A Few of My Favorite Fibers

I know I can't be the only one humming along right now, right?

One of the most rewarding and yet most frustrating things crafters with wool and/or animal fiber allergies in general deal with is finding safe yarn and fibers.  Every allergy is different!  But, based on my personal experience as someone highly allergic to all animal fibers, here are a few of...

.. well, you know. ;o)

Spinning fibers:

Blaine Fleece and Fiber Etsy
Blaine Fleece and Fiber Ravelry
Supernatural Yarns Etsy
Supernatural Yarns Ravelry

Yarns:

Bernat
Caron
Lion Brand
I Love This Yarn
Baby Bee Sweet Delight
Loops and Threads Woolike
Bernat Pop!
Lion Brand Mandala (Don't worry, you can find it at Wal-Mart)
Knit One-Crochet Too Ty-Dy
Sheepjes Whirl
Cascade Yarns Sunseeker Shade
Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima Cotton
Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy
Valley Yarns Southwick
Mary Gavan Canyon (here's that poncho I mention)
Miss Babs Mulberry Silk
Miss Babs Wild Silk
Handmaiden Yarns Sea Silk
Prism Delicato Layers

I buy most of my higher end yarns from Yarn.com (WEBS) and my local yarn store.

Happy crafting!

Tutorial - Puffs and Bobbles and Popcorns, Oh My!

Have you ever seen a project with textures bumps and wondered how they did it? 

Or perhaps you've seen patterns that use the term puff, bobble or popcorn without really explaining what they mean. 

Here's how to tell them apart, and try them yourself!

Puff Stitch - known for it's smooth even loops.

It's made by adding loops to a single crochet stitch like this:

In the middle of a single crochet row here, I'll be working all my loops into the next stitch.

The yarn over is loop number two.


Insert the hook into the next stitch, yarn over and pull up loop three.

Repeat yarn overs and pull throughs until there are nine loops on the hook.

Yarn  over and pull through all nine loops to finish a puff stitch.

Completed puff stitch.  You can see that the working loop is pulled toward the right, which can skew your fabric.

So a lot of patterns will add a "chain 1" after the puff to bring the working loop to the left, ready for the next stitch.

Bobble Stitch - known for its taller double crochet height.

It's made by working a huge double crochet decrease into the same working stitch like this:

Once again, in the middle of a single crochet row, and I'll be working into the next stitch.

Bobbles are usually double crochet decreases, but of course they can be any size as determined by your pattern.

You might recall that a double crochet decrease is worked like a double crochet stitch all the way up to the last loop.

For this bobble, I worked five double crochet decreases.  You can see my first working loop plus five half completed double crochet stitches.


Yarn over and draw through all six loops.

Bobble complete!

You can see that the working loop is pulled toward the right, which can skew your fabric.

So a lot of patterns will add a "chain 1" after the bobble to bring the working loop to the left, ready for the next stitch.

Here's what it looks like after the next single crochet is worked.  See how is pushes the bulk of the bobble forward?

Here's how it looks from the top.  Patterns will specify whether they want you to work the next row into the bobble itself or the chain 1. 

Usually it's the chain 1 which lies at the top of the stitch - next to my hook here.

Popcorn Stitch - known for it's open top, which makes the shape more oval than a round bobble. 

Also usually worked in double crochet.

Yet again, in the middle of a single crochet row, and I'll be working into the next stitch.

Popcorn stitches are usually in double crochet, but they can vary based on the pattern.

Here's my first double crochet stitch.  The rest will be worked into the same space.

A total of five double crochet stitches...

Lengthen that working loop a bit, and remove your hook.

Count back to the first double crochet (in this case five) and insert your hook into that stitch.

Pull the working loop all the way through...

... pulling the double crochet stitches into a circle.

You'll ignore the stitches in the circle when working your next row, as the only stitch that counts is the first one you pulled the working loop through.

Here's how it looks from the front.









And now you know how to safely navigate through the forest of puffs, bobbles and popcorns.  Clear as mud? Then let me show you!

As always, please let me know if I can answer any questions.  Until next time, choose to be kind.

Tutorial - Corner to Corner (C2C)

This week let's focus on a popular technique for afghans and blankets... Corner to Corner aka C2C.

It's wonderful in solids, stripes, and "graphgans" - colorwork charts/graphs.  Since there are more questions about working a chart/graph, I'll follow one here.  But feel free to crochet along in a solid color and skip the color changes!

For me, the coolest thing about working corner to corner is the fabric...

Stitches worked diagonally make for softly rippled yet solid texture.

It is important to view your graph the same way you'll be working it, in this case on the diagonal, RS rows from right to left, WS rows from left to right.

I like to use two row markers, one above and one below my working row.

C2C always begins with increase rows, where you begin with chain 6 and work your first block in chains 4-5-6 from the hook and end with one last block worked into the far edge of the block in the previous row. This gives you one additional block on each end of your work and creates the smooth bottom and left edges.

Here's how to work a basic C2C block:

Find the chain 3 in the next block in the previous row, this is where you'll begin.

Slip stitch into that space:

Chain 3:

Work 3 double crochet (dc) into the same space, around the chain 3 in the row below.

Slip stitch into the next block and continue across the row. If you need to change colors for your next block, do it in the last yarn over of the last dc so that your slip stitch is in the new color.

Once you reach the widest point of your piece, you'll work in decrease rows, which means your row begins with slip stitches to the next chain 3 space:

Continues across the row as usual:

And ends with a slip stitch in the corner of the last block in the previous row.

Rather than work another block, chain one and turn.... slip stitching back to the chain 3 space to begin your next row.

When you've worked your final block, rotate the square so you can work one round of sc around all 4 sides.

This will smooth out the edge and make it easier to join or finish with an edging.

Need another view?  Let me show you!

Wondering what my project above might be?  It's part of my Harry Potter Tote, using the graphs available from Crafty Ridge. While you're there, check out her amazing graphgan!

I took it to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and filled it up with souvenirs!