Crochet Blog

I attempted to make my first article of clothing, well besides a hat and mittens. It went... unsuccessfully. I tried to follow Romi's Vertical Stripes Short Sleeve Shirt off of youtube but with a smaller yarn weight. Honestly it wasn't too bad, I think I kinda struggled with deciding how large the torso should be since I wanted to hide me chest since I'm pre-op but I think I over compensated a bit. The front panels were about 2 inches too wide but the back was snug. It kinda felt like my arms should've layed further back on my body, closer to my back. Another issue I found was I frequently underestimated how much my project would shrink. Like I would crochet my initial chain to 16in but would shrink to around 14in. Even after I tried adding more rows to correct it, it just seemed to eat my yarm with no difference. I think thats partially because I used a smaller hook than was reccomended for the yarn I used. But I don't think my stitches were super even making a few bubble like spots.

Still I see this more of a learning project than anything else. I mean I was using the leftover yarn from my last large project. And I did learn a lot about making my own clothing. At least in this style where I effectively make my own fabric and then stitch the pieces together which I think I still prefer. I just might have to redo a few measurements. Maybe I'll come back and finish this at a future date. Or at least make some sleeves.

I've finally finished the three tapestries. I didn't really have a clear vision behind them besides some organic and minimalistic abstract prints I found on pinterest. Then after a few hours of designing on a pixel art app I went back and made sure they were actually doable for mosaic crochet (aka no single crochets over the wrong colored row and no differently colored double crochet stitches above each other). I never actually turned my illustrations into real patterns with x's and all, but I've added them if you care to reverse engineer it. Just give me credit for the design is all.

Something I noticed while working on them was that two single stitches were still not as tall as one double crochet, and as a each one had 97 rows, that made a bit of a difference, something blocking didn't totally correct. But as this was my largest project so far I'm pretty content. And the illusion is still there.

For anyone wondering, I used DROPS Love You 7's Bright Sand and Deep Ocean, three skeins of both colors and a 2.75mm hook. Yea I really wanted it to look small and detailed but geez did it take ages. Couldn't recommend this as a beginner project. I would recommend learning mosaic crochet though, especially if you hate the messiness of the back side of tapestry crochet. Essentially you alternate colors each row and double crochet over the other color and into the front loop of the stitch two rows down. While it kinda sucks if you want a real rainbow (or really to use more than 2 colors in a single row) the back has a neater striped look and switching colors is a lot easier than carrying over multiple yarns.

Because I bought a bit too much yarn for this I've already started on working on a mesh shirt, though I don't think I have enough for it.... we'll see though.

I finished my first of three matching mosaic tapestries I've designed, Well kinda I have to block my tails and sew in my ends which I'll do when the others are crocheted. Still deciding if I actually care to make a border or see if I could find a frame and call it a day.

After going through most of the yarn in my stash I have stocked up on a few thousand yards. I'm so freaking excited for it to come in the mail in about a week.