Try. Try Again. Repeat as Necessary.
Writing Crochet Bouquet took me about nine months. Developing the flowers and leaves was the most time-consuming part. Once I settled on a particular idea, I crocheted a trial flower or leaf, taking notes as I went.
Most of the time, the flower needed some alteration to match my vision–fuller in one spot, skinnier in another. Maybe the center had to be smaller or larger, or have a different multiple of stitches to support the outside round of petals. Once I figured out what needed to be done, I crocheted it again. Then sometimes, I crocheted it a third time. A few flowers went through four or five alterations before I was satisfied with them.
Early on, I realized that I needed to keep the trial flowers, so I could see how the pattern alterations changed the shape of the flower. The photo shows most of my trials and some pretty bad errors. Luckily some of the errors gave me ideas for design elements.
Experienced crocheters can often figure out exactly what stitches will result in a certain shape. But every now and then, a person just has to sit down and crochet the first draft, no matter how rough it may be. At least it’s a starting point, and one can improve from there.
Old Crochet Book at Comanche Museum
The Comanche County Historical Museum (Comanche, Texas) is open to the public for only a few hours a week: Saturday afternoons from 2:00 to 4:00, Thursday afternoons 2:00 to 5:00, or by appointment. If you’re near, you should go. It is a lovely local museum, with old handwork, machines, rocks and bones, dolls, photos, uniforms, and all sorts of things that give you a glimpse into the history of the community.
It even has an old surrey with a fringe on top. Believe it or not, kids are allowed to sit in it!
My eye was drawn to an old book called Tatting and Crochet Lessons, published in 1915, apparently by a thread company that manufactured Royal Society Cordichet–“The Perfect Crochet Cotton.”
“May I take some pictures of this book?” I asked. “You bet!” the docents said. That’s the beauty of a small local museum–the people in charge are usually right there.
What a difference a century makes in what kinds of things we crochet! For example, the book offers patterns for a crocheted candlestick cover and a candle-shade cover. My favorites were these two: a hair receiver and a hatpin holder.
“Why would you want to save your hair?” asked my daughter. I knew that ladies used pads of their own hair to lift their hair-dos. Also, people used to make hair jewelry, as sentimental gifts or memorial pieces. “Ewww!” my daughter said.
Do you know any other old-time uses for saved hair?
In contrast, this collar would be fine to wear today. It was presented sideways in the book, just like you see it here. The publishers probably thought the readers, having read that it was a collar, were intelligent enough to turn the book to see what the collar would look like around the neck of a garment. You might be surprised to know how much thought goes into modern publications to spare us having to use our imaginations.
I’m glad the people at the museum thought an old crochet book was important enough to keep.
Roses Poncho Finished!
Hurray! It’s finally done!
Yarn, Beads, and Buttons in Tyler, Texas
We tagged along with Charles last weekend to Tyler, Texas, where he went to an archeological conference. Tyler is big enough to have more than one yarn shop and several used book stores. Perfect!
Granny’s Needle Haus on S. Broadway is definitely worth a visit. The store carries all kinds of needlework supplies. The yarn selection is not large, but it is fine for most knitting and crochet projects.
To its great credit, Granny’s Needle Haus is crochet-friendly! There were lots of crochet books and a good selection of threads. I bought a book with patterns for beaded crocheted snowflakes.
Right across the parking lot was Bead Crazee. It was a bead extravaganza! Eva found beads in her favorite yellows and greens. Ella and I sighed over the pink beads. We bought a strand of pink pillow beads to share (the squarish beads in the middle of the photo above).
Bead Crazee has buttons, too. I needed these.
We had to cut our shopping trip short, because Ella really, really wanted to swim in the indoor pool at the motel. We hope Charles will go to next year’s archeological conference, so we can explore more yarn stores in Tyler.
Roses Crochet Along for February
February 2009 is the month for crocheting Roses. Crochet Bouquet offers several to
choose from:
The Traditional Rose (pp. 97-99) is like the rose you might see in vintage doilies or in Irish Crochet pieces. The pattern includes 5-, 6-, 7-, and 8-petal versions.
The Rolled Rose (pp. 69-70) reminds me of a crepe paper rose. It would look great on a hat brim. Later this month, I will post step-by-step photos for assembling this rose.
The Ribbon Rose (pp. 67-68) is made with a crocheted strip. One version has a picot-like edge (except quicker than picots) and the other has a shell edging. Here are step-by-step photos for assembling the ribbon rose.
The Sweetheart Rose (pp. 93-94) is like a wild rose. Variations on the pattern include a single and double round of petals, and an optional round of picots.
The Oval Center Rose (pp. 28-29) is flat, so it would make a good Valentine’s Day card decoration. This one was inspired by the stylized roses I saw on chinaware and decorated tins. I used this rose in my Roses Poncho, which you can read about in the previous post.
So choose your favorite and crochet away! If you hurry, you can use some for Valentine’s Day gifts.
Feel free to save the crochet-along badge to your photo host, and use it on your web site or blog. If you do, please link it back to this post.
Flower Fabric Poncho
I’m almost, almost finished with a crocheted flower poncho that has been in a work-in-progress since the summer of 2006. It is what I call “flower fabric” and this is how you do it:
- Crochet a bunch of flowers and leaves–gauge not too important. I used “Oval Center Rose,” “Rose Leaves,” and “Simple Fives” from Crochet Bouquet.
- Cut a piece or pieces of fabric into the desired shape–you can use a sewing pattern or draft your own garment.
- Pin flowers face-down onto fabric, making sure the edges touch. You can put in lots of flowers to make the fabric dense, or fewer flowers for a lighter fabric.
- Use sewing thread to sew flowers together wherever they touch. The sewing thread usually sinks into the yarn, so you can’t see it.
- Remove the sewn-together crochet from the fabric. Block or press as necessary.
My poncho has about two square feet of flowers for me to sew together before it’s finished. Give me a couple of weeks, and it will be done!
Sunflower on a Grid Twin Set
After sewing two Sunflowers-on-a-Grid from Crochet Bouquet onto a cotton-blend cardigan, I cut away the cardigan fabric behind the filet center of the flower. That allows the cream-colored shell underneath to show through. Instructions are below.
You can use this technique for other projects, too. Be sure to keep in mind what will show through after you cut away the fabric behind the flower’s gridded center.
Twin Set
You will need:
The book Crochet Bouquet
Fine weight (2) linen or cotton yarn. I used Louet Euroflax Sport.
3.5 mm crochet hook (US size E/4)
Purchased cardigan and contrasting or matching top. Sample garments are from Land’s End.
Sewing needle and thread, pins
Sharp scissors
Fray-stopping adhesive, such as Aleene’s® Stop Fraying®
- Crochet one or more Sunflower-on-a-Grid from the book. Stretch and uncurl each petal by hand, then steam lightly to set the petals.
- Arrange the flowers on the cardigan. Pin in place. With sewing thread, sew around petals with a back-stitch.
- Sew around the outside of the single-crochet round.
- On the inside of the cardigan, apply a line of fray-stopping glue just inside the line of stitching from Step 3. Work the glue into the cardigan fabric with the applicator tip. Let dry completely.
- Carefully cut out the cardigan fabric that is inside the line of glue. Trim as necessary so that the cardigan fabric doesn’t show in the gridded center of the flower.
- On the inside of the cardigan, use sewing thread to whip-stitch the cut edge to the sc round of the flower.
- Crochet stem and leaves of your choice. Arrange, pin, and sew in place.
Red Renovation, Phase II
After making darts in my poor old red cardigan, the next step was to lengthen the sweater. I picked up stitches along the original hem and knitted down, adding pleats in front and back.
Pleats can be a real mind-bender. The box pleat in back was easy enough. The hard part was to understand the knife-edge pleats in the front. They were meant to be symmetrical, so one set had to fold to the right, and the other set to the left.
I had to fold a strip of paper to help me visualize the pleats. I wrote many notes and arrows and stitch numbers on it. Once the basic plan was in my head, I got started, only to be flummoxed again when I turned to work across the back. Finally there were enough rows to show the folds of the pleat, and then it was easier.
Wow! Pleats add a lot of stitches!
Daffodil Doily Found
Reader Carol N. of Montana, USA, writes
Hi Suzann,
I bought your book Crochet Bouquet. I thought you might find it interesting that the daffodil doily you mentioned was featured on Clark’s J&P Coats Book No. 258 dated 1949. Just yesterday I bought this book and other vintage crochet books at a thrift store. This doily is the one on the cover. There are many other very beautiful flower doileys featured in the 15 page book.
I may make one myself!
Thank you, Carol! I had never seen a doily like that until I bought it at an antiques store in Comanche, Texas. It’s an unusual doily, and I’m glad to know where to find the pattern.
While I was working on Crochet Bouquet, I found inspiration from vintage crochet books, like the old books shown here, which were published by the Star Thread Company. The patterns are so pretty.
Pansy doilies are a great favorite. Between us, my mother and I have several. This one looks new, but it is crocheted from an old pattern.
One thing is for sure: people love flowers, and they’ve been crocheting them for a long time.
Roses Cape Nearing Finish!
Cousins are a wonderful thing. My girls played with their cousin Ben non-stop on a recent visit. I got to sit uninterrupted at the kitchen table for hours, sewing flowers together on the roses cape.
I talked with my sister-in-law while I sewed. I could watch the television from afar. It was great!
The flowers toward the top of the photo are already sewn. See how nice and smooth they look? The end is finally in sight. Right now, there are about 3 square feet of flowers left to sew. Yay!