Motifs on a mesh

Posted on December 2, 2011 by fats

Two weeks ago, I started working on a purse and left it in this state (photo below).

Start with a zipper and a lace edging.

My intention was to sew the two lace edgings onto the zipper and then build up the body of the purse by joining flower motifs of various sizes either by crocheting or by sewing.

When I returned home from Manila four days ago, I took some time browsing the two other Duplet Magazines that I ordered and had shipped in Manila several months earlier.

Duplet Crochet Magazine Issue #127

From one of the magazines, I found several wonderful mesh patterns and decided to use one. On page 47 of the magazine is some photos and charts for bruge lace. I am experimenting with bruge lace now but for the purse, I decided to use one of the mesh patterns used with bruge lace.

Page 47 of Duplet Crochet Magazine Issue #127

And here is my finished purse!

The finished purse.

I am very happy with the result of this experiment. Although I intended to crochet the motifs together, the shift to sewing the motifs onto a mesh worked very well.

The finished purse.

The hardest part in completing this purse had to do with design decisions – the arrangement of the motifs on both sides of the purse.

The zipper is sewn by hand.

Technically, I also had difficulty sewing on the zipper. I don’t have a sewing machine (which will definitely make life easier) and so I do all of the sewing by hand. I have been thinking of getting a sewing machine but perhaps later when there is much greater need for such.

The purse holds a small notebook and a mobile phone.

Here I use the purse to hold a small notebook and a mobile phone.

The purse is not lined. I couldn’t find the suitable lining for it. Nevertheless, the purse is to be used for keeping larger objects and not for tiny things that can fall through the lacy holes.

Here is one side of the purse.

One side of the purse showing the motifs.

The other side has a different arrangement of motifs.

The other side of the purse showing an arrangement of flowers with leaves.

I enjoyed sewing the motifs onto the mesh. It can be a bit hard and the mesh needs to be blocked into shape before sewing.

Also, how the motifs are sewn determine the appearance and texture of the fabric. If sewn too flat, the fabric can look dull and uninteresting.

I was tempted to cover the entire purse with motifs since that would also cover the holes of the mesh, but I decided not to do this for now. I wanted the mesh to show through since it has a very pretty pattern.

I will try to make another one later, this time maybe with color.

Crochet flowers in color

Posted on November 24, 2011 by fats

Focussing on natural and neutral colors for the past few months, I turned back to bright colors recently, in particular, for some crocheted flowers. It was also the opportunity to use the multi-color threads in my stash.

I’m quite surprised at how well the multi-color threads worked out. One way I used them is in combination with lighter solid color threads for the flower center.

Another way is to use a combination of different multi-color threads, for example, variegated orange and variegated red with berries in variegated violet.

Following these simple rules for combinations, I made several crochet jewellery. Many of them are all-fiber jewellery, that is, they contain no metal findings or plastic or stone beads. There are, it seems, quite a number of people who have allergies to metal and therefore can only wear fibre jewellery.

The strap for most of the crochet jewellery are based on patterns I’ve just learned to make from the Swimsuit #3 issue of Duplet magazine. I usually work the straps in natural, beige or other light or neutral color. I also crochet any number of flowers and berries, focussing more on the flowers themselves rather than on their arrangement on the necklace (or bracelet).

Only later do I arrange the flowers, berries and leaves on the strap, every now and then wearing the necklace to see how the flowers lie around the neck. The weight of the flowers affect the appearance and comfort/wearability of the necklace, especially when I lean forward and move around. Often, I need to add extra crocheted flowers and berries to complete the piece.

Here is a necklace that I made using a metal button.

Summer flowers necklace in green and yellow

I like the color combination of this necklace, and didn’t expect the green and yellow multi-color thread to work so well. The flowers and berries are all made with the same thread but the flower centre uses a thread of the same hue but lighter than the color of the strap. I think that lighter color gave the necklace a kind of focal point. I’m very happy with the result and have also discovered that the color combination is very flattering to the skin.

Here is a similar design using the same combinations of threads but this time using a crocheted berry for button. I have also decided to add a couple more flowers and berries around the necklace to make a more asymmetrical design.

Green and yellow color combination

This necklace uses a lavender color strap and flowers in red and orange variations. The berries are in violet multi-color thread. I used violet to match the hue of the necklace strap. I also love the result of these color combinations!

Violet is the focal point of this necklace.

Usually, I try to choose a hue as focal point and reflect it in other parts of the necklace. The focal color need not be the most dominant color in the piece but it’s role is to balance the visual design of the piece.

For the green and yellow necklace, I realize now that the hue I used as focal point was beige although the dominant colors are green and yellow.

Although green and yellow are domianant colors, the necklace's balancing color is beige.

I hope that these notes are helpful for other designers working with color, especially with multi-color threads.

These necklaces and more are now available at The Crochetology Shop.

Lace dress – a study in motifs

Posted on November 21, 2011 by fats

Amidst hectic preparations for a short visit to Manila, the crocheted dress is now finished. At a certain point in the process – where I have completed motifs in an inverted triangle shape at the front and back of the dress – I decided to use the various large motifs completed earlier, to occupy areas at the sides of the dress, in free-form technique.

The dress before attaching the large motifs.

The large flower motifs are based on patterns found in two Duplet magazines: The Swimsuit Edition #3 and Duplet Issue #112. The crochet symbol chart in the Swimsuit Edition was easier to understand, thanks to the use of shading to identify rounds in the pattern.

Flower motifs following Duplet patterns

Attaching the motifs to the dress proved difficult. I used a combination of crochet stitches and needlework. I used the 5-chain mesh and in certain areas, a join consisting of dc, ch 3, dc. Two motifs on each side of the dress were attached first (one is shown here) with the chain mesh. After 3 rows of chain meshes, I completed the edging with a simple “(ch 3, 3 dc) in loop, sc in next loop” pattern repeat.

Attaching one of the motifs to one side of the dress

Attaching the motifs - work in progress

Smaller and larger motifs follow, some overlapping the mesh. Most of the work in this case were done on each side of the dress.

Detail of one side of the dress using motifs in natural and lavender colors

One side of the dress uses motifs tinged with lavender thread, and the other side I decided to keep on the natural color.

Detail of the other side of the dress using motifs in natural cotton

And here is the finished dress, showing ether front or back. I have not decided which should be the front or back of the dress. Either way the dress can be worn

The finished dress

The dress is rather short, just above the knee, and thus can also be worn as a top over jeans or a skirt. I was hoping to wear this to my mom;s birthday, but there isn’t enough time left to block and dry it.

The finished dress

Making this dress wasn’t easy. A lot of design decisions had to be made and errors weren’t easy to rectify. Near the waist of the dress I used an alternating row of motifs with 3D flowers. That was a decision that proved wrong when I finished the dress because the flowers appeared oddly asymmetrical across the waist. I like asymmetry but this was a bit off, looking like funny unbalanced buttons on the dress. Removing those motifs would’ve ruined the dress so I had to rectify the problem by attaching similar 3D flowers arranged at an angle in between the motifs. The intention was to break the uncomfortable asymmetry.

I learned a lot of new things completing this dress and I feel relatively happy with it – not very happy but enough. I think that there is still something lacking because I feel that I could’ve done this dress differently. Perhaps after some time I will see it.

Crochet-Joining and Needle-Joining Motifs

Posted on November 17, 2011 by fats

The other day, I completed a new flower motifs collar after nearly a week laboring the design and technique. As with previous Irish-crochet inspired pieces that I completed in several days, this collar consists of flower motifs, this time in multi-color cotton thread.

I started by crocheting the flowers separately and then arranging them on a flat surface. Typically, I crochet as many flowers as I like, sometimes guided by a general design idea such as “one large flower surrounded by medium sized ones and two or three tiny ones of different color placed somewhere along the margins.”

The next step is joining the flower motifs together all along the outside of the shape through crochet stitches. To hold the motifs together while working, I sometimes use pins as shown in the photograph below.

In the inside of the shape, I decided not to use crochet stitches this time, but rather to use a needle, as I have seen in some of the techniques in making needle-made laces. This results in a tighter, closer and stiffer join.

Here is the finished shape. I made two of these, each with three small rings along one end for joining together. Although, making these shapes wasn’t too difficult, I spent a lot of time testing and deciding on the final shape of the collar, as well as the method of joining them together and securing the collar in place.

I had thought of making two asymmetrical collars, a collar with a criss-cross tie like a lace-up corset, as well as using the shape as a hairband. The final design is so simple (a collar joined with rings in the middle and secured with flower pin) that one wouldn’t think I had to go through all the trouble of trying out all sorts of other designs.

The finished flower motifs collar, available at The Crochetology Shop at http://crochetology.net/shop/

With the collar now out of the way, I have returned to working on the motif top (or dress) which I started several weeks ago using a motif from a free shrug pattern from Pierrot Yarns Japan.

Motif dress in progress

I stopped at the point where I needed to make a decision whether to make a top or to make a whole dress. I am tempted to make a dress but couldn’t really bear having to make more of the same motifs. So this time, I decided to use two different motifs for the lower half of the dress.

Detail of one of the motifs.

For the lower half, I have started using a larger hook in order to make larger motifs to accommodate the hips. Without shaping, I will look like a springroll with a bulge in the stomach and the bum.

The new motifs are likewise crochet joined. The most difficult in this process is again the decision-making – which motifs to use? Which motifs will go well together visually and structurally? It was also necessary to modify the motifs that I used which came from crochet dictionaries and the shrug pattern.

For instance,I decided to lessen the number of dc’s in the dc-bobbles of the motif from the shrug pattern so that I can come up with a lighter fabric more suitable for the summer time. I also had to modify the last rows of the two additional motifs in order to use them together with a join-as-you-go method.

So yes, this crocheted garment is hopefully going to be a dress if I don’t get distracted into turning it into something else.

Forest Candy

Posted on April 23, 2011 by fats

Forest Candy is a truly colorful necklace made with green crochet cotton thread and multi-color thread. Choose you favorite multi-color thread – in sunny colors such as this, or in blues, browns or reds to change the mood of the piece.

When making crocheted jewelry such as this, you may wish to starch the pieces so that the edges don’t fold over while wearing. There’s a very good page about stiffening/starching crochet at the Crochet Memories website. You can starch mildly and wash off when you launder the necklace. Apart from stiffening, starch protects the fabric and so dirt goes to the starch and not on the fabric.

If you like these patterns and make a finished object, please let me know. I would love to see finished work or modifications of the patterns I make. If you have any questions or comments or if you find any errors in the patterns, please let me know as well, so that I can correct and update the patterns.

Forest Candy by Fatima Lasay

Skill Level: Intermediate

Finished Measurements: Approximately 11” long without ties; 26” long with ties

Yarn: Multi-color crochet cotton thread size 8

Green crochet cotton thread size 8

Hook: Steel crochet hook size Japan 3 or US 10 Steel (1.3mm)

Aluminum crochet hook size Japan 4/0 or US 0 Steel (2.5mm)

Gauge: Exact gauge is not crucial for this pattern.

Notions: Needle and matching-color thread

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

Instructions:

Special Stitches:

Back Loop Single Crochet (BLsc): Work sc as normal except that you insert the hook not in both loops of the st, but the loop that is further away as you look at the work. The result is a softer, stretchier fabric that looks very different from stitches worked in front loops only or in both loops.

Picot: Ch 3, sl st in base of ch-3.

Motifs:

5-Petal Flower: (Make 2)

With multi-color thread, ch 4, sl st in 1st ch to form ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 10 sc in ring, sl st in 1st sc to join.

Rnd 2: *Ch 2, 3 dc in next sc, ch 2, sl st in next sc, rep fr * 4 times, sl st in 1st sc to join. Fasten off.

6-Petal Flower: (Make 3)

With multi-color thread, ch 5, sl st in first ch to form ring.

Rnd 1: (Ch 3, [yo, insert hook in ring and draw up loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook] 2 times, yo and draw through all loops on hook, ch 3, sl st in ring) 6 times. Fasten off.

7-Petal Flower: (Make 3)

With multi-color thread, ch 5, sl st in 1st ch to form ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 14 sc in ring, sl st in 1st sc to join.

Rnd 2: *Ch 2, 3 dc in next sc, ch 2, sl st in next sc, rep fr * 6 times. Sl st in 1st sc to join. Fasten off.

12-Petal Flower: (Make 3)

With multi-color thread, ch 6, sl st in 1st ch to form ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 12 sc in ring, sl st in 1st sc to join.

Rnd 2: (Ch 5, sc in 3rd ch fr hook, hdc in next ch, sl st in next ch, sl st in next sc of previous rnd) 12 times. Fasten off.

Leaf: (Make 5)

Crochet symbol chart for the leaf.

With green thread, ch 10.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, sc in 2nd ch fr hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next 2 ch, tr in next ch, dc in next 3 ch, hdc in next ch, sc in last ch; ch 1, 2 BLsc in last ch (this turns you now to other side of foundation chain), BLsc in next ch, *picot, BLsc in next 2 sts, rep fr * all around leaf ending with sl st in 1st sc to join. Fasten off.

Rings (Make 2):

With multi-color thread, ch 4, sl st in 1st ch to form ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 10 sc in ring. Fasten off.

Experiment with other colors of thread and other arrangements of the motifs.

Assembly/Finishing:

Using the photograph below as guide, arrange the motifs and pin together. Turn over and sew at the back with matching color thread.

You may use this photo as guide or you can create your own motif arrangement. Add more motifs as needed.

To make the ties: With two strands of green thread held together, join to ring with two sc, ch 54, 3 tr in 4th ch fr hook. Fasten off. Rep for other ring.

Weave in tail ends and block flat.

To wear the necklace, simply tie at the back.