Exploring silky cashmere

Posted on January 27, 2012 by fats

Silky Cashmere Fingering from Lotus Yarns

Silky Cashmere Fingering
Fibre: 55% Silk/45% Cashmere
Yardage: 400 yards/20oz (365meters/55grams)
Hook: Aluminium crochet hook 4/0 (2.5mm)

The yarn came in hanks, and at fingering weight, can be easily unwound from the hank (either on a swift or the back of a chair) and made into centre-pull balls. Although I haven’t yet managed to make a decent centre-pull ball because the tail end of the yarn was always disappearing into the ball as it gets bigger. Maybe next time.

The yarn is viciously soft and shiny – thanks to the combination of silk and Mongolian cashmere. The yarn also has similar qualities to a thread that I am quite familiar with – rayon. Rayon is artificial silk (viscose) and is quite shiny too. However, Silky Cashmere has resiliency that rayon doesn’t have.

I started using this yarn following a necklace pattern that I designed (originally for cotton) some time ago. Then I enlarged this pattern to make a shrug/scarf. I thought that this was a good way to get to know the yarn better, using only small quantities of the yarn for testing.

Five motifs completed.

Now what I have in mind for this yarn at the moment is a lacy bolero made up of motifs joined together in the free-form way. I completed five motifs following charted patterns in Duplet 112 and Duplet Swimsuit 3.

Motifs from Duplet crochet magazine.

The motifs are then arranged on the table in the order that I intend to join them. I thought of the largest motif going on the upper back of the bolero and the smaller motifs on the shoulder/upper arm and the smallest motifs for the sleeves. The motifs are all different.

The motifs as joined.

Before joining the motifs together, I made a ch-mesh outline around the motifs. I prefer to work the mesh of the type “dc, ch 3, dc.” Then I started joining them beginning along the upper portion of the bolero (the shoulder line). I decided to keep ths line fairly straight so the bottom portion may be irregularly shaped and could be more visually interesting.

Detail of the motif on the right sleeve of the bolero.

The motifs selected for the bolero have strong edges reinforced by sc’s. I need good sturdy motifs and not light ones. I selected flat motifs for the back and shoulders and the last two motifs at the cuffs have 3-dimensional flowers. I wanted to keep the main body of the bolero fairly flat while the ends of sleeves can have a more 3-dimensional design.

Detail of the motif on thee left sleeve of the bolero.

Detail of the motif on the left sleeve of the bolero.

Hopefully, I will be able to make a size and fit that takes advantage of the mild resiliency of silky cashmere fingering yarn. This means a bolero that’s a bit fitting around the arms and shows off the lace design against the skin.

Detail of the motif on the back of the bolero.

I didn’t use any needle joining for the motifs. This time, I used wholly crocheted joins. Work is much faster this way and teaches me to join irregular shaped motifs.

The work in progress.

Protected: Derivatives #8 A Lace Scarf Pattern

Posted on January 23, 2012 by fats

Derivatives #8 Lace Scarf

Posted on January 23, 2012 by fats

Derivatives #8
A Lace Scarf Pattern Based on
the Jewellery Pattern “Natural Tendencies #8”
This pattern is offered FREE for every purchase of “Natural Tendencies #8″

Worked in worsted weight wool, this pattern is based on a jewellery pattern done in cotton thread.

SKILL LEVEL
Intermediate

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
The scarf shown measures approximately 4” wide and 25” long. Add more rows to make a longer scarf.

YARN
Patons Classic Wool Medium in Aran colour

CROCHET HOOK
Aluminium crochet hook size 8/0 (5mm)

TERMINOLOGY
Pattern is written using US crochet terminology (see chart on last page for conversion)

DESIGN NOTES
The scarf is commenced at the narrow end to desired length, followed by the picot edging, all in one piece.

Lavender Bolero with Flower Motifs

Posted on January 22, 2012 by fats

With Dora Ohrenstein’s “Glitter Girl Bolero” (in “100 Crochet Projects”) as basic shell, I completed this flower trimmed bolero in cotton thread size 8. This is in size Medium for my mom.

The finished bolero as to be worn with a dress underneath.

Project Notes:
See New Paths with new crochet materials
Jan 5: I am working on a size M now using cotton 8 thread. I increased by adding the next multiple. For example, the pattern starts with ch 92 (110, 128) which are sizes S, M, L in increments of 18. So for cotton 8 thread that’s 128 for small, 146 for medium and 164 for large.

At row 3 the patterns says V-st in next V-st 14 (17, 20) times. Those are repetitions in multiples of 3, so for cotton 8 thread that should be 23, 26, 29.

In the original pattern, there are two additional rows for sizes M and L (starting at Row 10). I am tempted to add rows in multiples of 2 for cotton 8 thread but I’m not sure if that’s correct. That would probably need working out by actual measuring rather than adding rows. But I’ll need to double-check when I get there!

Finished the motifs and trimmings around the sleeves then ran out of thread to finish off the bottom hem.

Jan 7: Continuing my work on the bolero in size Medium and lavender colour.

So far I am at the back section of the bolero and I have been taking measurements as I work. I base my measurements on schematics in some knitting magazines that I got a few years ago. I don’t knit and these back-issue magazines were cheap, and they have proven their usefulness in terms of a chance to study garment sizing through the schematics.

I also found out that “The Glitter Girl Bolero” pattern has a rather tight armhole. When I worked in size Small I added two extra rows at the shoulders. This time, working in size Medium, I added one extra row at the lower section of the garment and then two extra rows at the shoulder to increase the armhole size. At the moment, I am confident that this will be the right fit for my mom.

The shops didn't carry any of the lavander thread anymore so I used variegated ochre-white thread for the bottom edging which matches the color of the ribbon and some of the flowers.

The shops didn't carry any of the lavender thread any more so I used variegated ochre-white thread for the bottom edging which matches the colour of the ribbon and some of the flowers.

I have done this bolero earlier in size Small, as shown in Crocheting in 2012 and http://crochetology.net/2012/01/first-fo-in-2012/

Detail of the ribbon and motifs.

New things learned while working on the lavender bolero:

Some of the flowers at the back of the neck tended to fold over. One way to stiffen them was to sew nylon thread through the edges of the motifs. I learned this method while washing a chiffon dress (beach dress) which used nylon thread along the hem to give it weight and keep the dress from being blown up by the wind.

Perhaps next time, I can make a bolero made entirely of flower motifs.

The use of tailor’s patterns for crochet is not such a bad idea. It provides a basis for shaping into what they call “tailored” or “tailor fit” which can be rather nice with certain garments. I would like to try this some time with skirts since crocheted skirts tend to hug the body in unflattering ways.

Running out of thread meant implementing a new design feature. This happened to the bolero in a small and simple way. The shops didn’t carry any of the lavender thread any more so I used variegated ochre-white thread for the bottom edging which matches the colour of the ribbon and some of the flowers.

St. Valentine’s Heart free pattern

Posted on January 21, 2012 by fats

Valentine’s Day is still a long way away but I thought I’d better start early. We’re expecting visitors in February so it’ll probably be too busy and hectic to think about Valentine’s Day greetings.

And although Valentine’s Day is often associated with the celebration of intimate love, I have been thinking of it more in terms of love for family. With this in mind, I made these crochet hearts to decorate the house and to give away with gifts for family on Valentine’s Day. This afternoon I wrote the pattern and here it is.

Saint Valentine’s Heart Crochet Pattern

This is a quick project for Valentine’s Day – a crochet heart with lacy edging. Use it as décor, tied together like buntings or hanging from lamps and lighting fixtures, fix it on the wall or doors of your home. You can also paste these hearts onto Valentine’s Day greetings for your sweetheart, and also as appliqué for garments and curtains.

Quick Valentine's Day project.

Yarn: Acrylic yarn, medium worsted
Colors: Red and Cream
Hook:Size 5/0 (3mm) aluminium crochet hook
Measurements: Heart measures approximately 3.5inches tall x 4.5 inches wide
Terminology: The pattern uses crochet terms in US English.
Special Stitch:
Picot: Ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch fr hook (picot made).

Closer view of the crochet heart.

Using red yarn, ch 17.

Rnd 1: Ch 4, dc in 5th ch fr hok, dc in each of next 5 ch, yo, insert hk in next ch and pull up a lp, yo and draw thru 2 lps on hk, yo, sk 3 ch, insert hk in next ch and pull up a lp, yo and draw through 2 lps on hk, yo and draw through all 3 lps on hk, dc in each of next 6 ch, ch 4. Now working along other side of foundation ch, sl st in 1st ch, ch 4, *sk next ch, dc in next ch, ch 1, rep fr * two times more. In ch-3 sp make (dc, ch 1, tr, ch 1, dc), ch 1, dc in next ch, ch 1, sk next ch, dc in next ch, ch 1, sk next ch, dc in next ch, ch 4, sk next ch, sl st in next ch.

Rnd 2: (Ch 3, sc in ch-4 sp) 3 times. Ch 4, sk 1st dc, dc in next dc, ch 1, sk next dc, dc in next dc, ch 1, yo, sk next dc, insert hk in next dc and pull up a lp, yo and draw through 2 lps on hk, sk next dc, yo, insert hk in next dc and pull up a lp, yo and draw through 2 lps on hk, yo and draw through all 3 lps on hk, ch 1, sk next dc, dc in next dc, ch 1, sk next dc, dc in next dc, ch 4, sk last dc, sc in ch-4 sp, (ch 3, sc in same ch-4 sp) 3 times, 2 sc in next ch-4 sp, picot, 2 sc in same sp, picot, (2 sc in next ch sp, picot) 8 times, in next ch-4 sp make (2 sc, picot, 2 sc). Finish off.

Rnd 3: Join cream color yarn with sc to the 1st of the 3 picots at the right upper side of the heart shape. Ch 1, (dc, picot, dc, picot, dc) in next picot, ch 1, sc in next picot, ch 1, (dc, picot, dc, picot, dc) in ch-4 sp, ch 1, sc in each of next 2 ch sps, sk center sp, sc in each of next 2 ch sps, ch 1, (dc, picot, dc, picot, dc) in next picot, ch 1, sc in next picot, (ch 1, picot, ch 1, sc in next picot) 11 times, ch 1, picot, ch 1, sl st in 1st sc to join. Fasten off.