THE MAKING OF A LOVELY CARDIGAN IN TUNISIAN CROCHET In the last little while, as you may have noticed, I have been working on an ambitious project: the creation of a Tunisian crochet garment, using a leaf motif (or "spades", as I preferred to call it) already seen in some wonderful knitting projects. First, I thought about replicating the spade pattern in Tunisian crochet, which was not difficult, as I have created similar patterns before - you can find them, for example, in these projects of mine: Leaf it On Shawl , Leaf it On Scarf , Leaf it On Cowl . Leaf it On Scarf Next, I thought it best to make a garment that had a simple workmanship, i.e. worked flat, and not in the round, to avoid, at least initially, over-complicating the design. A cardigan, therefore, was the best choice. Next, I chose a yarn that I liked and opted for a fine multicoloured yarn. This was the result: "QUEEN OF SPADES" - THE CAL! I liked the finished garment very much, and so did you, whic
Just like in knitting and crochet,
you can create “round” items - such as hats, cowls, sweaters, socks - in
Tunisian crochet as well. To work Tunisian crochet “in the round” (as it's called) you need a special Tunisian hook and you have to learn how to do it. As
you read in my previous blog post “Tunisian Crochet: Tools and Equipment”, to
work Tunisian crochet in the round you will typically need a double-pointed
Tunisian hook, i.e. a straight hook in different lengths and sizes with two
hook tips at its opposite ends. In alternative, you can also use 2 Tunisian
hooks in the same size, joined by a short cable. You will also need 2 separate
balls of yarn, either in the same colour or in a different colour, if you want
to obtain a nice contrast in shade.
Tools for Tunisian crochet worked in the round
HOW TO WORK TUNISIAN CROCHET IN THE
ROUND
As I mentioned earlier, in order to
be able to work Tunisian crochet in the round you need to learn a new procedure.
The reason for this is simple: if you start drawing up loops on the hook from a
chain closed into a circle, you will soon struggle in doing so, because the
hook is straight and the form you want to obtain is circular. So what you need to do is
pulling up as many loops on the hook as you can and, when you feel you can no
longer proceed, flip the hook, move all the loops towards the working tip of
the hook and start casting them off with a Return Pass using the 2nd
ball of yarn. After you have brought most loops off the hook, you will be able
to pull up new stitches, so you will need to flip the hook again and resume drawing up loops as you were doing before. Again, you will pull up loops as long as you
can and then flip the hook again and cast those loops off the hook.
Working Tunisian crochet in the round
means working in spiralling rounds, in continuous cast on and cast off stages. This
is why I often describe these motions as “a continuous Forward Pass followed by a continuous Return Pass”.
WORKING TUNISIAN CROCHET IN THE ROUND
IS FUN!
I suggest you take a look at my video
tutorial on how to work Tunisian crochet in the round on my YouTube Channel “HookloopsarahCrochet”, because a visual explanation is often better than any written
description!
Don’t be put off by this “new
technique”: I know it sounds complicated, and may seem so at first, but I
promise after a while it will become absolutely easy and natural for you to
crochet this way. Tunisian crochet in the round also allows wonderful projects
where you can obtain stunning colourful effects. Take a look at my “Moroccan”market bag in Tunisian Honeycomb Stitch worked in the round, for example: see
what I mean with “stunning colourful effects”?
I was wondering, what yarn is used in the first picture? White to paddle yellow, yellow, golden?
ReplyDeleteI am using a self-striping yarn that ranges from white to orange. It's by Tessiland (www.tessiland.com)
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