After the most recent quilt I made, I didn’t spend much time in the sewing room for various reasons, and picked up crochet! I’ve been trending towards things that are more “by hand”, like English paper piecing, and embroidery, so it made sense for me to get into crochet or knitting. I chose crochet because it seemed easier to get into and has the capability for making three dimensional objects.

I started off as I usually do, on YouTube and with books from the library, and immediately gave myself tendonitis from crocheting for too long and holding the yarn too tight. Now, I try to cap crochet sessions at two hours, or else I’ll go on crocheting forever and hurt my hands and wrists.

Then I wanted to make a sweater, but a super easy one. This sweater is based off a blanket sweater pattern, which consists of a rectangle with the corners folded in to make sleeves 🙂 I used two yarns at the same time to create a textured/blended effect.

Then I saw this TikTok and needed to make my own dinosaur sweater, so I did. The pattern was really straightforward, and it’s made to measure instead of a set row/stitch count. I started doing the back and (a) got nervous I would run out of yarn, which I did not and I have a lot left over, and (b) thought it would be fun to do some color changes for the aesthetic and for practice. Practicing the color changes and learning how different techniques (such as tapestry and intarsia) create different looks was very helpful in planning and executing the front. Also, now I know that I can crochet any colored design that can be made with a grid (some artists use crochet to do 8bit art, and a crazy dedicated artist is using crochet to make an early-2000s-wordart piece).

The color work wasn’t technically difficult, but required a lot of care to keep the different yarns in their own space and not tangled. I tried to weave in the ends as I went, but then I had to undo some of it because I forgot to adjust for the arm holes, and that didn’t go very well. After that, and in the future, I’ll keep the ends loose until I’m positive that everything is correct and I don’t have to undo anything.

I think crochet has reopened the door to making my own clothes because it’s more forgiving than sewing, especially with non-stretch fabric. There’s much more precision and care necessary for sewing garments, and I enjoy playing with crochet’s many textures. Plus, there’s the “by hand” aspect, which is fun and compelling for me. And I do love a good sweater 🙂

Other crafts I’ve been up to recently: