This is the first installment in what I am hoping will become a series, not scheduled but shared as I stumble upon them, of vintage crochet techniques. What do I mean by that? Techniques in crochet, either in the stitching or in the writing, that were the “norm” about 40 years ago, but that confuse many crocheters now, even those who would consider themselves seasoned.
I recent;y published a pattern that had a technique my tech editor was unfamiliar with. To the point that they suggested I change what I had done to be worked the way that they were familiar with. I understand the premise as a tech editor myself, but as a designer I wish they would have asked more questions or tried to work a few rounds of what I had done.
This technique is the manner I used in the pattern to join the rounds of a motif in order to begin the next motif in the joining chain space. This method was common place in the crochet books that I learned from. Books my mom had been hauling around since I was small in the early ’80s.
I had read or worked so many of those patterns when I started writing my own patterns that joining in this manner was second nature to me. It still makes the most sense in most situations, I think.
This was one of the editor’s suggestions that I didn’t take, to change this joining method to something more familiar to the contemporary crocheter. It also confused some of my testers. I still didn’t change it. It’s not that I am stubborn, it’s that I want people to see that there can be another way and sometimes that way is better in some situations, as in this pattern.
I ended up making a full tutorial about it and you can see that HERE.
The basic idea is that the final chain space, right before joining, is not made up of only chain stitches but is instead made up of fewer chain stitches than the other spaces and then instead of joining with a slip stitch, the round is joined with a single, half, double or even treble crochet. The goal is to have the loop left on the hook be about midway in the “chain space”.
This joining method can be used for granny squares, hexagons and other motifs. It is also very practical, looks nice and is easier to work in many doily patterns.
Download the file, follow the directions and let me know what you think in the comments.
Happy Making!
Azariahs Fibre Arts 