Using Crochet Remnants

From most any design project, I have leftover pieces. I save these pieces hoping for just the right project to come along. I decided to challenge my self to make a pendant out of some of the pieces leftover from the free Mademoiselle Necklace Pattern I designed for Berroco.

By layering them and adding some surface embroidery, I was able to create a 3D background for one of our stitchable "Pod" pendants.

I like working with remnants and leftovers, because working with what you have exercises your creative problem solving and the results are always unexpected!

I plan to continue this challenge and will be sharing more remnant creations in coming posts. I challenge you all to make something out of your scraps and remnants! If you are on Instagram, use the hashtag #remnantschallenge.

Adventures in Combining Crochet and Weaving!

Even though I love working with many techniques, I always have crochet on my mind! I especially love to combine different technique to achieve interesting effects. For a while now I have been experimenting with and teaching modern weaving with our eWoodStory weaving kit. I love doing freeform work, and weaving can be so creative. You can really show the beauty of the yarns and fibers you are using.

I recently started experimenting with including crochet in my weaving. The first experiment I did was to crochet the weft for a weaving in an ivory color. I freely wove it into the piece along with some other yarns, and then painted the crochet to go with the yarns. I also crocheted the fringe. I felt it was really successful, and the wheels of creativity began spinning!  If you want to see the evolution of this weaving, here is a link to an earlier post I wrote when I was just beginning to weave this piece.

The next piece I worked on had some crocheted chains and bobbles added to the warp. I then wove around them to incorporate them into the piece without covering them up too much. I also did a little embroidery embellishment to finish it off.

The third piece had a completely crocheted warp. I crocheted a filet mesh that was tailored to fit the loom, and then I crocheted some chains to weave into the mesh. I alternated weaving the chains in, with some of the same yarn that hadn't been crocheted. I love the rich tapestry it created! I made this into a purse. By crocheting the warp, I was able to make the piece long enough to make a purse from the one panel.

After completing this piece, I decided that I wanted to try making the warp the focus of the piece, and I crocheted interesting wavy strips that I wove a little color into after crocheting. I alternated these with double chain bands in a contrasting color. Then the challenge was to find a warp that would hold it all together but not compete with it.

I have many more ideas for combining crochet and weaving. I am excited to keep on experimenting with this! I have decided to call these combo pieces "weavrochet". My daughter and I had a great time brainstorming words combining crochet and weaving, and this was our favorite!

If you would like to follow along  and see progress photos of my weavrochet adventures as they unfold, follow me on instagram, and you can also search by the Instagram hashtag #weavrochet.