That's the closest I will get to a selfie... According to @mivstar it was our 'golden hour'; that time of a sunny evening where we get super shadows on that white / canvas wall at home. I called her to photograph me as I was doing the crocheting. It was quite hard, but we both enjoyed the challenge - I then used my google doc photo to change the 'grey to 'sepia'.
I have kept on knitting the digestive tract but as it’s a repetitive and slow process I also allow myself all sorts of distractions. This week I will be making a small crocheted cardigan size 8 years for a friend’s daughter. She gave me the yarn and a crochet hook number 5.
Below you can see a photo of the label:
It’s a lovely colour mixture of acrylic, nylon and 10% mohair
I made a couple of small samples to get the feeling of stitches and thickness. My tension swatch was 11 stitches to 7 rows to make a 10 cm square.
I crocheted a bigger piece as well and noticed that without stretching 37 stitches gave me 35 cm of width for the back. Interestingly once stretched that goes to 38 cm width. I took note of this because the garment will stretch after washing.
I also confirmed my suspicions that the fluffy nature of the yarn would make it very hard to unravel.
While making one of the swatches I needed to unravel and photo 1 shows you what happened. As you unravel the loose fluff gets tangled up and makes a knot. I immediately very carefully cut it - as you can see in photo 2. The cut does not damage the yarn and you can often pull the fluff; photo 3 shows you what it looks like now.
To avoid problems that needed too much unravelling I decided to use a very simple double crochet stitch.
Below you can see a sketch of my simple design.
It’s basically mainly rectangles with bits decreased along the way. I based my chest measurements on sizing guides given on websites. The fronts are slightly wider because there will be an overlap for the buttons.
I take my diagram ideas mainly from machine knitting magazines where they normally include quite a lot of detail.
There will be an element of improvisation in the design because I tend to improvise anyway. That is the main reason why I haven’t yet decided on the length.
Amazingly a 50g ball of yarn made exactly 25 cm length (and 35cm width). I shall continue crocheting in that same stitch.
Photos and work by @cryptocariad
With special thanks to @mivstar for the 'sepia' photo
🌻 Thank you @crosheille and @crystalize for hosting #needleworkmonday 🌻
Yes, do not make mistakes in mohair! The fibers cling to each other for dear life. I like to use simple patterns with beautiful yarn--let the yarn do all the fancy work just by being pretty. Looks like you have a great plan.
My
lifeplan is to keep it simple, @fiberfrau... I'm also hoping to finish it soonish as an autumn cardigan :DNow you made me insanely curious about you appearance :-DDD The sepia photo is very mystic and occult. Perhaps you are the secret leader of an esoteric yarn-cult !!?
And with the little cardigan, it looks very cute on your sketch and the yarn color is also nice, as is the fluffy yarn. But the unravelling... sigh, I also had this problem. It gets felted so fast. I read somewhere that it is easier to unravel if you freeze it first. I am not sure if this is a legit advice or a myth.
Looking forward to the finished garment :-D
Actually, I 'd also heard that piece of advice especially in relation to machine knitting... I'm not a great fan of mohair, but it does look light and a bit fluffy.You've discovered my secret @neumannsalva :D
That should make a nice cardigan. I have no experience working with mohair because I'm allergic to goat hair but one of my criteria when buying yarn is the "unravel quality" ;)
I just mainly go for acrylic mixes but do appreciate the beauty of natural materials... I'd really like to try knitting / crocheting with more natural fibres like flax and hemp - do you have any experience of those, @muscara ?
Nice selfie :) very pretty yarn should make a lovely cardigan.
Thanks, @steven-patrick. I really like the colour - it did have some bright specks of 'green' though (a bit strange...)
That's the most mysterious selfie I've ever seen! Like something straight from a 1920s horror film...
...we could call it 'The Phantom Crocheter' ;DDDD
I agree with @fiberfrau , your choice of very simple pattern is really smart since it's the yarn that is the star of the show.
😁 I really like The Phantom Crocheter concept, @vliet...
:-DDD
Phantom Thread it got me wondering whether or not you had seen this film... I haven't (yet) :DAnd the more I think about it, @vliet... So when I read @steven-patrick's comment about my fashion design and he mentioned a film called the
No, I haven't seen it either but from the description, it seems intriguing. Will be definitely planning a film night when the weather turns dreary :) Thanks for mentioning it to me @cryptocariad !
Nice colour @cryptocariad and I like your simple design pattern! I wish you the best in completing it soon. And your silhouette is very interesting. That is one arty shot :) Oh yes, mohair is not easy to work with I think. I played with it once and it wasn't fun (the unraveling part). Other yarns, you do get a bit of kick unraveling but not mohair. I get angry with mohair :D.
Thanks, @marblely. I think I will have to work really 'fast' with the mohair and be done with it as soon as possible to go onto friendlier yarns 😁
I know from experience how difficult it is to unravel such yarn! without scissors here can not do. The photo of your shadow turned out great !!!!
Thank you, @tali72... I've actually reached 40cm on the back section now... It grows fast :D
When I saw the first image I immediately looked for a source to see if you had found it online. But nope it is you!! I love your shadowy silhouette. As others have stated it looks very mysterious.
Mohair is not easy to work with but you are doing well and looks like you have a good start on her cardigan. I like your diagram!
Thank you, @needlworkmonday... I had lots of fun changing colour possibilities, actually !
That’s great!
I love the shadow selfie. :) Distractions are great! A while back I thought I would make a "brain hat" for the "march for science." I imagine making brains is like making intestines ...I got really bored with it! I totally didn't finish the hat in time for the march. XD
That 'brain hat' sounds to me like a very long tube to knit, @phoenixwren... I mustn't give up though as I promised I'd finish it, but I've been getting easily distracted by crocheted projects recently :D
I totally understand!
The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!Hello @cryptocariad, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine.
Thank you very much for your interest and support, @creativecrypto.
It looks so soft! I'm sure your friend's daughter will love it.
The Daily Sneak.Thanks to @coinsandchains, this post was resteemed and highlighted in today's edition of
Thank you for your efforts to create quality content!
The Daily Sneak. I hadn't heard of it before.Thank you so much for your interest and support @thedailysneak. Also thanks for pointing me to
I'm still crocheting the soft and fluffy cardigan and luckily I have enough yarn to finish it, that's always my biggest worry :D
Thank you also to @coinsandchains for your support !
The pleasure is all mine. Have a great day.
Thanks and you too have a great day, @coinsandchains - currently raining in Wales, UK... for a change :D
lol, it's rained here for two days, I think it's just the after effect of hurricane Florence.