Showing posts with label color. Show all posts
Showing posts with label color. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Perfect Stitch for Fall Crochet Cowls!

- - Free Crochet Pattern Alert! see below - -

Slip Tectonics Cowl combines two kinds of slip stitches so that it
is self-shaping. This gives it easy-chic looks and comfort.
Thaxton Hood Cowl


I'm in love with my new cowls made with the super stretchy, warm, soft, snug, and stylish crochet slip stitch ribbing. Especially in short row wedges! So, I've created a free crochet pattern called "Slip Slope Scarf" to help introduce this technique, see below.

Short rows and slipped stitches are both much more common in knitting than crochet. Together they make magic for crochet cowls.
Slip Slope Scarf (free pattern)
Pattern includes guidelines for making a

 loop scarf & moebius-style infinity scarf

In crochet, combining slip stitches and short rows is rare. When I do see crochet short rows, it's more often for "soakers" (diaper covers) in regular crochet, and for Tunisian crochet. 


The few short-rowed slip stitch designs I've found so far have been for hats--and I can see why! What a fabulous fabric for toasty hats that keep ears covered!
Side view of the self-shaping  
Slip Tectonics Cowl  

(For some examples of these non-cowl short row designs, see my Crochet Inspirations Newsletter Issue #29.)
Slip Slope Scarf
as scarf


Personally I prefer to wear cowls as hat-like hoods when I need them. Also, right now I'm loving the new textures and color patterning I can do with crochet slip stitch rib short rows worked flat, rather than in the round as hats usually are. That's where I'm at in my crochetin' journey.


Below is a photo from my free online tutorial. It shows the slip stitch short rows in progress. 

Thursday, September 8, 2011

New Crochet Cowls for Fall

Here are two very new crochet designs for cowls that I'm seeing around the 'net. They're just right for early Fall:
Red Circle © Bernadette Ambergen


Doesn't Bernadette Ambergen's Red Circle look like fun to crochet and to wear? Her downloadable pattern PDF is available for $5 in her Etsy shop, Berniolies Designs


Tuni Trio Cowl © Caron International
Cari Clement designed Tuni Trio Cowl, an easy Tunisian crochet cowl. Its fun colorwork method looks stylish for Fall. Not only that, it's a free crochet pattern


I've done this three-color Tunisian crochet method, and it's addictive. This is a great time to get hooked on it if you haven't tried it yet.
Happy crocheting everyone!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Easy Style: Crochet "Brioche" Stitch Cowl (free pattern)


Sometimes a crochet stitch pattern like this one is just so perfect, and a cowl is the perfect way to show it off. 


Cami has a blog called Art, Like Bread. I love this from her blog: 
In the Winter 2011 issue of the free online magazine, Tangled, editor and professional designer Tracy St. John offers a crochet cowl pattern called Radicowl
It features a reversible crochet "brioche stitch" pattern that is one is one of my personal favorites. Not only is it fast and easy, it's super fun to see what happens when you change colors! 
I agree with Tracy, it has the charm of knit brioche with all the added benefits of being crocheted
I've met new crochetin' friends in Twitter, and Cami (aka Caissa McClinton) is one of them. Check out her completed Radicowl: 
"The world is beautiful and art, like bread is for everyone."
You can also see her portfolio and website here: http://artlikebread.com/home.html . If you're in Ravelry (it's free to join) clicking here will take you to Cami's project page for the Radicowl. 

Saturday, November 27, 2010

New Release: Crochet a Spiraling Orbit Cowl!

Crocheting this mesh rib stitch in a spiral sure has momentum! I really picked up speed while crocheting it: no joining, no turning, no counting stitches to slow things down.

To make it even more addictive, you only crochet into every other stitch, and this makes for an especially soft, stretchy cowl-neckscarf-capelet-hooded-shoulderwarmer-snood-wimple-thing.

The Orbit Cowl crochet pattern is fully customizable and includes the "how-tos" along the way. You can see some styling and color editing experiments in its online photo album.

I'm just now thinking that I could have written it for many yarn weights! The one shown uses an "aran-weight" (kind of "chunky weight" or heavy worsted) and a J-US10-6mm crochet hook. (Isn't it great how the self-striping yarn* looks?) The customizing how-tos in the pattern should help with substituting any yarn.

Well, dangnabbit: why not go super chunky? A big crochet hook too--probably bigger than an L, say an M or N (9mm or 10mm) crochet hook. The 'orbiting' ribs would certainly make a statement, huh?


*Crystal Palace Mochi Plus (80% merino wool, 20% nylon): 300 yards were needed for the size shown.
I also uploaded it to my Ravelry Store today.

Update

It's been 2 or 3 years since I wrote this post. It turns out that I wear Orbit more often than most of the others I've crocheted. I added a drawstring at the neck opening. I also often wear it pulled up like a hood. (When I wear a different cowl, it's when there's a fierce biting wind. That's when I turn to the wind-blocking Thaxton hood.)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A Dash of Color

Worn as a necklace but warmer, a cowl can do more than keep me warm!  The two above photos are the same Mobius Neckwarmer I designed for Inside Crochet Issue 7  I use cowls to chase away the winter wind and the winter blahs.  By adding a dash of color next to the face, it brightens the whole look.  Many times when I pick up the most luxurious of yarns, I can't resist but pull it up to my face to feel it's softness on my cheek.  The best way to celebrate that "aah" moment is with a cowl. That's how this cowl started with the pink one shown below in Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK.  Above, the cowl is remade in the lovely Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend.  As Fall and Winter approaches here in middle America, a new cowl pattern is a great way to embrace the transitional weather with a dash of color.