The absolute minimum supplies and tools you need to start playing with crochet. First of a series.

Crochet is a craft where you use a tool called a "crochet hook" to turn yarn into cloth items such as scarves, bags, dishcloths etc. Crocheted cloth is best suited for items which you do not want to be stretchy. It is equally easy to make flat panels or tubes with crochet. One can also make interestingly-shaped items; corkscrew spirals, hyperbolic surfaces, spheres, etc. This makes crochet favoured for making dolls and toys with (Amigurumi). Crochet is also well-suited for making lace (do a google search for "Irish Crochet"). ( Read more... )

Here’s a tutorial on how to make the Chained Chain Join for joining pieces in crochet. It creates a beautiful textured braid between the two pieces that are joined.

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Here are some things I have recently completed.

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Excuse me if you've seen these before, but I think I forgot to post them at the time. This is a bunch of craft I made earlier this year, mostly in January.

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I've been collecting various Tunisian Crochet stitch tutorials (see my bookmark collection). I've noticed some stitches in the collection are a combination of a base stitch plus some additional feature, and I realized that the additional features could be added to different base stitches to make even more stitch variations. So I thought I'd be systematic in cataloguing these variant features.

The base stitch used in the variants I found is usually either Tunisian Simple Stitch or Tunisian Knit Stitch, but these modifications could be done to other base stitches such as Backwards Simple Stitch or Full Stitch etc.

Extended:
After pulling up a loop, chain one.
* Seed Stitch (but I prefer to call it Extended Knit Stitch)

Doubled:
The "Double Crochet" version of a stitch. Before inserting the hook, yarn over. After pulling up a loop, yarn over and pull through two instead of one. (Likewise, trebled with treble crochet etc.)
* Double Stitch

Purled:
Do a purl-wrap on the stitch.
* Purl Stitch

Bambooed:
Add the "Bamboo Stitch" horizontal bar variation to the stitch.
* Tunisian Bamboo Stitch

Crossed:
Skip one stitch, do a stitch, go back and do the skipped stitch.
* Crossed Stitch

Then we get the stitch patterns which combine two different stitches and often get called things like "Moss Stitch" or "Seed Stitch" irrelevant of which particular two stitches are combined.

Alternating (or Ribbing)
Stitch A, followed by Stitch B.
"Rib Stitch" (using Simple Stitch and Twisted Simple Stitch)

Alternating Offset
In row 1, AB and in row 2, BA.

* "Seed Stitch" (Knit Stitch + Backwards Simple Stitch)
* "Moss Stitch" (Simple Stitch + Purl Stitch)

Basketweaving
Resembling a basket-weave; one stitch needs to have vertical bars, the other stitch needs to have horizontal bars.

AAABBB
AAABBB
AAABBB
BBBAAA
BBBAAA
BBBAAA

Most commonly done with Knit Stitch and Purl Stitch but I think other stitches could work as well.

The start of December, I finished off a number of half-done projects so that I could contribute to the "Creating A Welcome" craft market which was raising money for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, which had been pointed out to me by reynardo which we had both intended to make gifts for, but other things happened... so I was making gifts at the start of December. December was also the month of last-minute gifts and of one more fan fest.
( pictures and descriptions )
So that was a year full of craft! I'd forgotten the huge amount I'd done, not just when I was off work, but all through the year. So that's good - I have Accomplished!

August was the month of maille, crochet and spool-knitting.
( pictures and descriptions )

February's craft was a cover for my e-book reader.

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Freeform Crochet has been described as "random" and "anything goes", and "crocheting without a pattern", but it isn't, not really.

1. There are lots of step-by-step tutorials on "how to make a scrumble", which kind of goes against the whole "random" idea, doesn't it? Mind you, I think part of that is because some people are scared of not having a pattern to tell them what to do, so they need a guide to help dip their toes in. Presumably they either spread their wings or retreat.

2. It isn't actually random, because there is design. Correction: the good stuff has design. The crappy stuff is truly random.

3. There are patterns too - at least if one is making a garment, you have to have a (sewing) pattern to conform to in order to make something garment-like. And if your garment is lined, then there's definitely a sewing pattern happening, for the lining, and to make the rest of it line up with the lining.

4. There's also the tricky bit of trying to ensure that each scrumble is flat rather than bunched up.

There exist some absolutely fabulous artists in this field, and also others who Just Don't Get It, and make stuff that I consider to be pretty ugly.
( examples )

Most of this was finished last weekend, but I've just now scanned them in and uploaded them to my gallery.

Red crochet necklace + earrings (I'm keeping this one):


Blue crochet necklace + earrings:


Hair-jewellery!
These are a bit of an experiment, but the idea is to clip it into your hair to make it look pretty. These are destined as a Christmas present, but I like them enough I think I will make some for myself, either chainmaille or crochet or both.


Edited to point to new offsite album