New stitches: Broomstick lace crochet

Ages and ages ago I saw a post on Yolanda’s blog that mentioned broomstick lace crochet and I desperately wanted to try it straight away. But when I got home that day, I checked my broom and found it had a non-removable cap on the end, which made it useless (for crochet anyway). Nor could I find anything else in my flat thick enough to work, so I put it on hold and then kind of forgot about it.

UNTIL I was wandering round Asda during a rainy lunch break and spotted Crochet Now sitting on the shelf, with a free broomstick crochet set. That’s the quickest I’ve ever put anything in my basket. It contained three ‘broomsticks’ and a crochet hook to use with them.

Looking at them now I realise I probably could have used one of the many plastic rulers I have lying about the flat, but I was so fixated on finding something round that the thought never occurred. At least now I have a back up plan if I lose these!

I got stuck in that evening and, as usual with new things, it involved a bit of trial and error. My first error was forgetting that I use US crochet terms and I was reading a UK magazine. It took a wee while to figure out why mine didn’t look like the photos. Plus I found parts of the step-by-step instructions lacking and had to figure out a couple of things for myself.

My first proper practice attempt wasn’t completely terrible

So I jumped in and started making the first pattern in the booklet: an easy cowl. The pattern calls for Cygnet yarn in bright pink, which just so happens to be part of the swap yarn I got from Rebecca! I still wanted it combined with the grey yarn she also sent me, so I held the two together and went for the largest broomstick.

It’s turning out exactly as I imagined, and I love it.

Has anyone else tried broomstick lace? Tempted to give it a go now? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

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New stitches: hairpin lace crochet

I have Tami to thank for this particular stitch-learning. I saw her post about it, and the beautiful things that can be made with it, and I pretty much knew I’d be getting a loom one day.

So when I saw Crochet Now sitting on a shelf in Morrisons with a free hairpin loom, I was completely unable to resist! It just jumped into my trolley and I had to buy it. 

I tried to be good and read through the instructions first, but that’s really not the way my mind works. I got terribly confused trying to imagine exactly what I was supposed to do with it, and it made very little sense, so I just set up and jumped right in.

It was both easier and more difficult than I expected: easier because it’s just chains and single crochet, which I already knew, with some wrapping round the frame added in. More difficult because I’m positive you need at least 3 hands to work it properly.

How do you stop this happening every 5 seconds??

 

For my first attempt I produced this lovely lace:

I’m not sure if you can see from the photo just how varied the loop sizes are, but you can definitely see that it’s not a straight line. My hope is that this is just a beginner thing – even after 3 years of crocheting my tension still goes very tight when I’m thinking too much about what I’m doing. Now I’ve got the general idea I think my next piece should come out much more even.

So that’s hairpin crochet! Aside from having to reattach the frame every time I move, it’s really fun and I’m looking forward to making something beautiful with it.

What do you think of hairpin crochet? Fancy giving it a go? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

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