>In Love With Dove

Posted on October 26, 2009 by dorischancrochet

>Those who know me too well might assume that Dove in the title refers to the Mars brand confections. And although I would never refuse any smooth, sweet foil-wrapped pillows of Dove chocolate (or a Dove ice cream bar), those delicacies are the topic for another day. So get your minds out of the candy aisle.

This is Tahki Dove, new for this season and available in a sophisticated palette of shades as delicious as the candy. Dove works to worsted gauge, but the staggering 163 yards (150 m) per 1.75 ounce (50 g) ball (twice as much yardage as other traditional worsted weight yarns) tells you the story. This is incredibly lightweight stuff. The magic is in the construction. Dove has a teeny nylon chain at its core, which provides strength and stability. This air-core is Z-twist wrapped with a sumptuous blend of extrafine Merino wool and alpaca. Dove looks and behaves like a single (yarn that is not plied, but spun as one strand) and has a soft, fulled appearance while offering amazing stitch definition. That might sound like a contradiction, crocheted fabric that is both fuzzy and defined. But take a close look at the stitch pattern in the “Unchain My Heart” tunic. How gorgeous is that?

Dove’s airiness is a boon for crocheters who wish to make garments in larger sizes. This tunic requires a mere 10 ounces or so of yarn (6 balls) for a size 2X (52″ finished bust).

The patterns for both Dove designs, the “Unchain My Heart” tunic and the “Hooked on a Feeling” shrug are available for purchase as E-patterns from Tahki Stacy Charles.

And, coming soon in the winter issue of Interweave Crochet, look for another design in Dove that is a major contender in the category “stylish warmth without weight”.

>Naked Crochet

Posted on September 26, 2009 by dorischancrochet

>Thought that might get your attention! 🙂

This could rank as the coolest thing that ever happened to any of my crochet designs. And to think it’s all Jan’s fault. Jan, an online friend from Ravelry.com and one of the most energetic and dedicated members of the posse, and her group of wildly creative (and just plain wild) fiberazzi in Northern UK, the Knitting Noras, have gone where few have dared. Following in the tradition of the Calendar Girls, the Noras have produced a 2010 naked knitting calendar. That news in itself would be totally brilliant. But just take a look at the cover (un-cover) garment.

Yup. I did a double-take… it’s the Caron Crochet Lacy Duster. I admit, I’m not used to seeing it worn quite this way, but WOWSERS! I totally approve. Jan not only crocheted this duster plus many other garments for the shoot, but she herself graces the calendar as Miss November.

The calendar is available for order and the proceeds will benefit the Christie Cancer Hospital. I can’t wait to get mine. Cheers for Jan and the Noras! Brava!

>PATTERN EXTRA: Lacy Top Cardi Adjustments

Posted on September 1, 2009 by dorischancrochet

>OK. This was not as big a problem as I anticipated. What follows is crochet tech talk, strictly for readers who have requested a way to crochet the Lacy Top Cardigan with deeper armholes to fit. Everyone else will still have to wait for a happier post! 🙂

As I have mentioned in “Amazing Crochet Lace” and elsewhere, top-down garment construction allows you to try on the piece while you are crocheting. This is never an orderly fit. It is my experience that the body, particularly across the back, will seem sloppy and loose, while the underarm and armholes may feel tight and too high. Please consider that the fabric has a good deal of stretch, that crocheting the rest of the garment (particularly adding sleeves) will surely change the fit, and that blocking usually pulls everything longer. However, upon examining this pattern, I can see why you might want more breathing room in the armhole, particularly in the two larger sizes, L/XL (45) and 2XL (50). So here’s what I think.

Mercifully, all sizes complete the front neck shaping and the yoke increases before this adjustment happens. This lace stitch pattern has a four row repeat. The simplest way to add depth to the armhole without changing either the bust or sleeve circumference (once you have completed all shaping at fronts and corners, and before joining fronts and back at underarms) is to work four rows even in stitch pattern, putting you back at the same step. At that point you are ready to join the underarms in exactly the same way as written. However, four rows at this relaxed gauge will drop the underarm by approximately three inches. This will work well for the sizes L/XL (45) and 2XL (50). But may be too disproportionate for sizes XS (35) and S/M (40). I will address that later with a more involved solution.

Please refer to the pattern as published, as discussed in this post on July 8. To add 3″ to the yoke (armhole) depth, follow pattern as written, stop after Row 8 (9, 10, 10). Insert these four rows.
Size XS: Work Pat Row 4, then Pat Rows 1-3.
Size S/M: Work Pat Rows 1-4.
Sizes L/XL (2XL): Work Pat Rows 2-4, then Pat Row 1.
Return to instructions as written, continue with Row 9 (10, 11, 11)

Coming soon, pattern extras to grant deeper (but not this deep) armholes and a way to create more ease for generous upper arms without changing the bust circumference.

>What I’m Wearing Today: Lacy Top Cardigan

Posted on July 9, 2009 by dorischancrochet

>I hate to play favorites among my crocheted clothes. But I must admit that this is my go-to bit of lace year round, the Lacy Top Cardigan. The short story is this design is now a free pattern download for a limited time through this link to Ravelry. The long story is… well… long.

The design belongs to Tahki Stacy Charles, and the original was included in the 2nd Edition Ta hki Crochet book from 2007, still available through the Tahki Stacy Charles site and at retailers. The original sample as shown in this book was crocheted in Tahki Bali.

Last year, the Lacy Top Cardigan was remade in N.Y. Yarns N.Y. Cotton (distributed by TSC) and issued as a free pattern from the N.Y. Yarns site.

Are you still with me?

N.Y. Yarns products are now being offered exclusively through Patternworks. This happened quite recently. Somehow the Lacy Top Cardigan pattern has temporarily fallen through the cracks. So until Patternworks negotiates to offer this pattern on their site, I have been authorized to share it. If you are not registered at Ravelry, no worries. You don’t have to be a member in order to get the free pdf download. The only matter I need to address is to let you know that N.Y. Yarns N.Y. Cotton is now available at Patternworks.

One more thing. If you start this pattern (or any of my patterns) and get stuck at any point, please join me and the friendly, helpful and often obsessive/compulsive posse on Ravelry. Jump onto the group and forum dedicated to my designs, Doris Chan: Everyday Crochet, and post your questions for us.

>BACKSTORY: Avalon

Posted on June 6, 2009 by dorischancrochet

You gotta love a yarn company design director who respects crochet. From the first garment I sent to Cari Clement for Caron International in 2006 through the latest, this top for NaturallyCaron.com, our creative relationship has given me so many unique opportunities to explore my craft. This season Cari has spotlighted our latest design, Avalon, with a free pattern download and audio fashion show.

Avalon was inspired by home dec. Really. The motif is my adaptation of a swatch I saw in a vintage book, “Crochet For A Beautiful Home” (Sedgewood Press, 1987), one of among the countless treasures found by my mother over the years as she scoured her local flea markets and thrift shops. I know she paid just a couple of bucks for it, because if the penciled-in price on the inside cover had been any more than 2 dollars, she would have beaten them down to 2 dollars, trust me.

The motif features spiraling arms consisting of solid single crochets over chain spaces. I just so happened to see a coordinating pattern stitch in a Japanese stitch dictionary , “Crochet Patterns Book 300” (publisher and information in Japanese and therefore indecipherable by me!). The motif and stitch worked so well together that this top practically designed itself.

By deconstructing the motif I discovered a cool way to make the spiral arms into a trim for the body and sleeve bottoms.

Avalon has a soft, dense drape and generous, slinky stretch thanks to the yarn, NaturallyCaron.com Spa, a blend of Microfiber and Bamboo. The body and sleeves may easily be lengthened or shortened as you please before finishing with the trim, one of the benefits of top-down construction. Beware, though, as the stitch pattern will relax when blocked and you may end up with more length than you imagined.