Shaping Garment Pieces: March 10 Meeting Preview

Are you bored with making rectangle-shaped garments and ready to take your skills to the next level? Or have you tried more complex garments but been disappointed with the results? If so, this next series of meetings are just what you need as we delve into one of the most-requested topics from our member questions - making crochet garments.

Making garments is such a broad topic that we're breaking it down into several separate presentations. The March 10 meeting (2:30 to 4:30 pm at Prospect Park United Methodist Church) will be all about constructing garment pieces to a specific shape and size. At this month's class you'll have an opportunity to:

• Practice shaping techniques using increases and decreases
• Learn how a garment's finished size relates to gauge and what to do if you can't "get gauge"
• Learn tips and tricks for analyzing a pattern to know if it's suitable for your yarn and your skill level
• Review special terminology used in garment patterns

A raglan-sleeved baby sweater pattern will be provided to all participants, although it is not necessary to make the entire garment to learn from the classs. You'll make a variety of sample swatches in this class and can use the techniques you learn with many other projects.

For those who are interested in the sweater, Maxine's in-progress sample is shown here. The sweater requires approximately one and a half skeins (3.5 oz each) of worsted weight yarn - the sample was made with Plymouth Encore Colorspun.

Note: It is perfectly acceptable to use another pattern as the project for this class and the April class (Blocking and Finishing Garments) - with the understanding that the presenter will not have had the time to study details of your pattern.


To get the most from this class, please bring the following materials:

• A generous gauge swatch (at least 5" x 5") worked in FLdc (front-loop double crochet) in a worsted weight yarn; use a hook size that will get you as close to the following gauge as possible: 13 stitches and 6 rows = 4". Important: If you are making the baby sweater, work this swatch in the same yarn that you'll be using for the sweater.
• Crochet hook in the size you used to work the swatch . For many crocheters, the hook size for worsted weight yarn will likely be I9 or J10.
• Extra yarn for class samples and for the project. You don't have to use the same yarn for the class samples as you use for the project, but it should be the same weight.
• A calculator and pencil/pen. The calculations will be simple, so if your cell phone has a calculator, that will work fine.

As always at our meetings, participation in the class is optional and there's a separate table set aside for anyone who wants to use the meeting time to work on other projects. Tthis month, we'll also have a separate area where Carol will work with beginners on projects and problems of their choice.

We'll also have a short report (10 - 15 minutes) at the beginning of the meeting from the new officers on some chapter business.

We hope to see you on Saturday the 10th!

Meeting Hightlights: Crocheting a Moebius

We started our meeting with a short business session to elect the first officers for our group.  Offices filled were President (Maxine), Vice-President (Peggy), Secretary (Carol) & Treasurer (Jodi).  This slate of officers will serve our group from March 2012 until February 2013.

Joy & the long, long strap

Our new space sure makes show-and-tell a lot more fun.  Sight lines are a lot better, facilitating a real dialog when people are seeking solutions to problems.  This month's projects are found in a separate post.

Carol taught us the fine points of creating a moebius by leading some exercises illustrating the special problems involved with moebius construction.  The biggest problem is determining the length.  While you can wrap a tape measure around your neck to get a measurement, tape measures don't drape and often won't hang straight.  You can make a long chain and keep trying it on in front of a mirror, but the chain is too light weight; a chain that looks the proper length might actually yield a garment that is longer than you wished.  A better option is a long strip of fabric; it is easier to see, and you can wrap it any way you want and it will likely stay in place.

To illustrate that this garment really is not one-size-fits-all, we put the same moebius on people of different heights and body types.  This gave everyone a better idea about how long the moebius needs to be in order to be worn in the method desired (around the neck as a scarf, doubled up, around your shoulders, or down on the arms).

Some other good tips:

• Start with a foundation chain, not a regular chain.  It is stretchier than a regular chain and makes it easier to get the 180 degree twist right.
• After making the foundation chain, crochet only one full row before trying on the moebius.  This will give you a good indication of final size and drape and you won't have far to frog if you don't like the length.
• While the demonstration project used a double crochet/chain one combination, you can use any stitch pattern, or stitches of any height.  Stitch patterns that have obvious right and wrong sides will produce a moebius that is half right and half wrong.
• Once you have decided on your stitch pattern, make a 6" square swatch of your design to keep handy when you start your project.

A copy of the moebius pattern and instructions for creating the foundation chain are available by sending an email request to ctclist@gmail.com.  Below is a photo of two moebius' that Carol has completed and brought to show us:

Our next meeting will be March 10th.  This meeting will be the first of a three-part series of meetings devoted to crocheted garment construction.  The first meeting will explore shaping garment pieces to fit your body type.  The garments that we will be exploring will be of the seamed variety.

Project Gallery February 2012

Jodi finished her first felted bag! She wanted to add a stripe in after the construction was complete. She accomplished this by slip stitching the pink yarn over the gray body of the bag prior to felting it (as shown in the example to the left of the bag). She added a pretty button which completed the look.

Maria Ann created two felted bags. She has not yet cut the handle into the purple variegated bag but
you can see that the variegated yarn with the purple top turned out nicely.  On the right, she created an iPad cover in bright green & pink stripes. She even included a pocket on the inside for paper & pens!

Joy created a nice felted bag with a handle. Unfortunately, the handle did not felt up as completely as the bag did and ended up being too long. We all felt that there is something she can do to make the handle shorter (maybe knotting it to make it hang the correct length from her shoulder). There is always something to learn with felting and it might take a few tries to get it exactly right.

Carmelle crocheted a lovely heart-shaped candy box for her Mother for Valentine's Day. She still has
to finish the top and crochet the candy (as shown in the photo) before her Mom can enjoy it!  We all thought it was very creative.

Maxine created two frog hats - a girl on the left (winking) and a boy (prince) on the right.  We all agreed that her self-designed pattern creations were darling.

Maxine also brought in two moebius that she had previously created in different types of yarn.

This is another photo of Joy's felted purse, but also shows the lovely pineapple doily that she recently crocheted. 

Jeanne is working on a vest for her husband.  The fabric is just beautiful, and the shaping is expert.

Jody just attended her first meeting, but she's responsible for helping us find our new meeting space--thanks a heap!   She was wearing a pair of leg warmers made out of a seed stitch pattern.

Roving Crochet Reporter: Portugal Report Month 1

This is a post from our friend Julie who is in Portugal.

The skies have been sunny at least part of every day. The grass is green, birds are singing, flowers are blooming. The tangerines are fabulous. All of the food is local = fresh and full of flavor. The temp has ranged from almost 70 a couple days, almost freezing a couple days. Generally between 40 and 60.
The beach house is lovely. T2 which means two bedrooms two bathrooms. We have learned the house is warmer and smells better when the dehumidifier is running and the clothes on the line need to be dry and off the line by mid-afternoon or they become damp again.


The house is located by the lighthouse Carbo Sardaõ, which is an easy google map search. It is four minutes by walking or two by biking.




So my crochet research has confirmed there are multiple crochet magazines available at the newsstand. I haven't found any pattern books in the bookstores where I have looked. Thread crochet is predominant. I have found several stores that have a hundred (more or less) different threads available. 100+ Different colors, variegated. Amazing. Good for my practice of filet crochet.

Yarn is less common. In the area I am in the yarn is mostly found in the 'Chinese Stores' (similar to
the dollar stores in the states) so price is cheap, usually 75 cents to a dollar for 50 grams but the quality is also poor. I do have a couple of favorite shops in Lisbon, which have some lovely yarns available. The local market had a limited offering of cotton yarns from Germany. They came four to a package @ 50 grams each. Also included were two patterns and the proper sized crochet hook. Bonus!!

I have completed a couple projects I brought along. And a couple of placemats and hot pads and a stash busting lopsided rug. Now I am working on a project for me.

There are several field trip opportunities. Lace is very common and there is a lace museum in the northern part of Portugal. There is a wool museum in Covilhâ. And a tapestry museum in the interior close to Spain.

Hope you are all warm and healthy!

Crocheting a Moebius: February 11 Meeting Preview

A moebius is not an ordinary circular scarf.  It is created by twisting one end of the starting chain 180 degrees before joining into a circle.  That twist allows you to create a scarf that has two identical edges and grows upward and downward at the same time.

This class will explore ways to determine how long to make your starting chain.  It will teach you a new way of making a foundation chain, a way that will improve your chances of making the chain (and moebius) exactly as long as you want and need it to be.  For more information on the moebius project, check out this earlier post on this blog.  A pattern will be distributed at the meeting, along with detailed directions for making a foundation double crochet lattice.

We will be making several swatches.  Although you are free to use your project yarn for this class, I would suggest using any worsted weight yarn that provides good stitch definition for the swatches.  It need not be self-striping, but if it is, you’ll see how length of garment affects the colorway.  Foundation chains can be tricky to learn and lead to a lot of frogging; this particular chain might be more difficult than an ordinary foundation double crochet (fdc).  Making a smaller version of your desired moebius will allow you to learn the stitch, do the twist, and see how the garment grows.

I used 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden (an Aran weight self-striping yarn, 110 yards to a skein) for my short moebius (circumference 48 inches).  For the longer, wider moebius (circumference 54 inches), I used about 1.33 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Sock (a sport weight self-striping yarn, 328 yard to a skein), but could have gotten by easily with a single skein.

Materials you'll need for this class:

• At least 100 yards of worsted weight yarn
• Size H hook or hook size of your preference (gauge not important in this garment)
• Pen or pencil
• Scotch tape or some dressmakers pins
• Tape measure
• Knit/crochet gauge - optional (easier to work with than tape measure for swatches)
• Note pad

We will meet at 2:30 PM in our new meeting space at Prospect Park United Methodist Church.  If the front door is locked and the time near 2:30, use the handicapped entrance found to the north (uphill) of the main entrance.

The first order of business will be the election of officers.  Please give some thought of serving as an officer or nominate someone.  If we have multiple candidates for any position, we will have a secret ballot.  Otherwise, election will be by acclamation.  The second order of business will be show and tell.  If you have made a moebius before, we'd like to see it and hear and tips you might want to share.