet! Magazine. Not only was I attempting to put together a nice write up that I would have to walk on stage with, but I also had to make sure that Ellen could actually read my hand writing, which is no small feat.

I was getting input, ideas, and guidance from a wide variety of people that were modeling as well, with designer Vashti Braha giving me some excellent “romance” for the description. One of the things that struck me was a comment that Vashti made about how she had never seen the Love Knot stitch used in the way I had in this wrap. That took me back a little, as Vashti teaches classes on the Love Knot, she has researched its many ways of being made, when it was historically used and such, so to hear her mention that it was completely new to her caught me a little off guard, in a good way.

Summer2016_Crochet!Later that night Ellen pulled me aside and said “submit it, I want it”, and the Sato Sugar Wrap made its way to the pages of Crochet! Magazine for the current Spring 2016 issue. Only the yarn and color were changed for the publication, everything else remains true to the original, I think it worked up nicely in the Berroco Folio Luxe.

It is always fun to see me designs newly released, they often have some story and memory with them, maybe not as all-encompassing as this one, but still they all have stories. Much like each gift I have created over the years, the memories that I have of choosing the yarn or the pattern for “so-and-so for that event and such”. The release time is often a while after I created it, so seeing the latest issue of a magazine can transport me back in time a little, bringing up memories and fostering new ideas.