Chachula - Crochet stitches visual encyclopedia

Crochet Stitches VISUAL Encyclopedia

300 Stitch Patterns, Edgings, and More

Robyn Chachula

Crochet Stitches VISUAL Encyclopedia

Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011935817

ISBN: 978-1-118-03005-9 (cloth)

ISBN: 978-1-118-18317-5; 978-1-118-18316-8; 978-1-118-17165-3 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Book production by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Composition Services

Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Pam Mourouzis

Senior Project Editor

Donna Wright

Copy Editor

Marylouise Wiack

Technical Editor

Julie Holetz

Editorial Manager

Christina Stambaugh

Vice President and Publisher

Cindy Kitchel

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Kathy Nebenhaus

Interior Design

Jennifer Mayberry

Photography

Matt Bowen

Special Thanks

The yarns used in the book were all graciously donated by the following yarn companies. Thank you so much for all your support and quick response to all my requests, I truly appreciate all that you have given me. They are

Blue Sky Alpaca (Alpaca Silk)

Cascade Yarns (Cascade 220 Sport and Pima Tencel)

Lion Brand (Cottonease)

Caron International (Country)

Coats and Clark (Soft Yarn and Eco-ways).

Each yarn chosen highlights either the technique perfectly with amazing stitch definition or makes the color pop off the page with their wonderful color schemes.

About the Author

Robyn Chachula (Pittsburgh, PA) is a crochet designer with a background in structural engineering. Whether she is building a concrete building or a granny square blanket, her approach to designing them is the same: She takes a big project and breaks it down into little items that she can understand, then pieces them back together for the big picture. In her book Blueprint Crochet: Modern Designs for the Visual Crocheter, she used her engineering background and crochet symbols to bring crochet to new learners. Its follow-up, Baby Blueprint Crochet, marries more challenging stitch diagrams with a modern take on baby projects. Her patterns in Mission Falls Goes Crochet are for the whole family. Fans can catch her as one of the crochet experts on Knit and Crochet Now on PBS, or on her blog, Crochet by Faye (www.crochetbyfaye.blogspot.com).

Acknowledgments

This book gave me so much pleasure in diving into, researching, and testing all aspects of crochet; I want to thank all the creative designers who have come before me to inspire and challenge my own designs.

Crocheting all the swatches in the book was a pure joy, but I had to share the fun to get the book finished. I had the fantastic help from my wonderful friends and contract crocheters, Diane Halpern, Rebecca DeSensi, Megan Granholm, Virginia Boundy, Amy Maceyko, and Susan Jeffers.

Thank you to everyone at Wiley, especially Donna Wright, Pam Mourouzis, and Marylouise Wiack for making the ramblings of a sleep deprived mom sound intelligent. A special thank you to Julie Holetz, our technical crochet editor, for re-reading and counting every stitch in the book over and over with me.

Most importantly, I would like to thank my friends and family for all their love and support in every crazy challenge I take on. Your joy to jump in and help entertain the baby while I squirreled away on the book I cannot thank you enough. I would especially like to thank my husband, Mark, for his unwavering love. Without his encouragement and help, this book would not have been possible.

Lastly, I want to thank you. Thank you for enjoying what I love to do so much. Your enthusiasm of crochet is what keeps me energized to share my kooky designs, so thank you very much!

Introduction

As an art form and a craft, crochet spans centuries and countries around the world. In this book, I tried to pay homage to that fact. Inside you will find patterns that date from Victorian lacework, 1960s retro granny squares, and modern interpretations of crochet. The stitches span the globe from the United States to the Ukraine to Japan to South America and more. I wanted to compile and touch on as many forms of this unique craft as I could. You will find patterns that look deceptively like knitting, but in actuality are simply slip stitch crochet, and the patterns might look deceptively challenginglike the mosaic colorwork patternbut in actuality are simply stripes of color. You will also find motifs that range from the classic granny square to gothic window inspired hexagons. In the Tunisian chapter, you can explore my favorite part of the technique, which is the woven-like fabric it can create.