For once, I had a little bit of time to myself this weekend to try something a little new. Last week, one of my students was asking about freeform crochet. It is a technique I have seen before - I've admired it and looked at many images of it but I've never actually tried it because, well, I was a little bit scared and had no idea where to start. She inspired me to do a bit more research and to have a go and, I can safely say, I have found a new addiction!
I began on Pinterest, pinning lots of images of freeform crochet that I liked and looking at the shapes used to build them (you can find my Freeform Crochet board here).
Through my pinning, I discovered the beautiful Snovej blog with a whole series of posts and tutorials on freeform crochet. Her tutorials are very easy to follow and have photographs to help. They are a great starting point for anyone wishing to enter the world of freeform crochet.
I decided to crochet my shapes and to join them as I went along. I started with a paisley pattern I had and then a leaf pattern from an issue of Inside Crochet. I made circles and then used the tutorials on the Snovej blog to make spirals and other exciting shapes. I tried out the bullion stitch and found I need a lot of practise as this. As I stitched each scrumble (the name for each shape you make) empty spaces where formed - I crochet circles, triangles and trapeziums to fill these and stitched them in, stretching where necessary to make them fit. I even added some little pieces stitched behind the work.
I used hand dyed yarns in shades of pink, purple and red which fitted in nicely with this weeks Journal 52 prompt - Colour Swatch. They are my favourite colours and have now become my latest page in my art journal.
I can't wait to start my next piece of freeform crochet. I am thinking of making a small purse so will need to do a little bit more research - my next challenge!
