Tapestry Crochet

I’m one of those people who prefers to sit in a window seat when I’m flying. It really paid off on the flight to the 2007 Crochet Guild of America Conference. When I saw the clouds against the brilliant, blue sky, I snapped a photo and thought, “My next piece will use these colors!”

THIS is why I prefer the window seat.

The bag below that I designed for the Crochet Master Class book is the result. This Beaded Tapestry Crochet Bag project combines my love of basket weaving with bead tapestry crochet. The two different sized beads and the motif trick the eye into thinking it’s looking at a woven surface.

Beaded Tapestry Crochet Bag project in Crochet Master Class book.

The beauty of tapestry crocheting with beads is that each thread can be loaded with one bead color and only the color that is needed at the time is crocheted to form a pattern while the other thread is carried. When crocheting with beads, the bead naturally slides to the back of the stitch, so the back of the stitch is on the outside of the bag. That’s why the graph in the book appears to be reversed.

The inside of the bag is the “working side” since the beads fall to the back of the stitch, so both the inside and outside look great!

This project was tapestry crocheted with three colors, but only one thread was carried while another was crocheted. Since every row only has two colors, ecru or navy was cut off and the other one added close to the end and beginning of each color section.

Detail of the Beaded Tapestry Crochet Bag.

Several years passed before the book was published (not unusual), so I was thrilled when it was finally released! What an honor to be included with such a talented group of designers!

This book is a real masterpiece!

Crochet Master Class is not just a pattern book, but features eighteen crochet techniques. Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss, the editors, chose one designer to represent each different approach. We were sent questionnaires, then they put together the biographical, historical, and technical sections that precede each of our projects.

Jean and Rita at the 2009 Crochet Guild of America Conference (photograph by Sherri Bondy).

When I showed Jean and Rita the bag below at the 2007 CGOA Conference, they said it would be perfect for their “master’s level” book. Editors usually shy away from such complicated projects, so I was ecstatic that they were doing a book that would really challenge crocheters!

My first Bead Tapestry Crochet “Woven” Bag.

I later decided to redo the bag, though, with slightly different handles and motifs and with the colors I saw on the flight to the conference. Both of these master’s level bags were made with size 8 and 6 seed beads from Fire Mountain Gems and size 3 DMC 100% cotton Senso thread. As happens so often, this particular DMC thread has been discontinued, but other Senso threads or another size 3 thread could be substituted.

So, if you’re ready to expand your horizons, or would just like to learn more about the many faces of crochet, then Crochet Master Class is for you!

I needed a sturdy oval based bag that would fit under an airline seat and would hide the dirt accumulated while traveling. So I packed some tapestry crochet graph paper, a pencil with an eraser, a size 00 steel crochet hook, and contrasting colors of #18 Omega Nylon in my travel bag so that I could work on it during my long trip to Africa.

Looking around for inspiration at the John F. Kennedy International Airport Delta Terminal in New York City, I noticed a fabulous window at the gate where I was waiting for my flight to Ghana.

Window in the Delta Terminal at the JFK International Airport

Triangles work well for tapestry crochet, but I didn’t want to copy it exactly, so I drew several versions on my tapestry crochet graph paper, then asked some of the other passengers for their opinion. Fortunately, they all chose the one I liked best!

I counted the stitches across the bottom of the motif to figure out the number of stitches in each repeat, then did the math to figure out how many stitches were needed for the base chain.

After crocheting for hours (following the increases from one of my other oval-based bags) I put it under the airline seat in front of me to see how it would fit – and to my horror – the bag was too wide! So, I reluctantly frogged it and restarted with a shorter chain that would produce a narrower bag with less motif repeats.

Crocheting the base of the bag at the bus station in Accra, Ghana, in 2009. I hadn’t slept for 24 hours and still had an 7 hour bus ride ahead of me!

The finished Geometry Tote, tapestry crocheted with Omega Nylon

I later realized that two of my older projects had similar triangular motifs – not the same – but almost! I’ll probably crochet a few more projects with more variations of these small and large triangles. The possibilities are (almost) endless!

The pattern for the Geometry Tote has just been published in the February 2011 Crochet World. I hope you’ll give it a try!

Last summer, Janet Bristow and Victoria Cole-Galo (of the Prayer Shawl Ministry) were looking for unpublished crochet patterns for their new prayer shawl book. There would be no payment, but it was for a good cause, so I thought, “Why not?”

I had never crocheted a prayer shawl before, so I asked them for a suggested size, then thought, “What motif would be appropriate for a shawl that’s lovingly made, then gifted to someone in need?” For me, the obvious answer was, “Hearts.”

I also thought a lot about the flat format – one that would be relatively easy to tapestry crochet. Instead of crocheting in a continuous spiral (my usual), this was crocheted in concentric rectangles with a “join” at the beginning and end of each round. The join created a line (seen on the right side of the short side of the shawl pictured below).

Tapestry crocheted Heart-to-Heart Tapestry Shawl

Since it was crocheted from the center outwards, the hearts were crocheted upside-down. They would also have worked right-side-up, but I already crocheted Have a Heart Scarf that way and wanted to try something different.

This project was really “meant to be” because I had just enough raspberry and ivory Mod Dea washable wool left over from an earlier project. Unlike regular wool, which can shrink and felt during washing, this easy-to-care-for Merino can be thrown into the washing machine without worry because it’s been pre-shrunk. The loose stitch allows the carried yarn to peek through and gives the fabric wonderful drape.

I never heard that my submission would be included in the book – but figured it out when a friend told me that she made sure the shawl was arranged with the front side up at the photo shoot. Since the carried yarn does not show on the back, it’s often difficult to tell the “right side,” so photographs of some of my previous projects featured the reverse side instead of the front.

The Crocheted Prayer Shawl Companion book

I was really thrilled when the book arrived the other day because it’s so beautifully done. Hopefully, you’ll also be inspired to crochet a shawl for someone who would really appreciate a gift from the heart – be it one of the 37 shawls from this book or another pattern.

What would you do if Brett Bara, the editor of Crochet Today! sent you eight vibrant colors of Debbie Stoller’s fabulous Stitch Nation Full O’Sheep 100% Peruvian wool and asked for a 12″ diameter, striped tapestry crochet basket somewhat like the coiled baskets below?

These four coiled baskets served as inspiration for the tapestry crocheted basket.

Well, what do you think of my solution?

The carried yarns contribute to the sturdiness of the basket and the hefty looking “coil”.

This basket is not for beginners because it’s quite a challenge to carry seven colors at the same time! How did I keep the yarns from tangling? Well, I placed them next to each other as shown below and let the yarn cross over the others close to the fabric each time I switched colors.

Seven colorful yarns were carried while one was tapestry crocheted.

The tight gauge hides most of the carried yarns, but some of them pop through, especially on the back of the fabric.

Front detail of the Beautiful Basket in July/August Crochet Today!

Back detail of the same tapestry crocheted basket.

I thrive on challenges, so I really enjoyed designing and crocheting this project. If you like a challenge, too, then this basket is for you!

I crocheted the first version of this bag in China in 2004. I hoped to find crocheters there so that I could show them how to tapestry crochet. Fortunately, the language barrier was not a problem when I demonstrated how to carry and switch colors to the many enthusiastic Chinese women I found crocheting in public all over China.

In a gondola going up to the Great Wall of China.

This bag received so many compliments that I decided to redo it and submit the pattern for publication. The Kolibri thread I used for the first purse was no longer available, so I crocheted the next one with Classic Elite Provence mercerized Egyptian cotton.

My busy life doesn’t allow lots of time for crochet, so I do it whenever I can. I crocheted the new version on the way to and from the 2009 Crochet Guild of America National Conference in Buffalo last August – and even during the conference. Projects for publication are usually top secret, but Michele Maks, the wonderful editor of Crochet World, said it would be OK for me to do it there.

Waiting for my plane in the Las Vegas airport.

Then I crocheted a few more inches on the way to and from my daughter’s lovely wedding in Las Vegas last September. In the past, I could only crochet while not moving, so I’d crochet in the airport and in the plane while still at the gate, but would put it down when the plane took off to avoid becoming nauseous. The rapidly approaching deadline encouraged me to try to crochet while we were in the air. Fortunately, for the first time in my life, I was actually able to work on it during most of the flight!

Why are the stars up-side-down? Well, when I drew the stars onto tapestry crochet graph paper, they looked much better this way. The slight diagonals to the right and left on the bottom point of the star worked out really well, but putting two points on the bottom of the motif was very awkward.

The red, white, and blue threads were used in all the rounds; two threads were carried while the other was worked. The carried threads and tight gauge done with a size 00 steel crochet hook created a very sturdy fabric that didn’t need a liner.

Stars & Stripes Tote in June 2010 Crochet World Magazine.

Would you like to make your own patriotic purse? Well, you’re in luck, because this pattern is in the June 2010 issue of Crochet World. Please ignore the published pattern note, though, that says “join rounds with a slip stitch” because this bag is crocheted as a spiral without slip stitches joining the rounds.

Have you ever heard the expression, “Necessity is the mother of invention”? Well – my first market bag proves it true. When I got to the top of the bag, I realized it was WAY too wide, so I had to either rip it out and make it narrower, or come up with another solution. As you can see, I chose the latter. I rationalized that it would make a great market bag – and it does! And it’s even crocheted with fabulous organic cotton!

Lion Brand Organic Cotton is only sold in 4 natural shades, so I chose two contrasting colors, then thought about what motif would work best.

Unfortunately, this Right Way Market Bag Pattern is no longer available.

Right Way Market Bag in April Crochet World Magazine.

The way the handles slip through the rim is a bit tricky, but they work great to close and support the bag!

Opened Right Way Market Bag in April Crochet World Magazine.

My next market bag was not as wide, but the handles were similar, looping through the rim. Unfortunately, neither this Market Bag pattern nor the colorful worsted weight Euroflax linen is available for now. Any strong worsted weight fiber could be substituted, though. This Market Bag pattern is available on Ravelry for both right handed and left handed crocheters.

Market Bag in Issue 7 of Knit on the Net Online Magazine.

The third Market Bag I designed was published by Interweave Crochet this Spring. As you can see from the photo (of my model daughter), I finished it last Fall, but things are done way ahead in publishing.

Spring Market Bag in Spring 2009 Interweave Crochet Magazine.

This bag was crocheted with a thinner linen, Fibra Natura Flax. Instead of 2 handles, it only has one – another variation on the theme.

Open Spring Market Bag in Interweave Crochet Magazine.

These bags will assure that your are marketing in style – while you save the planet – so I hope you will give them a try!