Crafty Creative Crochet on Etsy & Elsewhere

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Traditional Irish Crochet lace created with fine cotton yarn is renowned throughout the world and has become synonymous with all that is beautiful in handicrafts.

Crochet Design by twelfthhouse
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Filet Crochet is a type of crocheted lace that is 'gridlike' because it uses only two crochet stitches, the chain and double crochet. It forms patterns by filling in parts of a chain stitch mesh. Filet crochet is used for decorative items like window curtains, tablecloths, coasters and placemats. Patterns are worked from a graph and created by combining solid and open meshes

*Image of Filet Crochet is from Wikipedia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Hairpin Crochet is created by using a tool that looks like a long 'hairpin' or tuning fork. Patterns consist of long strips that are joined together to form the finished article.

This image has been placed in the Public Domain by its author E. Zajdel and can be seen on wikipedia

Broomstick lace is a crochet technique that results in a very lovely pattern when used for clothing and blankets. It dates back to the 19th century and is done using a crochet hook and another long slender item such as a knitting needle. It is sometimes called jiffy lace or peacock eye crochet.

The above example shows the lacy scallop design. This image is a close up of a broomstick lace afghan created by a grandmother from Jamestown, Kentucky. She has equally lovely items in her Etsy Shop she calls pmcglone

Tunisian -- or Afghan -- Crochet is a technique that combines both knitting and crochet to form a soft, yet firm fabric. An 'afghan' hook is used for Tunisian Crochet, which is long like a knitting needle, but with a hook on the end. Like knitting, all the 'loops' for the number of stitches required are "cast on", then worked off, for each row. Unlike knitting, the work is never turned.

The Tunisian 'fabric' thus created is less elastic and thicker than normal crochet, making it very suitable for blankets and winter wear, as seen in the close up of this crocheted 'baby sweater' above.

*Image of Pastel Multi-Colored Tunisian Crochet Baby Jacket taken by ForBabyCreations for her Etsy Shop.

It tickles me to read the description of a granny square as being a crochet technique that produces square fabric by working in the round. Traditionally, a granny square is made with a series of chains and double-crocheted blocks--a kind of filet crochet in the round, if you will, working from the center outward. Crochet crafters usually create multiple small 'granny squares', called 'motifs', then put them together to form a completed piece.

Granny squares are most popular today for creating purses, shawls, scarves, and afghan-style blankets. In the 1970's there even appeared to be a 'Granny Square Trend' and variations on the theme were seen everywhere! The colors and pattern schemes for granny squares may have changed with time, but this form of crochet is still considered a 'staple' among crocheters. It's an easy technique to learn and these multicolor motifs are a great way to use up small amounts of left over yarn.

*This image of a 'Granny Square is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported and is presented by Durova on Wikipedia

The Shell Stitch in crochet creates the shape of arcs and semicircles. It's often used as edging for Afghan blankets and sweaters. It can also be used for an entire item, such as seen in this lovely decorative pillow created entirely in shell stitch.

The crochet shell stitch is formed by anchoring several long stitches into the same base, anchoring both ends with short stitches in a manner that spreads out the cluster like a fan.

This crocheted pillow shown here in peach and rainbow yarn was handmade by a creative homeschooling mom to 5 in Colorado. It can be seen, along with a large variety of her other crafts, in her Etsy Shop lovinghandscrochet

A cluster crochet stitch creates a triangle shape resembling an upside-down shell stitch. It's worked across an equal number of stitches and joined together (clustered) at the top.

The example shown here is a lovely peach & white shawl created in a Triple Cluster Stitch pattern by Barbara, a crochet crafter in Reno, Nevada, and is featured in her Etsy Shop barbie777 Crochet Boutique

The crazy stitch in crochet makes a unique pattern by using double or triple crochets in an offset shell pattern. It's sometimes called a brick stitch because the interlocking sections at an alternating left or right slant make the finished work look like a brick wall.

Suzanne of Tulsa has created this lovely pattern for a scarf to crochet using the 'Crazy Stitch'. It's available in her Etsy Shop Penelope's Crochet

The crochet puff stitch is named such because it gently puffs up into an oval shape. Puff stitching adds great texture to crocheted fabric. To crochet a puff stitch, you half-close several stitches worked in the same stitch and then join them together to finish the stitch.

The 'Puff' stitch creates a beautiful design in this darling hat created by Diana, a California crafter (and artist). The pattern is available in her Etsy Shop Design Vigilante

The Popcorn Stitch is similar to the Puff Stitch in that it is oval and stands out from the fabric. It is similar to a shell stitch, involving putting multiple stitches in one base stitch, then the stitches are pulled together at the top. This makes the stitches puff out to make a three dimensional bubble in your pattern.

A great example of the Popcorn Stitch can be seen in this 'Bubblehead' Beanie with Brim created by Leah of Billings, Montana, and can be seen in her Etsy Shop The Crooked Hook.

Most crafters in the field of fiber art relate a 'cable stitch' to Knitting. As seen in this example, cables can also be created in crochet.

To make a crocheted cable you will need 4 stitches. Make a chain in multiples of 4, plus add 3. Four (4) cables would be 16 stitches, plus 3, equals 17. Therefore you'd begin with a chain of 17 stitches.

For an excellent tutorial on the crocheted cable stitch, check out How to Crochet a Cable Stitch from All Free Crochet.

A wave pattern is created by repeating double crochet stitches interspersed with increases and decreases. It looks particularly interesting on crocheted washcloths & blankets like this lovely baby blanket.

Check out this Wave Pattern baby afghan in shades of blue created by Rebecca of St. Louis, Missouri. It can be found in her Etsy Shop OFF THE HOOK FASHIONS.

amigurumi by InMyFavoriteColor
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Many of the crochet techniques and stitches presented here date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. One style of crochet -- Amigurumi -- is quite recent, having it's beginning around 2003. It has no practical use, but is becoming a well-loved creation because of it's overall 'Cuteness'. Typically, amigurumi animals have an over-sized spherical head on a cylindrical body with undersized extremities. Sometimes inanimate objects are crocheted and given features, once again creating something 'cute' and a fun toy. They are a fun item to create and easy to do as most are made 'in the round' with single crochet.

Come meet Dawn, a Florida crochet crafter who has an Etsy Shop called Sweetdolls. Dawn creates a variety of dolls in crochet in the popular Amigurumi style. This one she created as a "Holiday Doll".

Dawn also combines her love for sewing with many of her crocheted creations, where several of her darling dolls are wearing pretty dresses. They all can be found in her Etsy Shop sweetdolls

Playfood is popular with children and this soft sweet set of ice cream dessert playfood will charm children.

This Etsy Shopkeeper is a stay-at-home mom of 2 who has a passion for cupcakes and crafts. The result is delightful 'Play-Food' for kids to enjoy. Check out her darling shop stayhomecupcake filled not just with crocheted cupcakes, but all sorts of yummy-looking play-food-for-fun.

Marika lives in Estonia, a small country in Northern Europe. She stays home with her two little boys and creates the cutest little animals in crochet, many of which she turns into rattles for babies. The items I like best, though, are her darling little cars and airplanes, like this soft baby toy car rattle!

Come see her whole selection of the cutest Amigurumi crocheted crafts in her Etsy Shop ByMarika

The Amigurumi style of crochet makes the cutest little animals. Roly-poly Amigurumi Penguins (created upon request in a variety of colors, as well as the standard 'Tuxedo' black & white) are creations of Mountainside Crochet on Etsy.

Felting is the shrinking of the material together using water, heat, and agitation. The fibers will lock together, and what once was a loose crocheted piece of cloth now will look like a solid fabric. Felting is wonderful for knitted or crocheted bags, because it will tighten the fibers into one durable material. The yarn used in a felted project needs to be 100% animal fibers, so wool yarn is usually the felting material of choice.

A creative crafter who crochets, knits and sews all her creations made this beautiful felted handbag with a windowpane design. It's a lovely example of what can be created by crocheting with wool yarn, then putting the item through the felting process. This New Jersey crafter also creates scarves and pins, along with her handbags, and features them in her Etsy Shop flowerbasketladybug

Colorful Crocheting by busybees
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