Crochet: How to make a Magic Circle

The Magic Circle is useful when starting off a circular item, for example a beanie, hat or cloche, or a doily or round shawl. The circle ensures a nice, tight centre. You can control the size of the hole in the centre of this. 

Instructions for Magic Circle

1 Loosely wind yarn over fingers 2 times.

2 Push yarn through circle and make a loop.

3 Using the crochet hook, form loop and make 2 chain.

 

4 Make required number of double crochet into loose circle.

The number of double crochet can change according to your pattern.

5 There are 2 circles of yarn going through the double crochet. Test carefully to find the one that is directly attached to the tail of the yarn. Pull one side of this so that the other circle gets smaller. If you have the wrong side, stop and pull the other side of the same circle. When one circle is tightened, pull the tail of the yarn to tighten the second circle.

6 Slip stitch into 3^rd starting chain.

Other articles you may like:

Crochet styles and tension

Learning Crochet 

View more crochet on Instagram @tossyv

& On Twitter @tossyv

 

Vintage Buttons for Crochet

The Old Button Box

I inherited 'The Button Box' when my Mum passed on.

The old button box

Vintage Buttons

This is a treasure of wonderful buttons dating back beyond 70 years. There are lots of very old shirt buttons, ivory looking, now paper thin. There are buttons from my Dad's RAAF airforce uniform, and buttons from old cardigans that my Mum would have worn, and buttons from the clothes we children wore after they had seen the end of their life. Nothing was thrown away. 

Buttons over 70 years old

 Button Material through the Ages

Old buttons were made of celluloid, bakelite, lucite, vegetable ivory and metal, glass, china, mother of pearl, enamel, wood and casein. 

Oh, the stories they could tell, the bodies they have helped keep warm, the places they have been. 

I recycle these beautiful buttons to finish off the little crocheted jumpers, jackets and beanies that I make for toddlers. 

All about vintage buttons 

Broken Buttons

Buttons are tough, and they last a long time. It is rare to see broken buttons. When I was going through the button box the other day, I washed some and sorted them into new groups. There were only four broken ones out of a couple of hundred buttons. 

What stories they could tell. What beauty in these old buttons. 

 Well used vintage buttons at the end of their life

Crocheted Items Decorated with Vintage Buttons

Vintage pearl button on multi-coloured crochet girl's beanie

Vintage buttons on crocheted beanie

Vintage pearl button at the centre of a crocheted flower

Multi-coloured toddler's cardigan with various vintage buttons
 

Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv  
 
Another article you may like:

Crocheted Beanies

Crochet in Art

 I Love Crochet

I Love Photographing Things I Love  

I Love Digital Artwork 

Put these things all together and what do you get? 

Art made with crochet, photography and digital manipulation

Crochet swatches to measure tension

I started  off making some swatches to work out the gauge or tension of my work. If you crochet a square with 20 stitches and 10 rows, the finished size of this will depend on

1. the thickness of your yarn
2. the thickness of your crochet hook
3. if you crochet loosely or tightly 
4. the weather - whether it is hot or cold
5. the type of yarn you are using - whether it is smooth or textured

I took a few photos and the next one caught my eye a couple of weeks later. 

Mmm, I thought, I think I can do something with that.

Crochet photograph used to digitally make a new work of art

The program I use to do artwork with my photos is Picmonkey. There is a free version as well as a paid version. I used the free version. Here's the link http://www.picmonkey.com/

My image at the top of this post -'The Crochet Network' - is made with the photo above and digitally manipulated in Picmonkey.  

Do you join your different skills together?
I'd love to see some photos of your work. 

Here is a link to an article about crocheted beanies 
and another about art and using it digitally.  

Enjoy! 

Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv

Crochet Styles and Tension

Hi everyone,

Today I am talking about the different styles of stitches and yarn and how they differ. 

I used a 5mm H/8 crochet hook and an acrylic yarn and pure wool yarn - 100% good Australian wool. . . . .

I have always crocheted into the front (that is, the part facing me), of the stitch. Lately, I have been seeing that a lot of other people  crochet into the both loops of the stitch. I decided to check this all out and see what I really preferred. 

This is the way I have always crocheted - into the front of the loop. It is the highest part of the stitch facing you. This is using acrylic yarn.

Style Number 1 in Acrylic Yarn

Now here is the same yarn and the same hook crocheting into both loops on the hook. 

Style Number 2 in Acrylic Yarn

Notice all the spaces that appear?
Here is a close-up comparison for you. 

 See how each stitch stands up straight in the first and slopes to the side in each row in the second?

Tension

So I measured the number of stitches and rows in a 4" x 4" or 10cm x 10cm area. 

My favourite stitch gave 16 stitches and 7 rows. 

Working into both loops of the stitch, the second photo, gave 13 stitches and 8 rows.

Australian Wool

I tried the same out using 8 ply wool in my favourite stitch, working only into the top part of the loop. It gave me16 1/2 stitches and 7 rows. 

Style Number 1 in Wool

Yes, I have decided that I came to the right conclusion many years ago. I prefer to work into only the front loop of the stitch, NOT both loops. 

I have noticed that working into both loops of the stitch gives a much looser fabric that has little stretch.

Working into the front loop of the fabric gives a closer stitch, and a fabric that has some spring in it. 

In this next photo you can see both loops of the stitch made when you crochet. When I turn my work to crochet the next row, I insert my hook into the top loop only. 

Here you can see the two rows. The green row has been worked from left to right. The tan colour shows the working of the next row. The top bump of the stitch you can see id the one I will work into in the next row.

Happy crocheting. 

You might like to read some of my other articles about crochet.

http://windowlane.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Crochet


Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv

Crocheted Beanies

Beanies are a quick and easy thing to make. They don't take much yarn, you can make them with a plain or a fancy stitch and you can make them any colour you want. Often it is hard to find something to crochet for our loved males. Beanies often fit the bill. 

This beanie can be for men or women. Just add some vintage buttons

 This beanie is a very plain and easy stitch. It is made with all double crochet stitch. This is also called treble stitch. You can vary the colour of the rows to make it bright.

The rainbow beanie

This pattern is a similar design to the men's beanie. I have changed the colour of the rows, added a shell pattern at the base, and added a crochet flower with a vintage pearl button at the centre. 

Beanie with crocheted flower and vintage button for girls or women

Crocheted flower with two rows of petals

Beanies can even have ear flaps to keep the ears warm on those cold days. They add a different feel to the woolly hat. They look especially good on little boys but can also suit girls. 

Beanie with ear flaps

Share you beanie with us. I'm sure the designs are endless. 
Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv 

More crochet yarns coming soon. Cheers

Crochet for Babies

Baby Clothing of the 1970s

Shawls

I really like to crochet for babies. When my first child was born, I crochet a large circular white shawl. In those days, shawls were the thing. Then came bunny rugs. This shawl was so special, I wrapped my precious baby up in it and kept her warm. I still have it today. 

Crocheted Dresses

When my son came along, I made a special crocheted white dress for him for his Baptism. In those days, jumpsuits  were only just starting and were certainly not seen as clothing to wear for such a special occasion as a Baptism. He was only a few weeks old, so I'm sure I did not traumatise him by putting him in a dress. 

Jackets or Cardigans for Babies

We all know the difference between a jumper and a cardigan, right? In the mid 20th century, a cardigan for a baby was called a jacket. I don't know why, but that is just the way it was. By the time the baby got to about two years old, it was called a cardigan. I suppose today, we will still call out to a little one as we hurry out to the car, 'Have you got your jacket?'

Here is a little baby jacket. These are lovely crocheted out of 5 ply yarn. When you crochet, the resulting material becomes quite thick, much thicker than if it was knitted. They can get too thick and therefore too hot if made out of 8 ply wool. They come up beautifully with lacy designs.

A lacy design of crochet for a baby jacket

A short-sleeved jacket for a precious baby girl

A plainer design of crochet is often used for boy babies

Baby cardigans or jackets can be made in plainer designs for little boys. 

Colour

You can also introduce colour. Pastel shades are a good choice for little ones. Colour has a strong influence on our psyche. You may notice that little ones will soon show a preference for their favourite colour. In our society, pink is generally accepted for girls and blue for boys.

A baby girl's jacket in progress

Baby booties in bright colours

I do love bright colours and sometimes just have to give myself a dose of colour. I really enjoy using brightly coloured yarn, but tend to keep this for children at least one-year-old. 

More crochet yarns next time. Cheers

Learning Crochet

When I was young - oh, those were the days - I used to do lots of knitting, crochet, and sewing. My Mum had shown me the basics of these skills and I developed them more. Although my Mum could crochet well, she could not read a crochet pattern so that was something I had to teach myself. 

My Mum who taught me to knit and crochet and sew

When I married, my babies were dressed in knitted clothes and lots of crocheted clothes. I even crocheted a fancy jumper for my husband. He thought that was a bit much, although he wore it a few times - not enough for all the work I put into it. Oh well! 

I made jumpers and vests, ponchos and the must do - Granny square rugs and bedspread.

Years marched on and the needles and hooks were put aside. I suppose crocheted garments went out of fashion. But now it is back again and I have taken up my hook again and expanded my skills. 

I love crocheting baby clothes, especially those with fine yarn. I notice these days the infiltration of 8ply yarn being used for these delicate clothes. In my opinion, it is too coarse. I think it is probably to get the article made more quickly. But there is nothing nicer than a delicate fabric with a fine, lacy pattern.

Lacy baby cardigan or jacket in 5 ply yarn

For the toddler, thicker wool can be used. Their skin is not as delicate and the thickness of the item does not pose a problem. 

Toddler's jacket for a 2 year old with vintage buttons from my Mum's button tin

I also like trying out different stitches, remembering favourites from days long ago, and also learning new ones.  

Beanies come in all shapes and sizes these days. I love playing with colour. Can you guess what my favourite colours might be?

Pastel beanie for a little girl, with flower

More crochet yarns next time. Cheers.

Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv 

Crochet, a Skill Revisited

Crochet is an old handcraft handed on to me by my mother when I was about ten years old. I always liked the finished product. In those days, the crochet was done with fine silk threads around the edges of doilies. Doilies you say? That is a term rarely used these days as the item itself is rarely used. 

Doilies were small, hand embroidered clothes that were used to put on tables, cupboards or pianos on which vases or ornaments were placed. They had spoke stitches worked into the edges. Crochet with fine silken threads was worked into the spoke stitches. 

Fine silk crochet edge of doily

Crochet was a popular way of making baby clothes like jackets, cardigans, dresses, bonnets, booties and baby blankets. 

Lacy crochet baby jacket

Crochet enabled the final item to be much fancier than many knitting patterns. 

Crochet was popular in the 60s, 70s and 80s then it fell out of favour for a while. Now crochet is in demand. Skills of this new generation has increased with the ability to share patterns and designs around the world. Where once different ways of knitting and crochet would be frowned upon and thought of as foreign, today they are embraced and shared readily. 

Boys and girls alike can wear crochet. The boys just usually have a plainer design that the girls. 

Cardigan with vintage buttons

 Today, a lot of crochet is done in wool. It makes lovely, cosy clothing like pullovers, hats and jackets and is seen as a popular handcraft. 

Lacy jumper in purple wool

Lots of crocheted items can be seen on my Instagram and Twitter accounts @tossyv 

Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv