From a series of photographs shared by Olga Krivenko on Ravelry and on her blog, I took up the challenge of making a free-form piece “without breaking the thread.”

Olga begins her free-form shape with a “button” and works around it with popcorns and bullions, working on the right side and the reverse. What I found interesting was her use of Irish crochet techniques (such as the bullions) and the broomstick lace technique in her free-form work.

Large free-form motifs were completed by Olga in this unbroken thread method and joined together to complete a sweater. A photo and text documentation of her work can be found at ?????? ????????.

In my experiment, I used acrylic yarn of light fingering weight and a hook 1.3mm. It was only in the fourth attempt that I found a good way of working through. Here (below) are my first three attempts at the free-form shape.

First three attempts at free-form.

The first piece, which is shaped like an ear, is an experiment at making a three-dimensional piece. It was not my original intention since I really wanted to make a flat form with relief textures. This was not so successful.

The second piece is an attempt to make a shape that does not grow circularly from the centre but rather radially like s starfish. However, this was not so successful either. Perhaps it is possible with more careful planning with seamless crochet.

The third piece is a quick experiment with a shape that grows radially likewise but with larger “petals”.

Popcorns and shells.

Finally, I managed to get something done with shells and popcorns. This piece is certainly not very dense since I wanted to produce a lacy and light fabric. The piece done by Olga was for a sweater and most suitably dense, thick and textured.

Using inexpensive acrylic yarn, I don’t worry about the cost of experimenting with free-form, and getting more used to the technique. Later, I can try to employ other stitches beside shells and popcorns.

Free form is a fun way to work. There is no need for following a pattern.