Monday, November 14, 2011

Meeting Hightlights: Tunisian Crochet


The study topic for the November meeting was Tunisian crochet.  Maxine and assistants Julie and Barbara walked us through a simple dishcloth utilizing six different Tunisian stitches.

Some things to remember about Tunisian crochet:
  • Naming conventions are not standardized in Tunisian; pay particular attention to pattern instructions.
  • Tunisian creates an extremely dense fabric; you might want to use a hook two or three sizes larger than usual for the weight of yarn used.
  • Pattern rows are composed of two passes:  one in which loops are picked up and placed on the hook and another in which the loops are taken off.
  • Chain the same number of loops as stitches desired for project; the loop on the hook constitutes the first loop on the forward pass.
  • Learn to recognize all of the parts of a Tunisian simple stitch, as different stitch patterns are determined by where you insert the hook.
  • Count the loops on the hook after each forward pass to help reduce the chance of accidentally increasing or decreasing the number of stitches in a row.
 Common problems are:
  • Getting accustomed to using a longer and heavier hook than commonly used in crochet.
  • Not lifting loops high enough on the forward pass, or not making all loops the same size.
  • Excessive curling (which can be tamed by using a Foundation single crochet instead of a regular chain, or using a regular crochet stitch to outline the project.
  • Not inserting your hook in the correct place for the stitch pattern, resulting in a mutating stitch pattern.
 There are a wide variety of Tunisian resources on the Internet.  Tutorials can be found on http://www.knitdenise.com/pages/tunisian-crochet-central and on http://www.stitchdiva.com/.  A Tunisian crochet forum can be found on http://www.ravelry.com/, including list of resources.

The December meeting will have two parts.  The first is a business meeting that will cover a variety of topics, including a new  meeting space and recruiting volunteers to share tasks currently done by Carol and Maxine (the blog!).  The second part will be a swap meet.  Items to swap can include yarns, books, equipment and services (such as finishing another's incomplete project).  Specifics on how the swap will work will be included in the December meeting preview.