Thor the tabby cat is fascinated with all things yarn. We are working on what is appropriate and what is not. The ribbon on the stick is fair game, the ball of yarn leading to my hands is not. He jumped up on my chair to watch some yarn unroll, was being very polite, and fell asleep.
Photo description: Gray tabby cat asleep along my leg, with his paws touching a bundle of tan colored yarn. Calico cat laying on my lap.
I’m experimenting with the overlay mosaic technique, but as a way to introduce texture. By using one color of yarn, and stitching in the round, I produced quite a nice basket weave type structure. I am also using a size G (4.0mm) hook with worsted weight acrylic yarn, which is smaller than recommended to make a stiffer fabric. This pattern uses two single crochets in the back loop then one double crochet in front loop of the previous row. The ruler is to assess the gauge.
Photo description: In the foreground a small swatch of crocheted fabric held against a ruler. In the background a gray tabby yawning next to a calico cat on my lap.
Thor slept through the whole swatching process, and Izzy the calico never noticed he was within an inch of her.
After experimenting with mosaic crochet in rows, I decided to try a pattern in the “round”. These are built in a similar manner to granny squares, working from the inside out and producing a flat fabric. I followed a terrazzo pattern from a YouTube video.
Photo description: Mosaic crochet square in purple and light pink with diagonal wavy lines and a wide border covering a sleeping Calico cat.
I have to admit that although I really like this pattern, it makes my eyes vibrate. I finished off the square with a solid round of pink, then a wider band of purple to offset the trippy. The neat part of mosaic crochet this way is that you don’t have to cut the ends of the yarn for each round. I switched colors, but didn’t cut, so it worked up without dealing with multiple ends.
Relatively recently, I discovered the concept of mosaic crochet. Then a few weeks later, actually met someone at a craft fair that does mosaic crochet, and she showed me pictures of the stunning blankets she had made, and explained to me the difference between mosaic and tapestry crochet. Another name for mosaic crochet is overlay crochet, and it consists of alternating rows of color in back loop single crochet, with double crochet stitches that dip down over previous rows to block out color. What fascinated me most? No floats. No loose loops of yarn along the back to catch at fingers and toes. I had to try. (For those interested, tapestry crochet carries threads along the row, hiding them in the stitch until needed. That is a future project.)
Photo description: Gray and cream crochet square with rows of spirals in different orientations and square bullseyes along the center row. There are a couple errors in the execution.
I recently acquired a bag of odds and ends yarn from a fellow crafter. This is the perfect stash to draw from for experimentation! I looked up some basic mosaic crochet instructions, and settled on trying a simple spiral (because I like them). I did the first row of motifs with little problem, so did the next row with a reverse motif. The little problem was a counting and repeat issue, but rather than starting over, I adjusted the pattern to my change. It is an experiment. I left long ends on each side, because I wasn’t sure if I wanted fringe, and it actually made me loose at yarn chicken and I had to slightly switch yarn color for the last row. Ah well. The back of the piece is nearly as exciting as the front, neat lines!
Photo description: Back of same crochet square, showing horizontal lines of alternating color.
One of the other techniques I learned in this project is a standing single crochet. As the mosaic crochet is worked from the front only (I worked from right to left on every row), the first stitch starts with a new strand every time. To make things neat, tidy, and secure, it helps to start each row with a slip knot on the hook, then single crochet into the first space. Very cool technique.
I combined all the kitchen aids I’ve been making into a bundle to sell at a local craft fair. The produce bag is the packaging, and inside are two cotton washcloths, a dish scrubby, and a towel holder. I even did them in a variety of color combinations.
Photo description: Stack of filled and labeled hand-made produce bags, with the contents of one bag displayed in front, all sitting on a kitchen counter with a basket of apples in the background.
Here is a versatile little towel holder! It uses one metal ring, which is covered with single crochet stitches, a band that can be any pattern of stitches with a 2-4 repeat, and a soft loop made by making a chain long enough to go around the metal loop, then is also covered in single crochet stitches.
Photo description: crocheted towel holder hung over an oven handle with a cotton hand towel threaded through both loops.Photo description: Same towel holder, but with the hard loop through the soft loop over the oven handle. This configuration is nice because the towel holder will stay on the handle even without a towel.Photo description: Same towel holder hung from a cupboard knob.
On the holder pictured, row 1 is a single crochet (sc), chain 2 (ch2), sc, ch2, sc. Then row 2 is ch2, double crochet (dc) in first sc, 3dc in next sc, 2dc in last sc. Row 1 and 2 are repeated. After making the soft loop, I like to sc across the top of the band as well, then tack the edge down to make the circle a little neater. These can be made with any yarn, and different bands. They are quick and useful!
