Yarn Hackers - How to Crochet ANYTHING

COMPLETED - Summer Scarf!

2008-09-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well, school and my 'other' business have kept me a bit busy, so I've not been crocheting as much as I used to...but I did take out enough time to make this beaut! It's only a "simple" scarf, but hey, when opportunity knocks...

This is a simple summer scarf in Lily Sugar and Cream -- too thin and hole-riddled to be useful in the winter, but just the right colors to be worn in the summer and through the early fall. A great colorful addition to a "boring" outfit!

Snarkel Series - Top in Progress

2008-04-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

Hat is taking too long too, which shocks me if only because I remember the last hat going really fast. I guess that's what happens when you look at your colors too much...

The idea behind the body of this hat is to use the solid blue and swap it out tapestry-crochet style for the multi-color yarn when it reaches its own blue sections, creating an awesome tye-dye effect in the striping. It gives me more control over the color layout of the hat, so it looks less chaotic and more purposeful as a result. It's a great way to use the multicolor yarn without it screaming "Store-bought yarn!", which can only be a bonus.

The drawback, like I said though, is that it slows me down because I'm still looking at the yarn too much. I'm hoping to finish this, but I

WREK Backpack Series - COMPLETE!

2008-04-09T13:19:00.003-07:00

This piece took me too long to finish! Well, at least it's done, and it looks gorgeous... but OH was it painful to work on.

Final Yarn Count: Needed a little more black than I'd expected, but nothing beyond the 2 skeins of black I expected (just barely!) Plenty of white left over though.

Pattern Survival: The straps were altered towards the end because I was convinced the closure was off. The straps seem a little too thin now (and they're too short for the boyfriend's use -- oops) but they work.

Frogging Factor: Check your tapestry sheet. I messed up a couple of times on this bag, and had to rip out three rows at one point because the bottom part of the K was too thin. Ouch. Messed up in a few other places as well, but because they were blackspace errors I just left those in.

Comfort Level: Super comfy once finished, so long as the strap size is right.

Do it again? Not without a BIG incentive to do so. Single crochet all the way around for a tube that large? WAY too time intensive. The end result is awesome for sure, but the effort single crochet takes is an easy ticket to crampsville.

Legalese: I have the permission of WREK Atlanta to make this bag for my own personal use. You don't. Please ask nicely before reproducing the WREK logo, or better yet, make a bag with your own logo on it. :) As a bonus, your logo might be smaller and so you can save your hands some pain anyway.

Snarkel Series - Planning

2008-03-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the radio station is starting to take notice of the backpack, so the next likely project to do is one for a friend, who wants... well... an odd little piece. Literally, "A snorkel on a hat".

Well, who am I to argue? Except I think having multiple bits is better than just one... the example pattern shows three merged into one, and I think I can pull it off just fine. A little yarn mixing to make sure the snorkel bits sit up before I work on the actual beanie, and since I already have the right colors in Lily "Sugar and Cream" cotton yarn, this should come out perfectly funky.

Of course, I need to finish up my other pieces before I get to work on this one... and since I have a general deadline of "before the semester's over", I should work quickly! I'm gonna have to delay the Sushi-rae further to do it, but eh...

WREK Backpack Series - Progress Report

2008-03-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I want to try to finish this bag before MomoCon as it'll likely be my best shot to show the bag off as an artistic work, but I'm torn between doing that and getting a few of my other art projects ready in time, not to mention the whole "I have major projects due in every course before spring break" issue.

This is a slightly old picture, but it's the next as far as progress goes. The large letters are coming in QUITE large, to the point I almost wonder if the bag is going to be much bigger than I expected just because the roundness was so deceptive. Then again, it's not like having a big bag is ever a bad thing.

WREK Backpack Series - Base Complete

2008-02-22T12:44:00.000-08:00

Many more rows have been added to our initial base since we last saw it, as you might be able to guess just by looking at the size of the crochet hook compared to the rest of the work now. The tapestry crochet has already begun as the sides begin to form (so that the logo doesn't feel "thicker" than the surrounding stitches) All the white's been used for so far is foundation and that two-row stripe where we stop counting the 'bottom' of the bag and start thinking about the design.

The white yarn's going to be used for more than just the logo; The top of the bag and the strap(s) should also be trimmed in white to help pull in the color scheme more, so we have some actual fashion in this versus just "Let's make a backpack with the logo on it". Also, the whole "let's do the entire bag as through it were tapestry" allows for less tie-offs (which, while they don't affect the integrity of the bag, can be messy) and a little more freedom in the work itself. I'm halfway tempted to find a way to include my signature on the body-side of the bag (i.e. where it won't be normally visible) as a bit of an ego-kick and also as an experiment to see how such an idea would come out.

By the way, see those red circles? Say hello to my stitch markers. They're going to help me center the WREK logo in the right place. There's one at the roughly center point (subject to adjustment when we actually start) and the other one is 30 stitches ahead of it (I work clockwise because I'm right-handed) so I can start counting from that point. Once I have the first row of tapestry started, this process should become much easier.

... I am a little disappointed that the bag is only a little bigger than my handprint though. Apparently when I thought this was going to be huge I was thinking in terms of my wool.

WREK Backpack Series - The Base

2008-02-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

Just a progress report on the bottom of the WREK backpack. Because I like to do most of my projects in the round, the backpack starts at the bottom and builds up from there.

The base is just a flat foundation chain of 5 with a shell stitch on top; everything else is crocheted around this, with some gradual adding of stitches (for the circular portion) and some corners (for the flat section). The goal is to get the circular section up to 50-60 stitches, so the logo can stay mostly on the curvature.

The base is being done with two bits of yarn in order to give it further stability, along with providing an easy way for me to switch one of them to white for the Tapestry Crochet later on. Also... we ARE talking the bottom of the bag here. It deserves to have a little extra support since it'll have to hold more weight than the rest.

Sushi-Rae Series - Planning

2008-02-09T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Idea: It's a Sushi Hat!

Actually, the idea was originally to make it a rasta hat, but instead it's a beret (hence the name - Sushi, Beret, Sushi-ret... Which has been altered to Sushi-rae for simplicity in pronounciation and egotism.)

The Plan: I've done rasta hats before, and it would seem like a beret would be of similar build. The main difference is that unlike the previous hats, the sushi-rae doesn't have a strong central point -- the center piece would be mostly patchwork before the white "rice" would fill out the rest of the hat's base, followed by the black "nori" to shape the hat into its final form.

WREK Backpack Series - Plotting

2008-02-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

The Idea: Tommy wants me to make him something. Since purses and scarves are (probably) not what he has in mind, I decided to do one better - A backpack with the logo of his favorite radio station ever, WREK Atlanta. (Did I mention he's the chief engineer there?)

The Tools: One Size I hook per the yarn's recommended size, and three skeins of Red Heart Soft Yarn (NOT the super-saver stuff!) Also will be trying out some Lion Brand Yarn Split-Ring Stitch markers, because this bag WILL see some shaping to it!

The Plan: In order to get the Logo as perfect as possible, this bag will be done in Tapestry Crochet -- it'll get covered eventually, but for now? it's just a simple way to switch colors in-row in order to make simple pictures. In order to do this, though, we need to grid out a picture - not just to find out what size it looks best at, but also to figure out just how large this backpack needs to be!

Yes, that's a 54 by 61 grid... something tells me we're going to be talking a big bag. Which is fine, we've got the yarn for it.

The general shape given above is a variant of a single-strap bag I did before, which had a buckle in the strap in order to secure the bag from unwanted hands in such a way you couldn't get into the bag while you had it on. This will be a double-strap without the buckle, so that the top puckers up like a drawstring bag, yet has roughly the same protection as the original.

The plan will involve some real creativity in the formation of the strap at the same approximate time as the bag, so that the strap is essentially a single loop of fabric in order to accomplish this security. As a slight bonus, the drawstring nature of the top will probably also allow him to wear it like a single-strap if he changes his mind.

Also, the multiple stress points at the top ought to keep the bag from warping the way the old one did at the single stress point.

The bottom should also take on some special shaping as well - I want to do a semi-circle on the bottom so the back of the bag can lay flat against his back (the original was a straight circle) . This, combined with the Tapestry Crochet, will mean the main decreases in the bag's width will have to be done on the sides as opposed to all-around.

This is where the stitch markers should come in handy, because keeping up with black yarn will NOT be easy...

PATTERN: Denim Capelet

2008-01-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

Say hello to the poncho that wasn't meant to be. Sometimes getting that elusive pattern (or in this case, the yarn that would NOT STOP TWISTING) isn't going as well as you'd like it to, so improvisation is the name of the game.

Yarn Used: Lion Brand Incredible, Blue Shades (5-odd skeins = elbow-length capelet)
Size: One Size Fits Most (check your neck first!), since this thing is only size-critical around the collar.
Pattern Classification: Front-Opening Capelet
Hook Size: Incredible recommends an N; I used a J because I felt N looked too large.
Stitches Needed: Single Crochet, Double Crochet, and your choice of two more stitch designs / patterns, one of which is more 'see-through' than the other. The idea is that your capelet will show more of what's beneath as the viewer's eye goes down.

The Pattern:

Construct a quick mesh choker for your drawstring (I just used alternating double crochet with spaces = do a quick count to make sure that you have enough spaces that the drawstring ends end up on the same side when you're done!).
Single Crochet out from the collar. Make sure to increase gradually as you do it, so you keep a roughly flat circle as you spread out, and keep doing this until you reach the shoulders (remember; if it ruffles or starts to curl, you're either doing too many or not doing enough)
Switch to a Lacework Stitch once you have the shoulders done. Length is loose, but at least as long as however long it took to reach the shoulders.
Mesh Stitch to the finish! We're going for length on this last part, although it should be at least as long as the lacework was, for balance.
Don't Forget the Drawstring! This can be as simple as just some of the leftover ribbon yarn, or a loooong foundation chain, or feel free to cap the ends with a little flourish. Don't forget it, though, as you'll need it to keep the capelet on!

The finished product is visible not only up top, but also on the title image of this blog. Feel free to submit pictures of your own versions once you're done!

The Crochet Manifesto

2008-01-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

At some point, there's just too much.

Too many things.
Too many toys.
Too many plastic grocery baggies.

Too many things, none of which you use, and probably weren't even made in this country. So... Let's take some of it back.

Rip up that shirt. Crochet a bag that you know will go with your wardrobe because it used to BE your wardrobe. Make a little something-something that will stop your keys from jangling and will hide the unsightly rest of your stuff.

This is your solution.

All it takes is a hook.