january 2014
crochet savvy
Volume IIi | Issue 1 | January 2014 | www.crochetsavvy.com
All Abou t Men Is Taboos & sue! blessings behind th em
en in cro chet
The CrochetDad
Michael Sellick
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pg.
Gene Saunders Johnny Vasquez-
the teacher behind the videos
@NewStitchADay.com
The Resurgence of Vintage Crochet
WEAR Crochet
Winter Fashion
the
staff
Founder/Editor-n-Chief LaTonya “Keturah Ariel” Malinconico www.knitfabulous.org Blog/Social Editor Turquioz Blue www.thisiscrochet.com Staff Assistant & Charity Director Aldonia Secession Feature Writer Lamira Fields Design Team Bohemian Design Solutions www.bohemiandesigns.info
Crochet Savvy Magazine 125 Neptune Drive #1604 Toronto, ON M6A 1X3 Canada www.crochetsavvy.com info@crochetsavvy.com
FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/ crochetsavvymagazine TWITTER www.twitter.com/crochetsavvy
RAVELRY www.raverly.com/groups/ crochetsavvymagazine
letter from the
EDITOR
As I near the time of the birth of my third child, it was become increasingly difficult to upkeep this magazine. So we hired two new staff members and they have done such a great job on the magazine as well as given me constant encouragement as the editor and sometimes one-man show behind the Crochet Savvy brand. I am also very grateful to our readers and viewers who often share our Twitter status and Facebook shares. From the time of the announcement that we were having a magazine issue dedicated to men, we have tripled all of our social networks and RSS subscribe list. It is amazing to see how the designers themselves help make this possible. They are so kind and supportive to us and often send people our way. I really enjoyed the theme of this magazine issue! This is what my goal was to achieve when the idea of Crochet Savvy came to me, to be a bridge and a link within our c o m m u n i t y, t o h e l p s u p p o r t o t h e r designers and artists and basically be there for them to showcase their work on a platform that many have not had the opportunity to do so so far. We are not mainstream, and I would love to stay underground. I love you readers, designers and fans- all of you who have supported us through sharing, advertisements and just plain love. You made this magazine issue possible. -Kisses, LaTonya “Keturah Ariel” Malinconico Founder & Editor-n-Chief
table of
contents
Letter from the Editor Meet our Staff Our Media Kit The Resurgence of Vintage Crochet A Man After My Own Art- Guest Article
2 6 8 14 19
coverstory
22
Michael Sellick Honoring our Men: Removing Stereotypes in Crafting
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All Abou t Men Is sue! Taboos & bless the men ings behind in croche t
The CrochetDad
38
Johnny Vasquez-
44
Gene Saunders the teacher behind the videos
@NewStitchADay.com
todd Paschall
54
WEAR Crochet
62
Winter Fashion
Charity crochet: Beth's Hats For Hope Focus on Business: R. Deborah Overath of “scienceknitster werks�: The Value of a Great Technical Writer Resource Tab
66 71
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meet our
staff family. Follow her at her blog and website at: www.knitfabulous.org. You can also follow her status updates on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/crochetsavvy. Keturah has patter ns on both Ravelry.com and Craftsy.com.
FOUNDER/EDITOR-N-CHIEF
LATONYA KETURAH MALINCONICO Keturah is a debut author and has been in the hip-hop industry for more than 13 years. An advocate for charity and having joy through trials, she teaches through motivation and inspiration a message of hope and balance for people, especially stay-at-home-moms, who feel that they are completely lost tending to children, husbands and house duties. She has a BA in Liberal Arts and MBA in Business Administration and is a graphics designer and networker. She loves to use her creativity through arts, music and crafting (crocheting, knitting & sewing) to encourage others. Keturah is from Houston, Texas but currently resides in Toronto, Canada with her
BLOG/SOCIAL EDITOR TURQUOIZ BLUE
Turquoiz Blue is from Atlanta, GA and is a crochet, knitter, seamstress and graphics/ web designer. She loves to check out fashion trends, as well as looking at vintage fashions, fantasy costumes, and historical dress. She is an accomplished crafter who has had several designs featured in top craft magazines and is a proud member of the Crochet Guild of America ( CGOA). She can be found on her blog at:
http://www.thisiscrochet.com/blog as well as most social media sites under the name “TurquoizBlue”. Be sure to purchase her patterns on Ravelry as well!
since 2012. and the owner of Barnwell's delight in Arizona. Visit Aldonia and check out her creativity on Facebook at: https:// www.facebook.com/pages/BarnwellsDelight.
STAFF ASSISTANT & CHARITY DIRECTOR ALDONIA SECESSION
Aldonia is one of our newest staff members. She has always been creative. To escape life she would find something creative to keep her occupied. Just last year she came across the world of fiber arts; and thought, crocheting looks like fun but refused to make your everyday blankets. With no one willing to teach a left handed person to crochet, she taught herself. After practicing and rewriting patterns she saw online she decided to write her own. She is an active volunteer for the children's festival and fundraiser of Cochise County and is crocheting winter hats for the teens. She is from Bridgeport, Connecticut and have two loving children.She is also a self taught Left-handed crocheter
FEATURE WRITER LAMIRA FIELDS Lamira is also new to our staff; born and raised in Washington, D.C, she began crocheting at the age of 14 and was blessed to have two aunts that taught her this beautiful craft. Lamira started out making granny squares and that quickly turned into blankets. Unfortunately, she stopped crocheting around the age of 17 but quickly began again when she became pregnant with her first son at the age of 22. Now at the age of 46, Lamira loves crocheting and cannot see herself without a hook and yarn. She loves to crochet blankets, hats (infant, children, and adult), and scarves. Her craft goals are to learn “Crochet By Numbers” technique by Todd Paschall and the Tunisian stitch. You can find Lamira on Ravelry.com in several groups there!
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Crochet is dominating the internet, books and news-stands, however, it hasn’t been until recently that fashion, style and crochet are truly getting the shine and recognition they deserve. This spotlight is coming in the form of Crochet Savvy Magazine, solely dedicated to the vast community of crocheters and the dedicated, loyal fans of the art. Crochet Savvy is the brainchild of LaTonya “KeTurah Ariel” Malinconico and it is a free online magazine and blog dedicated to the work of fashion and crochet as well as the independent online retailers of the crochet world. Focusing on crochet only, Crochet Savvy answers the needs of crochet and fashion bloggers as well as independent yarn suppliers who are starting their own businesses online. Crochet Savvy Magazine features up and coming crochet designers, bloggers, and yarn spinners as well as going behind-the-scenes of crochet with tutorials, book recommendations and how-to’s. With a free subscription, viewers subscribe to the blog and digital magazine thereby gaining access to resources, deals, coupons, recommendations and free patterns. For more information on Crochet Savvy Magazine
and how to contribute, visit http://www.crochetsavvy.com and follow us @ http:// www.twitter.com/crochetsavvy. Our staff is a close-knit staff of four persons in different locations within the USA and Canada, all of whom are avid crocheters themselves. We all have many years of crafting experience as well as other accomplishments in life. As a very diverse staff, two of our staff members have business degrees and are designers themselves- with one of them being an accomplished designer with patterns featured in many mainstream crochet magazines. while the other has been in the music industry for the past 14 years now. Our newest members include one very creative U.S. Army Wife and the last member is a proud U.S. Marine herself! All of our staff members are also members of the CGOA or support the Guild in many ways both financially and/or physically through contests and shows.
Our Resume So far, we have featured novice and pro designers alike as well as interviewed some of the crochet world’s favorites such as Kathryn Vercillo from Crochet Concupiscence, the author of Crochet Saved my Life and Amy Shelton, former President of the Crochet Guild of America and co-founder of Crochetville. We have also featured articles highlighting designer TurquiozBlue from This is Crochet as well as interviewed the fabulous folks at the Crochet Guild of America, Renaissance Austin, Clare Sullivan of BOBWILSON123, Stitchworks’ Brian Milco, Furls Crochet’s Harrison Richards, and many others. This special magazine issue also featured fabulous men in crochet including The Crochet Crowd, The CrochetDad and Johnny Vasquez of NewStitchADay.com! We also have sections that focus strictly on Charity Crochet and the organizations that support others. In our Fall 2012 Issue, we showed the story of a women who fought cervical cancer and survived, only to still battle obesity. She later lost over 100 pounds and shared her touching story with us all. We received so much love and support for her story alone, that it made us proud to do what we do. In the Summer 2013 Issue, our cover story featured a more averaged shaped model on the front- which also poured in many emails and love about our magazine showing diversity within our crochet community. And now in this Winter Issue, we have gained many followers because we choose to feature a male cover story to show the other side of crochet. People have also emailed us with much encouragement and support and have let us know that proudly we are the only magazine, whether free or paid, that features the designer and informative crochet stories instead of just patterns. We are very proud indeed to hold that title!
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WE ARE SMALL AND NEW BUT HERE ARE A FEW FACTS TO INSPIRE YOU: Our fan base has a steady growth on all of our social networks to only be 2 years old now, includinga little over 1,000 likes on Facebook, 114 fans on Google+, 339 followers on Twitter and 156 members in our Ravelry group. Our Facebook page is very active with many likes and views per day, including tons of comments per post. Our email subscribe list is close to 1,250 subscribers- which tripled in size since our Summer magazine issue and finally the website sees close to 172 views a day, equalling 61,920 views to date.
“WE TAKE CARE OF THE INDEPENDENT DESIGNER, THE NEW ARTIST, AND THAT SPECIAL CROCHETER WHO HAS NOT MADE IT INTO THOSE BIG NAME BOOKS & MAGAZINES YET... I LOVE TO SEARCH FOR NEW TALENT, I USED TO DO IT WHEN I WORKED IN HIP HOP & IT IS A GIFT THAT SUITS ME. OUR MAGAZINE BRINGS THE SPOTLIGHT TO HIDDEN TALENT ALL OVER THE WORLD. I SEE CROCHET SAVVY AS OUR OWN SPECIAL PLACE, A SAFE HAVEN TO DISCUSS AND TALK AS WE SEE FIT- INDEPENDENTLY, DOING AS WE PLEASE AND GOING AGAINST THE MOLD, ALL WHILE SUPPORTING OTHER CROCHETERS IN THIS BUSINESS WHO ARE ALSO LIKE-MINDED. THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FABULOUS & SAVVY- DOING YOU AND DOING IT BIG.” -Keturah, Founder, Editor-n-Chief
Our history Crochet Savvy began in the Spring of 2012 and has produced 8 magazines thus far, including this one- one magazine for each season. Gaining followers and supporters, the free magazine and blog also incorporates many charity projects that its viewers can participate in and share with friends via social networking around the world. This online magazine “ezine” is all about the designer and fashion and how we as crocheters have the freedom to create and make anything work! Traditional features of our magazine and blog include video tutorials and podcast broadcasting from some of your favorite teachers in the crochet world. While also featuring a blog style dialogue, we post photos and outfits of the day to help foster your creative side as well as tips and secrets for helping you “crochet savvy” in the home, at work, or wherever you are.
Crochet Savvy Magazine is about fun, fashion and crochet! We are not just a magazine that shows patterns, we get the story behind the designer, the sweat and tears behind some of the most fashionable and quirky personalities out there- both known and unknown to the big world of crochet. So join us online via our favorite social networks, subscribe to our blog RSS feed to get the latest updates in the world of fashion and crochet and continue to “crochet savvy”!
CrochetSavvy in the Media • Crochetville mentions us on their website and gives us a great big shout out! Thanks to Amy for allowing us to interview her about Crochetville. See it here • We are featured on Kathryn Vercillo’s article on “5 Mags that Celebrated Crochet Saved my Life”. It was a great honor to interview Kathryn. Her book was soo profound and many crocheters have the same story. See it here • Malinconico, Crochet Savvy’s Founder & Editor-n-Chief is honored to become a Guest Blogger on Cre8tioncrochet.com, thereby uniting our cause with theirs and gaining a great network of other crocheters in the process. See it here INTERVIEW REQUESTS AND MORE... TO CONTACT CROCHET SAVVY MAGAZINE FOR INTERVIEWS AND MORE... EMAIL US AT: INFO@CROCHETSAVVY.COM WE CONDUCT ONLINE INTERVIEWS VIA GOOGLE+ HANGOUT. WE ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR EMAIL AND TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS.
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Doshie Dior Photography www.doshiedior.com
the RESURGENCE of Vintage Crochet by: TurquoizBlue Retro-styled crochet designs began to appear on the runways, in ready-to-wear, and in home dĂŠcor a couple of years ago, and they show no signs up leaving the scene. Modern interpretations of vintage garments recall the past while still appearing fresh. The vintage styles look very on-trend when they are juxtaposed against modern elements. Recently, granny squares have caused sensations on the runways during Fashion Week. Designers such as Christopher Kane have transformed them into couture fashions that are worthy of the catwalk. He even designed granny square print leather jackets. If you would like to make your own crochet granny square fashions, take a look at these: h t t p : / / w w w. r a v e l r y. c o m / p a t t e r n s / s e a r c h # q u e r y = g r a n n y %20square&pc=clothing&view=captioned_thumbs&craft=crochet&sort=best It has been a real treat to see retro crochet fashions on TV shows such as Boardwalk Empire, which is a show on HBO that is set in Atlantic City during the 1920s prohibition. In one of the episodes, the character Daughter Maitland wears a stunning, red crocheted dress as she rehearses for her performance. Lisa Padovani (http:// lisapadovanicostumes.com), the award-winning costumer for Boardwalk Empire, says that this dress is an authentic period piece that was obtained from a dealer, and it was in very good condition. It only needed a slight color adjustment, ribbon replacement, and a matching slip. The dress is a combination of mesh, filet crochet and fringe, and it is accented with touches of black. Although the dress was from the 1920s, it could easily be worn today.
(Above photo Source: Polyvore http://embed.polyvoreimg.com/ cgi/img-thing/size/y/tid/ 95564145.jpg).
(Right photos Source: Boardwalk Empire, Season 4, Episode 6, The North Star) http://www.hbogo.com/#series/video&assetID=GOROSTGP41462? videoMode=embeddedVideo?showSpecialFeatures=false/
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Crochet collars are also very popular. They range from frilly lace collars to textured collar necklaces. This “Crochet Collar Necklace” from Asos is sprinkled with tiny pearls, and it creates a perfect, face-framing focal point against the basic black top.
(Photo Source: http://www.asos.com/ ASOS/Limited-Edition-Crochet-CollarNecklace/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx? iid=2291100&r=2)
You can easily recreate this look from one of the many patterns for lace collars. There are several hundred patterns for all types of crochet collars on Ravelry. h t t p : / / w w w. r a v e l r y. c o m / p a t t e r n s / s e a r c h # q u e r y = c r o c h e t %20collar&view=captioned_thumbs&craft=crochet&sort=best
Crochet home décor is also experiencing a retro influence with a twist. This “Groovyghan” from Tracy St. John is all about peace and love. It combines granny squares with colorful flowers, wavy stripes, circles, and dots. (Right photo Source: Tracy St. John Designs – Photo credit Brittany Tyler)
Another home décor crochet trend has turned dainty table doilies into mega-sized floor doily rugs that mix well with contemporary and traditional décors. If you would like to make your own rug, give these patterns a try: https://www.google.com/search? q = c r o c h e t + d o i l y +rug&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=GQixUvWdEPWosATQ24G4Cg&sqi=2 &ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1760&bih=858#q=crochet%20doily%20rug %20pattern&revid=1349685658&tbm=isch&imgdii=_
Creating your own vintage-inspired crochet designs only requires you to take a look at the past and think of new ways to fuse retro designs with the current styles. If you are feeling inspired to try a vintage crochet pattern, here are a few sites that offer free patterns. Free Vintage Crochet http://freevintagecrochet.com Groovy Crochet http://www.groovycrochet.co/
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ads placed here
a man After My Own Art Guest Article
by: Nina Schwartzman
These days knitting, crocheting and sewing are popular hobbies. But it’s hard not to notice that these crafts are still largely dominated by women. So why do so few men do these kinds of crafts? When we’re in elementary school, boys and girls all make the same Christmas ornaments and woven potholders, but once we get a little bit older the girls are sewing in home economics and the boys are playing with power tools in woodshop. Many men still wouldn’t be caught dead knitting or sewing a torn pair of pants. Women can do traditionally “manly” tasks like fixing things around the house or changing the oil in their car without it being a threat to their womanliness. But for most men, acting too “feminine” is still a big taboo. Women can wear men’s clothes without getting too many funny looks, but when was the last time you saw a man walking down the street wearing a skirt? There also aren’t a lot of women who are carpenters or furniture makers, but there’s not such a stigma around women doing “manly” crafts. The stigma attached to men doing “women’s” crafts is part of the larger cultural phenomenon of devaluing women’s work and contributions. This contributes to the gender disparity in pay, to the gendering of careers (i.e. teachers, nurses, and housekeepers are mostly women; most IT and engineering jobs are filled by men), and people generally getting boxed into gender stereotypes. It’s part of a culture that denigrates boys for being too “girly” if they like theater or playing with dolls. Girls don’t get nearly as much hassle from their peers (or
from adults for that matter) for acting like a tomboy, and the same paradigm holds true once we’re grownups. There are definitely men crafting though, and maybe as more men take up traditionally female crafts, this stigma will break down. Websites like menwhoknit.com and the existence of Men’s Knitting Retreats are signs that there are men who enjoy knitting and aren’t afraid to show it. The UK site Stitch Craft Create compiled a list of British men who love crafting so much they do it for a living. It includes bloggers like the supercrocheter One Man Crochet (who also has the coolest avatar ever) and cross-stitcher Mr. X Stitch. Apparently even Ryan Gosling loves knitting! However, the fact that men’s knitting groups exist shows that they feel they need their own space where they don’t have to worry about feeling out of place. One male knitter has observed that most knitting books and magazines predominantly feature images of women and very few patterns for men’s clothing. When all you see are women knitting, it reinforces the stereotype of knitting as a women’s hobby and makes men even more reluctant to take it up. Having more men involved in needlework and other crafts might help chip away at restrictive expectations of what men are supposed to like or do. It may also help elevate the status of those crafts, although I hate the idea that something would be valued more just because men participate in it. In any case, it will take both bold men and openminded women to create a craft world where those of all genders feel welcome and where their work is valued. This article was originally published by ChangeEngine - a blog platform for dreamers, schemers and evil geniuses for good created by ChangingMedia, a creative digital agency." at: changingmediagroup.com.
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http://www.bobwilson123.org
coverstory
Michael Sellick
I follow Mikey personally via his YouTube videos, so when I thought about asking him to be our Cover Story, I said to myself: “he is way too big to say yes. We are just a small underground free digital only magazine.” But to my surprise, not only did he say yes, but I found out that we had mutual friends and that Mikey lives near me- sort of lol... He is a great person with an upbeat attitude, great crochet skills and most importantly- a lot to say. Presenting our Cover feature- Michael Sellick of The Crochet Crowd: “I am extremely motivated to create interesting and new ideas with marketing for products and services through free consumer education. I am a workaholic with focused goals with a strong desire to succeed.
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My goals for The Crochet Crowd are to educate using demonstrations of patterns and stitch creations. I believe consumers are smart and can make informed decisions about the products they use for their own creations. “ - Mikey
All Abou t Men Is sue! Taboos & bless the men ings behind in croche t
Q) Do you feel that being in the minority (a male) within the crochet community helps your business and credibility or hurts it and what can you do as well as the community to make more men feel comfortable as crafters? A) Being male in the crochet world usually takes people by surprise when they run into a video or any of my content. Looking throughout our history, even as recent as World War II, men have done the needle arts, knitting and crochet. In just a matter of two generations, the idea of a man doing this type of craft has become a taboo. I believe this is due to feminine product colours and media defining a mythical creature of 'A Real Man'. My mission isn't to target a select genre, such as males, to make them more comfortable. Our community is open to all who are willing to participate. You will notice if you are male and post a photo of your finished work, you most likely will get more comments and likes because you are male. Our female audience is really supportive. I try my best not to address the audience on videos and in my social as “Girls or Ladies” when addressing a status update. I know we have men in our community and are aware of it. Q) What makes your work and contribution to crochet different from everyone else? A) I have a warped sense of humour which transmits to my status updates, projects and video tutorials. I'm not scared to admit when I make a mistake. Though I don't plan for any of my wacked humour, it naturally comes out in the form of funny sarcasm. I am engaged and accessible. I comment and share in the success of our fans. I am on Facebook viewing fan photos and sharing in with the creativity of our fans. My mission is to the person “that gets you started”. Removing the 'old lady stereotype' that exists and show people that crochet is fun, fabulous and can have many positive elements to your life. I often say, as my audience grows, so do I. I'm always learning new things and willing to share what I learn.
My mission is to help others and share so others can be successful. I'm using my life to serve the world without asking a lot in return. I would define myself today, since the creation of The Crochet Crowd, that I found my calling and purpose while here. Though I grew up and used most of my adult life believing the fame and money are the keys to happiness, the real meaning of happiness for me is giving myself to others in the form of acknowledgement, understanding and sharing what I have learned along my life's journey. To me, The Crochet Crowd isn't a job, it's my passion which gives me joy beyond measure. Q) How do you handle hundreds of followers and contacts? Describe to us your typical day, week? At this time, we have 168,000 followers on Facebook with over 150,000 followers on YouTube. My fans have grown with me and help each other greatly within our social network. They know that there is only one me and that I cannot comment or answer every email. We receive so much email that we are frequently backed up. We ask our community communicate problems with their projects and help requests on our Facebook instead of waiting for us to respond. With 10's of thousands of crocheters who participate, the answer will most likely be within hours of posting a help question. In a typical day, I usually start off with surfing through photos and comments posted between the time I signed off the night before. I quickly review some of the emails. I then start content creation and feeling the heartbeat of the community in the very
moment. While other social media directors heavily schedule their social media in advance to save time. I have found that to be a disservice to a community as my reactions and comments may not be relevant for the current tone of the community. Cathy and I work within real time. The Crochet Crowd is monitored daily. We have our shifts and because we all love what we do, even when we aren't supposed to be working, we still check in and see what's happening. Q) What are some pros and cons of being a man in a predominately woman’s craft? I don't look at myself as being a man in a woman's craft. I'm following my creative outlet and crochet happens to be it. When people discover that I am male and it's actually male steering The Crochet Crowd. For some, they cannot get beyond the gender element and will tune out. It makes me have to work harder to prove myself but I have gotten to a level where my fan base knows my work, knows my effort and knows that my affection for community. I believe that me being male is a great part of the success of The Crochet Crowd. I have seen the demise of many crochet groups as woman tend to get 'catty' with each other, especially when a woman is leading a dominantly women's group. We have seen it ourselves for how people treat my Executive Assistant Cathy, verses how they treat me. Some female fans are really short with her where the same people are as nice as
can be with me. You have to put on a thick skin to be on the social media networks, especially YouTube for the amount of insulting comments you will get for being male teaching crochet. I really struggled in the first two years of developing the crowd to let these comments slid under the carpet. Today, some comments, depending on the day on how I am feeling can be extremely hurtful and really demeaning. I pass this off as someone else who is lacking something in their lives to try to empower themselves by intentionally bashing another person. Q) Do you have support, a team, business partners, tell us about them? A) We have a team of 4 of us that work behind the scenes. Cathy Cunningham came to me as a volunteer in 2009 when I was struggling to answer emails. Of 9 people that started out, Cathy is the only one that stuck it out. We developed a friendship and Cathy was moved to be my Executive Assistant. Cathy's role is to help fans directly on Facebook, YouTube and go through Viewer's mail. Most of the email coming from The Crochet Crowd will come through from Cathy. Daniel Zondervan, my partner, was introduced in 2009. Daniel, new to my life then, embraced the idea of what I was trying to do. Daniel's role is our content manager for editorial ideas, newsletter creation and our live show coordinator. Colleen Barden, is my assistant crocheter. When I am backlogged Colleen crochets for our live shows. Most of the samples seen in a live show are completed by her. Two of her samples have been used in tutorial videos. I crochet nearly all of the projects in advance on my own so I can figure out how to team it effectively. Q) What goes into each video tutorial and blog post? It seems that you do A LOT!! A) Each video tutorial is more work than anyone will ever realize. The time invested is substantial. I have to hold a sample or show a sample in advance. That has to be crocheted in advance. Though it makes sense for me to film backwards to show my finished sample at the end of the video as my introduction. Reality is, I need to do
the project to figure out where people are going to slip up and figure out my advice. Most videos have between 20 – 90 clips that are spliced together. I won't tolerate mistakes or things where I am teaching and I realize I am screwing up. I stop and refilm the section all over again. I only leave small little bloopers in from time to time. Due to myself making it look easy, people don't compute the work it took to get it there. Don't even get me started on setting up the studio equipment for each time I decide to film. I use my home and have to set up and dismantle my set up. While doing a sample in advance. You will hear my mind saying my script as I am crocheting. Key element points to look for. Tutorial creation can take as little as 3 hours and go as high as 120 hours from start to finish. This timing prevents me from filming everything under the sun as I need the time to work on ideas. The blogs are really time consuming I find. Content ideas come really natural to me. It's a matter of presentation and taking the time to write up a blog. I rely heavily on the comments after a blog or video is filmed to gage my report card. If I have missed the mark, I instantly know within an hour of it is going to be a hit or a miss. I cannot be successful with everything but use each and every content post as my report card for future improvement and development. Q) What would you say to encourage more people like you to do what they love no matter how they look, lifestyle or gender? A) Too many people think that something comes from nothing. My saying that I live by is “Without Traction, There's No Reaction�. Simply put, if you are complaining that no one ever emails you, have you emailed others a quality email to warrant a response. You have to be the person to set your life into motion. You are what you are and there will always be people who never see your vision. You will always have people in the audience that sees everything from a negative point of view. I recently posted a video showcasing a very touching story. A person commented that the balloons were an environmental pollutant and never be done. Though she was right, the point of video was very little to do with the balloons as the very end. Either she missed the point of the story or she looked for a negative perspective to devalue the story. Either way, you cannot please everyone and have to understand that really quickly. Q) Have you ever considered starting a non-profit for males or teen boys to teach them crafting? Would you ever do something like that or have participated in teaching more men?
A) In today's society with children being tuned to electronics more than real life social groups, I think I have more success in reaching more kids through YouTube than a select few in real person. In teaching school children at the Upper Canada Pioneer Village, the boys took to the idea of crafting, a lot more than the girls. It was really surprising. We actually have a photo and it was a real shock for us. The downside of this, I had to hand these boys feminine coloured tools to work with because that's all there is. In most craft shows I participate in, Women tend to leave their kids at home so they can enjoy the day. So the learning has to go from usually a female figure to kids within her reach. Most male spouses never show up to support their spouse's creativity. In a real life setting such as an interactive craft show, I am one of the very few males that are there. The learning of this has to start at home with Mom empowering her children, including boys, that crafting is cool and fun. However, in today's society where mom and dad are working or there is a single parent situation, the time that a parent has is very limited. To fight off the appeal of mindless television and video game entertainment is probably not worth the battle. Crafting has to start at an early age, liked it did with me, to show the value of feeling fabulous after you have finished something you have made. Mom or dad has to break that stereotype that is being fed by the mass media. Q) Tell us more in a shameless and very promoting way about your up-coming crochet cruise! We hear that our friend Harrison from the fabulous Furls Crochet has donated hooks to all who are going. A) In February, we are hosting 2 Crochet Cruises. One departing out of Miami and the second one departing out of Los Angeles two weeks later. Daniel and I are flying to booth and taking our goodies with us. The Crochet Crowd Cruises was developed on the concept of having vacation that is entwined around crochet. We are hosting seminars on board and doing group activities throughout the cruise. We gave 10 months notice out about this cruise. We sold out of tickets with a capacity of 120 guests total between both ships. We limited our guest numbers to be fair to our sponsors. We could have sold more tickets. Cruise prices started at $429 and our group fee was only $40. With the generous help of our sponsors, Red Heart, Furls Crochet Hooks, Creativ Festival, Darn Good Yarn and Crochet Today Magazine, we have developed a phenomenal program. The sponsors, together, are gifting each confirmed passenger an approximately $225 gift package just for attending. Course materials and etc have been provided. Included in this package are promotional gifts from us as well.
While on board, we are doing a charity project for Project Linus. Each guest has been asked to bring a minimum of 6 Granny Squares with them. We will be assembling the afghan(s) on board. A member representative of Project Linus is joining us on one of the cruises to take our donations and pass them along. We wanted to use our cruise to not only connect with our crochet community but also give back to community as well. Q) What else do you have going on? • Monthly Crochet Challenges where people finish an assigned project and email me us a finished photo. Random winners are selected. • On Going Monthly Giveaways with various sponsors on The Crochet Crowd. Yarn and good stuff being given away. • January 11th – 12th, 2014 – Fun with Red Heart. I will be at CHA in California having some yarn fun at the Red Heart Display. • Two Crochet Cruises in February 2014. Together with fans on board Carnival Cruise Lines, we will be “Hook'n The High Seas”. On board lessons and crochet community throughout the 7 day cruises. One cruise is for the Eastern Caribbean and the second is Mexican Riviera Cruise. More details are available. • April 25 – 26, 2014. Creativ Festival in Mississauga Ontario. We are creating a fabulous new exhibit called “Alice Hooks in Wonderland”. Together with our audience, our exhibit will tell the story through the art of crochet. Fans can meet us and take advantage of our extremely popular yarn sales that we have at the show.
Mikey is the Founder, Creative Director/Video Host of The Crochet Crowd and the Video Host, Content and Film Producer for Coats & Clark and Westminster Fibers. He is also the Social Marketing Director for Creativ Festival. Make sure to check Mikey out online at:
Website : http://thecrochetcrowd.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Crochet-Crowd/116482731742088 Blog: http://thecrochetcrowdblog.com
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honoring Our Men Removing Stereotypes in Crafting by: Keturah Ariel
When asked the pros and cons of being a male crocheter in a dominantly female industry today, some responses got a lot of attention while others did not answer anything. Some people said things like “Why ask that?” or “It doesn’t matter what gender you are, who cares…” However, the question was NOT why would a male crochet or which gender is the best at crochet. The question and focus was what are the pros and cons of being a male in a predonaimatley female industry. Totally different question. But what it did reveal from many people is that so many people DO put an extra emphasis on female colors in yarn, female patterns and female teachers within the crochet world. And from some males point of view, while they do enjoy crocheting, they are still inclined to tell us that it is hard at times to make more masculine items when dealing with a lot of feminine yarn colors or lack of men’s patterns. We even found a few responses to Mikey when he asked his followers on Facebook what did they think the pros and cons for a male where. These are a few responses from men, with their names removed for privacy.
“As a male crocheter - I know it is predominately female craft (cue everyone proving me wrong!) but at the end of the day if someone enjoys what they are doing and get pleasure from it they should do it. People I know are always fascinated when I am sitting crocheting up items and ironically its the men who ask more questions than the women!” “Being a male that "bro-chets", I have found lots of people coming to me who are curious and were afraid to try it. Now they do it, too. It's a great conversation starter in the yarn section at the store!”
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“Art has no gender. Crochet is no more a woman's craft than mechanics being a man's hobby... When you do something you love, all you see is the work you're doing.” From a psychological point of view, it was amazing to see how the men responded more positively to this question vs. some women who were just so offended at the question, that they had very negative things to say about the question and made it a gender issue. Another important observation was that we got answers from men outside of Facebook who said that when they have women workers with them, women treat the women workers badly or more harshly than they do when dealing with the men. This means that while some women crafters are calling foul to our questions, it is still the women who are making it a gender issue by treating a man better within our industry because he is still a minority than when dealing with other women. That is just as wrong as it is for people to think that men who crochet are feminine. So shame on some of those women who are doing that. Many other people had the supportive answer of “crafting has no gender” or “do what you love”, however it still doesn’t disprove the fact that crochet is still dominated by women today. And because of this, it is still rare to see men doing the art. Someone else said in their response that “anyone can crochet and people shouldn’t think of men crocheting as frilly and sissy”. And to this I agree. We see in American football how many players take to the art of ballet dance to improve their football skills. However, in our culture- if we see a man doing ballet- we automatically think something is wrong. The same is said about a man who crochets or knits. So we asked random people ourselves “how did they feel about men knitting” and about 80% of them- which where both men and women who do not craft- said things like “a real man doesn’t clean the kitchen and a real man doesn’t knit something. He should be working”. In addition to this, others said, “men who knit are sissy”. (Knit also meaning crochet to them because these people do not know the difference.) That was society’s response. While crafters often are more understanding and think that anyone can create artno matter what gender or race, crafters felt that “yes, men can crochet and its totally awesome”. So why the huge gap in expectations when it comes to picking up a needle or a hook? Who is to blame? Is it society? Is it our parents? Where do we fix the problem? I judge that it is a little of both.
All Abou t Men Is sue! Taboos & bless the men ings behind in croche t
Within our interview, Mikey said that one thing he noticed at conventions, is that he is almost alone as a man in a large space of women. He said the following: “In most craft shows I participate in, Women tend to leave their kids at home so they can enjoy the day. So the learning has to go from usually a female figure to kids within her reach. Most male spouses never show up to support their spouse's creativity. In a real life setting such as an interactive craft show, I am one of the very few males that are there. The learning of this has to start at home with Mom empowering her children, including boys, that crafting is cool and fun. However, in today's society where mom and dad are working or there is a single parent situation, the time that a parent has is very limited. To fight off the appeal of mindless television and video game entertainment is probably not worth the battle. Crafting has to start at an early age, liked it did with me, to show the value of feeling fabulous after you have finished something you have made. Mom or dad has to break that stereotype that is being fed by the mass media.” And I totally agree with Mikey, the stereotype needs to be broken but it takes parents to begin this process at home as well as a change in society’s mindset. See this question asked was not to make folks mad or suggest that we should further idolize the stereotype that men should stay away from crafts, by emphasizing the play on “men in crochet”, it was to empower EVERYONE to craft, no matter what color, gender and size you are. And to see what we ALL can do to make this happen. People who are calling foul play to our question are simply not getting the reason behind the question. It’s like someone getting offended before asking the other person why did they say or do something. It also revealed to us that some people are always negative and secretly want to keep taboo questions under the table. Its ok as long as you don’t ask. If you ask, they automatically call foul because they are scared of their own answer. It is not even this question, its any question that is controversial. We all saw that with the copyright issue from our last magazine issue. Many people think that crocheters should not copy write patterns because stitches can not be copyrighted. You get responses like, “If my grandmother was still alive she would hit you on your head because if that was the
case, she should have gotten a copyright years ago.” Another question that caused people’s true negative natures to come out was if asked “Why can’t the crochet community come out with better plus size patterns?” You would think that questions like this would encourage a positive conversation, but instead you had responses like, “Why even ask that, I’m de-friending you. You must have something against plus size people”. So our question is, “Why can’t we all just be nice and answer the questions properly?” Instead we pre-judge and base our answers on feelings and emotions instead of facts. Too many “how dare you ask that, its not gender based. Mikey, I wouldn’t even answer that.” But not enough people who did respond in this manner posted responses about the history of crochet, how it was male dominated up to a point and how now- yes FEMALES are the dominate crafters. They simply avoided the question. And as a former Pre-Law Student, that doesn’t cut it to support any evidence at all. It just further shows the weakness of humanity- the ability to bite back and retreat when our emotions and believes are threaten. And yes, we bring up size issues in this gender based article because even in our crochet and knit industry- there is still a prejudge against plus size patterns and books. See, it all stems from somewhere- if society says something- then it is dictated even in our world of crafting. Society wants super skinny women on the cover of their magazines and television ads and it is also reflected in mainstream sewing patterns and crochet and knitting patterns. The plus size person has to then work very hard to re-adjust a pattern and by the time they finish- the pattern might as well be a new one. So the problem is not just about gender, it’s about anything that causes a person- no matter what gender or size- to NOT want to craft. And because society gets in our heads, our responses still reflect our society- which is why so many people lashed out automatically at the question instead of weighing the facts about the question. But isn’t that the internet- too many people posting what they would never say in front of you? You have internet trolls who are always negative and can never be happy no matter what you ask or say.- teach or post. Some male crocheters get responses from women on their teaching videos that they are doing a technique wrong or do not know what they are talking aboutwhy? Because these women also believe that women are better than men at crafting. Otherwise they would not be so negative. Some men even showed us the comments and they were horrible…”Why are you crocheting, you need to be working on a car somewhere….leave the hook for the real hookers.” You know, when women are saying this, it does make men even want to craft. That is so sad.
Today, society forgets that it was the fishermen, sailors and other men that started to crochet in history. Actually, most patterns you see from history where invented by men. Today- I know a lot of men who make crochet hooks and many men who are in the armies who can crochet. You do not hear their stories. Maybe some men do not tell others that they crochet or knit for fear of being called “sissy” or “feminine”. I personally see teen boys willing and eager to learn how to craft but are put off by the pink colors of yarn or the pink or purple hook. If in a learning setting of both female and male, the boys will take up a crochet hook and learn, but not if the room is filled with one or two boys. I have seen it firsthand. So once again, how do we fix this problem of perception? We teach, we find more men, we feature more men, and we honor more men until exposure is so diverse that people forget about gender lines. The more we see men in magazines and on blogs about crocheting, the better. See folks, the question that we gave Mikey on the pros and cons was not meant to get people wired up, it was to generate enough voices to show that our crochet world can be diverse if we teach generations and society to appreciate it in its diversity. Quite honestly, if we crafters view it as gender neutral but society still labels men who crochet as feminine, until that stops, more questions like this will be asked. What are the pros and cons of being a man in a predominately female industry… Thanks to everyone who participated in our little research study and I deeply hope that those who we did get a chance to talk too- those who would love to crochet but fear society putting them in a box, that as more men do come out in the light as great teachers, crocheters and businessmen- that these young boys and men will learn to do what they love no matter what gender they are. We also hope that this issue- dedicated to the men in crochet opens up a new awareness in our industry so that we do see more men at conventions and shows and classes. Yes, we are aware that many men crochet, but until that number is reflected in the mainstream and at these important industry events and magazines, the perception of men in crochet will still be off. As always, do what you love and keep Crocheting Savvy! For more discussion on this topic, visit our blog at www.crochetsavvy.com. P.s. Thanks to our viewers who want to see more informative stories like this one and believe that having informative crochet pieces makes up unique. We believe that its not just about the patterns, its the stories behind them that manner. :)
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Designer Profiles by: Lamira Fields
theCrochetDad Gene Saunders Introducing our CrochetDad, Gene Saunders. Before placing our request for an interview, we put out a few social plug-ins here and there that we where looking for men who crochet. Guess what, the very same day we began to receive emails to do an interview of Gene. So we put out a missing persons per se- via Facebook and Gene responded. It was the funniest thing ever- we had people looking for Gene and literally said, “Hey if any of you know Gene, please tell him to get in contact with us�...It was great. So it is our pleasure to bring to you, Gene Saunders- The CrochetDad!
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Q) Where did you grow up and how long have you been crocheting? A) I grew up in Southern California - born in San Diego (I'm 71 years old) and raised in Fallbrook, California, a small community in North San Diego County. I've been crocheting for over 60 years, but my most active as been just before my second marriage (1982) when my soon-to-be wife showed me a granny square she had made at work. The timing couldn't have been more perfect: I had been totally immersed in my work, having few outside interests, and had just recently begun having dreams about my work. I said to myself: "I've GOT to get a hobby". When I saw the granny square, I said "I can do that!". I went out to get a "Teach Yourself to Crochet" book to refresh my skills. We both crocheted a few projects, but she soon lost interest. Q) What prompted you to get started? How did you learn to crochet and who inspired you to start crocheting?? A) As a child, we would visit my grandparents every summer. I used to watch my paternal grandmother crochet - sitting for hours at a time with her hook and thread. One day, she asked if I wanted to learn how to do it. I enthusiastically answered "Yes!". My earliest memory of crocheting was in the first or second grade - I was 7 or 8 years old. Our teacher encouraged anyone with a non-disruptive hobby to bring it to school and do the activity during crafting time. Several girls brought knitting and crochet projects. So I brought a hook and some yarn. Q) How many patterns have you designed? A) If you count patterns that I never finished to my satisfaction, the number is much greater, but my current count of patterns I sell, offer for free, or have been published by magazines or yarn companies is around 15 or so. This count includes a few tutorials from my blog in that count. Q) What challenges, if any, have you encountered as a designer? A) If you're referring to challenges a full-time designer has, it is inspiration. If you're talking about challenges I personally have encountered, it is dedicating enough time to complete a pattern. I love to crochet, so I have difficulty putting it down in order to do the hard work of documenting the process for others. Q) What is your greatest crochet accomplishment? A) If you're asking about the project I'm most proud of, then it would be a bedspread for a queen sized I made for my son to match the colors of the wall. He picked out the pattern from one of the many crochet books I had at the time. I crocheted the
bedspread with 3 strands of yarn to blend the colors which matched the walls perfectly. The pattern itself was also one of the most challenging I've done - if I recall, the pattern repeat was about 14 stitches by 20 rows. Â Q) I noticed that you have a website, selling products on Etsy, and post photos of Pinterest. What inspired you to get involved in these various communities? A) As far as selling: when I became involved in the online crochet community on Crochetville, I did a show and tell with one of the hats I had made. It was a cabled cap with a bill like a baseball cap. Along with the typical praise one hears, someone said "you should write down how you did that and sell the pattern on Etsy". I had never considered selling, but that is the one event that got me started. As for sharing on Pinterest or Flickr, et. al., I loved to see what others liked, which might inspire a new project or learn a new technique, so I decided to share my favorites and things I've done with others, as well - hoping to inspire others as I had been inspired.
Q) Have you ever been featured in any other publications or shows? A) Yes, I've been featured in the April 2010 issue of Crochet World magazine. Q) Gene, we love your work and the fact that you are obviously a man doing while many women get more credit and showcase in our craft. How do you feel being in a predominantly female industry? A) First, I feel lucky to have found an activity that is rewarding in that I enjoy doing it and others enjoy seeing my work. As far as being the minority gender, since there are only two, one of them would be predominate, don't you think? I've never been one to NOT do something just because it isn't the norm. Q )Have you been treated differently as a male that crochet? If so, what has been your experience? A) My online experience is that, since those who see my work are already familiar with the craft, they seem to be surprised that a male would be crocheting, or maybe doing it as well as I do, but I don't think I'm treated any differently, except that it DOES put me in a more elite group. By "elite" I don't mean special or above the norm, just in a unique position. Since I love to crochet in public, I'm often approached with something like "I didn't know men did that" or "what are you knitting?". I treat both with the same attitude: I offer information. In the first case, I point out that crocheting is just a skill, NOT a gender-specific skill. I try to show an example of things women do that are typical male activities, like mowing the lawn, changing a tire, building cabinets, etc. In the second case, I just point out that "this is crochet" adding that knitting uses two needles, where crochet involves a hook. Q) Some men may be reluctant in getting involved with crocheting because it is a predominantly female industry. What advise would you give men that want to crochet? A) My advice to those who would be reluctant, is that if you find something you love, DO IT! If you're the ONLY male who does it, it doesn't make you less manly, it only shows that you love it. Q) Who are your crochet heroes and / or heroines? A) Anyone who crochets and can make a living at it are my heroes. I'm fortunate in that I don't sell my crochet items or patterns to make a living, only to enable me to feed my
the CrochetDad h t t p s : / / w w w. e t s y. c o m / shop/CrochetDad http://www.ravelry.com/ designers/gene-saunders
stash of yarn, hooks, etc. ;-) If you're looking for names, both men and women come to mind. If I mentioned anyone in particular, I'd feel I was slighting the others.
Q) If our readers would like to contact you or view your work, where would you send them online? As you know, I sell my patterns and some crocheted items on Etsy as well as Ravelry: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CrochetDad http://www.ravelry.com/designers/gene-saunders My Flickr pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crochetdad/ My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CrochetDad http://www.CrochetDad.com/ http://crochetdad.blogspot.com/ Thank you Gene for allowing us the pleasure of showcasing you in our “All About Men” issue of our magazine. We also love your work. Make sure to go to his Etsy store and on Ravelry to buy his patterns, especially the hats!
johnny Vasquez
of NEWSTITCHADAY.COM
Meet the Face behind the infamous video tutorials on Youtube! Here’s Johnny!... (Well, I could not help myself lol)...but seriously, Here is Johnny! Q) Where did you grow up and how long have you been crocheting? I grew up in Southern California in the San Gabriel Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles County and I have be crocheting since September 2010.
Q) How did you begin crocheting? A) My great grandmother was an avid fiber artist. She did all kind of crafty things, from dying yarn with flowers from the side of the road, to weaving tapestries, to spinning her own fibers. On my mom's side, my grandma has been crocheting and knitting for as long as I can remember. The problem was their creations were never that inspiring to me, so for most of my life I just had no interest in the fiber arts. Then in the summer of 2010, not long after I got married, there was an article on Treehugger about Rebecca Burgess's Fibershed Kickstarter campaign. Her goal was to source all of her clothing from start to finish within 150 miles of her home. She wanted to be more connected to her clothing and the people who made it. Something about that really resonated with me. As part of the process, she took some wool from a local meat rancher to a mill and had it turned into yarn. She then took that yarn to a local knitwear designer, who turned it into a hat. I had never seen a hat that was handmade that was so interesting and stylish. I was incredibly inspired to learn to knit, so I decided to teach myself. I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a teach yourself to knit kit and the rest is history.
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A few months later we were in a yarn store in northern New Jersey and I saw a beautiful palm wood crochet hook. I really wanted it, but I didn't know how to crochet. I bought it anyway, went back to Wal-Mart, and picked up a teach yourself to crochet kit. My first project was an amigurumi panda by Tamie Snow (Roxicraft). I made it for my good friend who hates pandas. Q) When did you start New Stitch a Day? A) In January 2011 I started my website, New Stitch a Day, as a goal blog to help me become a better knitter and crocheter. I started out doing video knitting stitch tutorials every Monday - Friday and then a crochet stitch on Saturday's. Now, three years later, we produce 10 tutorial a week, 5 knitting and 5 crochet and our videos have helped over 1 million people around the world take their craft to the next level. Now we're in the process of building a network of content sites that provide resources to the yarn craft industry, which we're calling The Yarn Nation Network. Q) So what inspired you to start doing your crochet tutorials? A) I talked a little about this earlier, but it was mostly my desire to improve my own skills. I view knitting, crochet, felting, spinning, weaving, etc as just tools to have in your tool belt. You pull the right tool out for the job you're trying to do. We also started to get a lot of requests for more crochet tutorials. Q) What, if anything, sets you apart from other crochet tutorials? A) There are a lot of great people who do tutorials out there. Mikey Smalls has built a great community around his Crochet Crowd tutorials. Teresa Richardson has been prolific with her Crochet Geek tutorials and her slow-mo recaps. Elisabeth Wetsch does tutorials in both English and German on her Nadelspiel channel. We try to keep things very simple. We focus on two things; stitch patterns and techniques. If you come across an abbreviation you aren't sure about, we probably have a tutorial on it. If you're looking for a variation on the granny square, we've got a whole bunch of them. Our goal is to build the largest video stitch dictionary on the web for both knitting and crochet. What people tell us they like most about our videos are they are up close, very clear and easy to follow, and go at a slow enough pace that it's not hard to keep up. Q) In detail, what goes into the making your videos?
A) There are a few steps that go into producing a video for New Stitch a Day. First my assistant Tara looks through old stitch dictionaries and/or our request inbox and chooses what stitches will be scheduled for the next few weeks. Then she matches those stitches up with yarns from our sponsors. Next she'll make up a folder of stitches that will go to one of our swatch makers. Tara then will write up a draft of the post for each of the stitches and schedule them on our editorial calendar. Once the swatches come back, they get photographed and the images are edited for use on our website and in our tutorials.
Then I'll get a list of what stitches I need to film for the week and what yarns I need to use. I'll spend between 4 and 8 hours a week filming stitch tutorials. The raw footage then goes to our video editor, Josh (Tara's husband), who will take the pattern in the post and over lay it on the video and incorporate the photos of the finished swatch. He'll then take the video and mirror the image to create a left handed version. Those both get rendered out and posted on YouTube, Blip.TV, and iTunes. Tara will place the finished images and embeds the video in the post on our website and publish it. Then she puts together an email newsletter that will go out to our 20,000+ daily newsletter subscribers. Q) What is his favorite stitch to teach? A) I don't really teach the same thing twice, but I really enjoy Tunisian Crochet because it look a lot like knitting, but its much faster than either knitting or crochet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkYHp4NHehw Q) What type of crochet do you personally enjoy doing? A) Besides Tunisian Crochet, I love Amigurumi. Even though the word means knitted toy, they're much more fun to crochet. Q) How many followers do you have and how long did it take to long did it take for you to reach the amount of followers you currently have? A) Surprisingly that's not very easy to quantify. We have people who consume our content in different ways all over the web. I guess our biggest metrics would be our unique visitors to our website, our YouTube subscribers, and our VIP email list, which are the following: Since January 2011 we've had 1.4 Million unique visitors to New Stitch a Day We currently have a little more than 50,000 YouTube subscribers and about 22,000 on our email list. Most of our growth has been within the last 9 months or so, especially on YouTube. Q) What are some of the common/questions you receive from your followers? A) Easily our most common question is "What does multiples of X + Y mean?" which is how pattern repeats are written for stitches. We finally made a video to explain this because explaining so many times became cumbersome.
We get A LOT of thank you type emails and comments from people who have been able to make things they never though they could because of our videos. Those are my favorites.
Q) Well, being unique in your teaching style, I bet some people notice that you are a male teaching crochet amongst many other female dominated YouTube videos. When I visit YouTube and do a search mostly women pop up in the bar, does being a male set you apart or give you an edge with your viewers; what has been your experience as a male that crochets? A) I think with the success of Drew Emborsky (The Crochet Dude) there's less resistance to learning from a man who crochets. Most of our feedback is incredibly positive. People are surprised to see a man crocheting and knitting, but glad to see it happening. For me, I kind of wish it wasn't a big deal to see a man doing yarn craft. Although crochet came much later, its precursors, knitting and nalebinding were historically male disciplines. Unfortunately our current culture has deemed them feminine which has caused there to be a dearth of patterns and projects that appeal to men. But yarn craft is neither feminine or masculine, which is how I approach it. For me, my gender is inconsequential. If anything- it gives me an advantage since I'm one of a few heterosexual men that work in the industry, which sort of make me a unicorn. Who doesn't want to see a unicorn? But seriously, I think of it in the same way I view the issue of race in the United States. It only remains an issue if we continue to point it out. I'm of hispanic descent, but I have very few ties to the Mexican culture. As a result I don't really consider myself a latino. I'm just American. I don't view myself as a male knitter or crocheter. I just make stuff with yarn. Q) Very well stated Johnny. No doubt that it should be a neutral thing but its still a very wide scope when dealing with people outside of our industry. Do you have to utilize a unique marketing strategy as a man when conducting your craft business? Nope. But when a big bald burly man walks into a yarn store and starts answering other customers questions you get lots of requests for business cards. Q) Haha! That is interesting indeed. So have you been treated differently as a male that crochets, other than those looks?
That's kind of like asking do you like being one of seven kids. I don't really know anything different. I've never been a female crocheter. When I first started, I would have yarn store owners who felt they needed to critique my work. But I've never had a truly negative experience like I've heard some people talk about visiting a yarn store. I don't have the problem of being ignored. People always want to know what I'm working on and are quite excited to see a male crafter. Every once in a while someone will go "You're the New Stitch a Day guy!" but I don't think it's because they're happy to see a male crafter. I think they are more excited to meet the person who has helped them improve their craft.
-And with that folks, wraps up our interview with Johnny! He had many words of encouragement for other men who just want to craft without any gender lines. And it makes perfect sense that anyone should be able to craft. He also brought up the point of him being heterosexual (straight) and that even that makes him further unique amongst other males who do craft and are not straight. I tell you what, if I ever see Johnny in person, I would probably say, “That’s the New Stitch a Day Guy” too! Check him out on his YouTube Channel and on his website at www.newstitchaday.com
WINDOW PANE INFINITY SCARF designed by Johnny Vasquez
www.bohemiandesigns.info
todd Paschall
of Crochet by Numbers
Todd A. Paschall was born December 21, 1964 in Fairbanks, Alaska. His family lived there for 3 years. He’s the son of Ruth and Tommie Paschall. Todd has an older sister Sandra, an older brother Tim and a younger sister Channon. His family left Fairbanks, Alaska for El Paso, Texas where his younger sister Channon was born. They only lived in Texas a year when they moved to Georgia. He’s lived in Atlanta, Georgia ever since. He attended Georgia State University to study Computer Science. Shortly after college, Todd got married to Tesiree. He was married for 15 years and now divorced. From that marriage he has 3 kids, Tyeka, Feyetta and Xavier. He also has another son Joshua.
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Todd’s younger sister Channon initially taught him to crochet. He was a natural. He learned to chain and single stitch in 15 minutes. Any idle time he had watching television he would crochet. He liked working with his hands and it relaxed him. At the beginning he didn’t crochet anything in particular. He crocheted single color swatches. Some years passed by while Todd perfected this stitch. At the beginning of this particular year, Todd decided that he wanted to make a queen sized crocheted quilt for his mother for Christmas. It took him the whole year but by Christmas, he had the quilt done for his mother. He’s off and running now looking for a new project. He never wanted to do the same type of crochet patterns being sold in the stores at that
time. He wanted to do something new with crochet. He wanted to do something different. He started designing simple shapes and symbols on graph paper. Then he would crochet what he designed. Todd got more ambitious and wanted to crochet the King of Spades. When he attempted to crochet the King of Spades, he came to the conclusion that using a graph with such a complicated image, it has to be a faster way. Some years passed as Todd tried to develop a better way of crocheting images without using a graph.
Todd’s first son Xavier was born. Once Todd received the first pictures of his son, he then knew what he wanted to crochet. He felt that if he could truly capture someone’s image in crochet, crochet itself will be looked at in a whole new light. He still didn’t quite no how to accomplish his goal. Then it came to him that he would have to learn how to write programs for the computer. It took about a year for Todd to write the Crochet By Numbers program. He was satisfied with his first pieces with his new program but he wanted a more realistic pattern. Todd’s first pieces with his new Crochet by Numbers program were cartoonish. He wanted a more progressive and shaded version. He had to revise his program. Once this was done, you see the pieces of today with a more photo-realistic feel. Todd’s works have been featured in a few galleries in Atlanta. His work of Billie Holiday won the Crochet Guild of America’s Chain Link of 2003 Juried Invitational Exhibit. It won the Dimensional 2D & 3D and People’s Choice Award. Todd designed and his class at the Lou Walker Multipurpose Senior Center crocheted the Breast Cancer Stamp for The National NeedleArts Association. The piece was given to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum to help raise awareness for Breast Cancer. He was featured in the 2009 Spring Edition of Crochet Today Magazine. Todd crocheted a portrait of Michael Jackson that was featured on The Daily Buzz Morning News Show in 2009. Today, Todd is still making pieces and teaching at various locations in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s also teaching students from around the world with his web site at www.crochetbynumbers.com.
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wearcrochet
winter 2013-2014
from our Polyvore online Collection.
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From our Polyvore online Collection, helping to inspire you to crochet something fashion forward and pair it with glamorous things!
wear crochet
winter 2013-2014
charity crochet Beth s Hats for Hope Initiative: Massachusetts
by: Aldonia Secession
Mission To make and collect winter hats, scarves, afghans, etc for the homeless and working poor in Massachusetts.
Description The inspiration for this group stems from Emily’s Hats For Hope Initiative located in Morristown, New Jersey. Emily’s Hats For Hope Initiative is an organization that was founded by a 17 year old from New Jersey. We featured Emily last year! Emily was a junior in high school when she began making winter hats for the local homeless and working poor in NJ. She began donating hats in January 2012 and since then she has donated thousands of hats, scarves, afghans, mittens, etc. Her hats have been donated to soup kitchens, battered women shelters and food pantries throughout the northeast and Kentucky and as far away as Guatemala. Her vision and her message have empowered many people throughout the US, Canada and as far away as Denmark and Australia to create their own versions of Emily’s Hats For Hope Initiative so that they too can give back to their community. This is how Emily wanted her project to evolve. She wanted her concept to be duplicated by people all over the world so that more people could benefit from a warm hat, mittens, gloves, scarf or afghan. Emily set out to show the world that teens can make a difference in the world.
To contact this organization for the project, please visit their website or email at: http://bethshatsforhopemassachusetts.blogspot.com/ BethsHatsForHope@Gmail.com Twitter: BethsHats4Hope Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beths-Hats-for-Hope-InitiativeMassachusetts/465735933478037 And to submit items to the project, mail to:Â Beth's Hats For Hope PO Box 299 Grafton, MA 01519 Here is a link to a pattern I designed for this project. You can make any hat you like. http://bethshatsforhopemassachusetts.blogspot.com/p/beths-knit-hat.html
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http:// bethshatsforhopemassachusetts.blogspot.com/
deborah Overath of scienceknitster werks
Focus on Business:
The Value of a Having a Technical Writer Q) Tell us a little bit about yourself. A) My name is R. Deborah Overath and my company is called “scienceknitster werks”. I’m a biologist with a strong math background who has been crafting since about the age of 6 when my Grandmother taught me to embroider. I like all kinds of needlework and crafts, which are a great way to relieve stress! I learned to crochet and knit as a teenager and mainly crocheted off and on until I picked up knitting again after my Mom died of cancer while I was working on a PhD and a friend helped me to figure out the difference between knit and purl. I got into knitting a big way in 2008 while I successfully battled breast cancer. I learned about Ravelry from a friend I met at the LYS and met a lot of new crafty friends and learned about indie yarn dyers and indie designers. I’ve recently taken up spindling. I can’t imagine my life without fiber crafts!
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Q) How long, when did you start crafting and why did you become a tech editor. A) When did you start crafting: As I said above, I started crafting when I was about 6 years old. My Grandmother taught me to embroider pillowcases. Why did you become a tech editor: When it looked like I was going to lose my position at the local university over a year ago, I decided to look into other careers rather than looking for another university job. I had been doing some test knitting for some designers I liked and heard about this thing called "tech editing." Because I knew I had excellent writing skills and lots of experience editing my students’ and colleagues’ work and I love math, I did some searching on the internet to learn more about it. Based on the descriptions of tech editing services I found, I thought it was something I would enjoy doing and could do well. Q) Define tech editor in your own words. A) Tech editors are people with excellent math skills who check patterns for errors and clarity. In particular we check that stitch counts are correct, that stitch patterns work, that different sizes are correct and make sense (i.e., check sizing and grading). Most tech editors also "copy edit" – that is, check for spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors as well as other types of writing errors. Depending on what the designer wants, we may also rewrite a lot of a pattern to help with clarity and flow. In some cases, the tech editor may not just check the math, but do the math for the designer (e.g., grade the pattern for different sizes). Q) How does a tech editor help designers and the industry? A) The biggest advantage of using a tech editor is improving the final product the designer prduces, making it more professional and error free. While no one is perfect, the tech editor’s job is to make patterns error-free and as clear as possible for the knitter. If designers, magazines, etc., deliver error-free, clear patterns, then they (and the industry) should be taken more seriously and receive fair compensation for all the wonderful work they do. Q) What does tech editing involve- describe the process of what happens once a designer gives you a pattern? The details of the process vary somewhat depending on what the designer wants as well as how the particular editor works, but I generally first read through the pattern to get an idea of what is needed and at that time will usually make (or at least mark) simple corrections like misspelling or punctuation or grammar mistakes. Then I go through the pattern very carefully checking all the stitch counts and making sure the instructions are clear and will work as written for all sizes. If the design contains charts, I will check those against written instructions. In some
cases the designer may ask for help in writing (or rewriting) a particular section for clarity or conciseness or will ask advice on possible wording or may even ask me to produce a chart. In those cases, I would do those first or right after the first general read-through depending on what the designer has requested. Once I’ve made all my comments, I do another read through before sending the pattern back to the designer. In some cases, for example if an error or potential misinterpretation affects how I would edit the rest of the pattern, I will stop and discuss the issue with the designer before proceeding. In the end, except for basic spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors, my edits are suggestions for the designer. She then needs to decide what works best for her. Also depending on the designer, we may go back and forth on the pattern several times before she deems it ready to publish, at which time I will do a final "pre-publication" check at no additional charge if requested – I prefer to do this so that I can make sure no errors have crept in on the final edit. Most tech editors are embarrassed, if not mortified, when a pattern they edited gets published with even one error.   Q) Can you name a few designers and patterns that you have worked with before and any other accomplishments. A) Designers I have edited for (in the order I worked with the designers) and the
pattern(s) I edited for them (only completed patterns are listed – I have a couple in the works at the moment): Stick Chick Knits (Melissa J. Goodale) Half Moon Bay Theia Ninkasi Chimney Fire Dianella Wild Cherry Castanets Wellspring Chani Pomona Pasando Continuum Lunula MKAL Sock Remolino Mitts Rocket Boy Knits (Jennifer Chase-Rappaport) Spitfire Scarf and Cowl Queen Anne Mitts Trio of Boot Cuffs Angles on Color Designs (Tanja Fleischer) Will-O-Wisp Shawl Joeli’s Kitchen (Joeli Caparco) Apple Pie Socks Turtle Soup LaTonya "Keturah Ariel" Malinconico Spectra Lace Shawlette
I’m also an instructor for the knitting app "knitCompanion," an iOS app that is designed to turn your library of PDF patterns into highly interactive knitting instructions! Q) You have a great list there! Are you also a designer? Do you knit/ crochet? How does having tech editing skills benefit you when working on patterns or your own work? Are you able to do the math if a designer messed up and selfcorrect it yourself.
I’m not currently a designer. I can’t say I’ll never design, but right now I’m enjoying helping designers make their patterns be the best they can be. Most of the tech editors I know of, especially the wellknown ones, are also designers – and they use other tech editors! I do knit and crochet. I think tech editing has made me a little more critical of patterns. I have made corrections to patterns that I have knitted and usually will let the designer know, so she can put out errata and/or send out a c o r re c t e d v e r s i o n t o a n y o n e w h o purchased it on Ravelry. Unless I just can’t figure out what the designer intended, I can make my own corrections.
Q) And the most important question to you is this: What are top 10 mistakes that a designer makes when writing patterns in your opinion- that may take away from their sales or trust to people who buy patterns? 1. Having a lot of simple errors (e.g., misspellings, extra words) that an editor or even someone with a fresh pair of eyes could have caught. 2. Sending out a correction and then shortly thereafter sending another and then another. (Better to have checked everything again before sending out a correction!) 3. Incorrect directions. 4. Incorrect stitch counts. 5. Incorrect sizing/grading. 6. Having a string of patterns with errors of any kind. 7. Part of instructions missing. 8. Using abbreviations that are not defined. 9. In a chart, using symbols that are not defined. 10. For garments: having only one size. A large range of sizes is best! Q) Please give us contact info if anyone wants to get in touch with you or hire you as a tech writer.- including email, website, social links, ravelry id, etc.
Website: scienceknitster.blogspot.com Ravelry ID: scienceknitster Twitter: @scienceknister I use Deborah for my patterns and she is great and a fun person to work with. I highly recommend her, especially to all new designers- you really want to be sure that pattern writing is a top priority. While hard to learn at first, a good class at Craftsy.com on pattern writing will help you. After you learn the value of a good pattern, go and get a tech writer to proof your patterns. Its very well worth it and the prices are not expensive. In the long run, you want to be able to establish yourself as a credible designer, right? Otherwise, who will want to buy and download your patterns? I even recommend that designers hire a tech writer for free patterns as well, because those are the first patterns that most people will try out before they buy from you. If your free patterns have mistakes all of the time, you will not gain sales when you try to sell your patterns. - Keturah
20% DISCOUNT on your first project when you mention “Crochet Savvy”
RESOURCE
overhaul TAB
After many requests to republish our two guides about hooks and yarn from our 2013 magazine issues, we decided to give our viewers another look at the guides. From now on, this information will always be available online at www.crochetsavvy.com as well as each magazine issue from this point forward. This guide will contain helpful info about hooks, yarn, how to use certain crochet accessories, and list the most common abbreviations within crochet. We hope that you enjoy this simplified version of our popular guides. Many thanks to our retired Assistant 77
Editor Akua Lezli Hope for her work on the hooks and yarn guides from last year during her stay with us at Crochet Savvy Magazine. :) Our Yarn Guide & Crochet Hook Guide: Published 2013 for Crochet Savvy Magazine, contributed by Akua Lezli Hope There is an ever-growing list of fibers used to create yarn. The natural fibers include animal/protein fibers and plant/cellulose fibers. There are three categories of manufactured fibers: synthetics – mostly polymers; bio-synthetics – where natural products are subject to chemical processing; and most recently, minerals. Yarns are often a combination of fibers. Manufacturers do this to take advantage of the unique strengths and attributes of different fibers. Some may have superior insulation or warmth properties, but may not be as soft or as strong as others. Understanding the different characteristics of fibers will enable you to select the right yarn for your particular use and project.
Fibers for Yarn Natural Animal Alpaca Bison Camel Goat Cashmere, Pashmina Llama Musk Ox Rabbit Sheep Faced Leicester
Name of Fiber Alpaca Bison Down Camel Down Mohair, Llama Qiviut Angora Wool Blue
Corriedale
images from Lion Brand Yarn Free Desktop Wallpaper, Left and KnitPicks Freebies right photo.
Cotswold Lambs wool Lincoln Merino Perendale Polwarth Romney Shetland
Silk Worm Vicuna Yak
Silk Vicuna Yak Down
Natural Plant Cotton Flax Ramie Hemp
Name of Fiber Cotton Linen Ramie Hemp
The finer fibers have smaller diameters and finer and more scales.
Animal Silk Worm Vicuña Alpaca (Suri) Muskox (Qiviut) Merino Sheep Alpaca Angora Rabbit Pashmina Goat Qivuit Cashmere Goat Yak Down Camel Down
Fiber diameter (micrometers) 5 -10 6 –10 10 – 15 11 –13 11.5 –24.5 12 -29 13 14 -19 15 - 20 15 –19 15 –19 16 – 25
resource tab Guanaco Bison Down Icelandic Sheep Rambouillet Sheep Shetland Sheep Llama Chinchilla Targhee Sheep Columbia Sheep Blue Faced Leicester Southdown Sheep Polypay Sheep Corriedale Sheep Mohair Goat Suffolk Sheep Perendale Sheep
16 –18 18.5 19 -22, 27-30 19 -24 19 -29 20 – 30 21 21 -25 23 -29 24 -28 24 -29 24 -31 25 -32 25 – 45 26 -33 28 -32
Llama Border Leicester Sheep English Leicester Longwool Romney Sheep Lincoln Sheep Plant Cotton Flax
30 – 40 32 -34 32 -35 32 -39 34 -41 Fiber diameter 15-20 12-16
Ramie
19-34
Hemp
16-50
resource tab Animal Fibers Alpaca is warmer than sheep's wool and lighter in weight. It is soft, fine, glossy, and luxurious. Angora wool or Angora fiber refers to the down coat produced by the Angora rabbit. There are many types of Angora rabbits - English, French, German and Giant. Angora is prized for its softness and halo or fluffiness. The fiber felts very easily. Angora weighs next to nothing and is said to be 8 times warmer than wool, but is considered to have little elasticity. Bison Down, the soft undercoat of the American Bison, is shed annually and consists of fine, soft, very warm fibers. Camel Hair from the undercoat of a camel is also soft and fine and provides great insulation. Cashgora comes from a crossbreed of a Cashmere male goat and an Angora (mohair) female goat, finer than mohair but not as fine as cashmere. Cashmere comes from the hair of a goat, the Kashmir goat. Cashmere is finer, softer and six times warmer than sheep’s wool. Llama produces a fiber that is naturally glistening. Although related to alpacas, llamas have fibers that are coarser and weaker. Mohair is a silk-like yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. Durable and resilient, it is noted for its high luster and sheen. Like merino (wool), mohair fibers are moisture wicking and good insulators, but have more sheen than sheep's wool. Pashmina, like Cashmere, is derived from mountain goats. Pashmina fibers are finer and thinner than cashmere fiber. High Himalayan mountain goats have developed exceptionally warm and light fiber to survive the freezing, 14,000foot environment — unique, incredibly soft pashm (inner coat) six times finer than human hair. Qiviut is a taupe-grey colored fiber from the Alaskan domesticated musk ox and is said to be as soft as cashmere. It is eight times warmer than wool and does not felt or shrink. Silk, one of the strongest natural fibers, is a protein fiber, from cocoons made by the larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, reared in captivity. Silk’s shimmering appearance comes from the fibers' triangular structure, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles. Since the cocoon is made of one strand, if unwound carefully, the fibers can be very long. Left photo from: http://www.hanasaurusrex.com, Free yarn wallpaper
Spider Silk from the golden orb-weaving spider has been used to create garments and is stronger than silkworm silk. Vicuna is among most expensive of all specialty animal fibers, selling from $1,300 to $3,000 per yard. The Peruvian government has strict guidelines on harvesting and exporting vicuna, making this one of the rarest fibers available. Sheep’s wool is the most familiar and prevalent animal fiber used for yarn. Unlike hair or fur, it has scales that overlap like shingles on a roof and it is crimped/bent/wavy. The finer the wool, the smaller the diameter), the softer it will be. Wool may absorb up to 35% of its own weight in moisture without feeling wet, and while it is absorbing moisture it generates heat. Strong, durable and resilient, wool is also an excellent insulator. Wool is described according to the length of fiber when sheared from sheep, called staple length, the diameter, the fineness or thickness of fiber measured in microns the hand — how the fiber feels, e.g. soft, harsh, springy , and the waviness along the length of the fiber called the crimp. As wool alone could be several books, we’ll just mention some types. These include Blue-faced Leicester, Bond, Border Leicester, Corriedale, English Leicester, Lambs wool, Lincoln, Merino, Perendale, Polwarth and Romney. Merino is noted for its superior shine, softness resembling cashmere, great breathability, easily dye-able pure white color, and warmth for minimal weight. There are more than ten varieties of merino sheep worldwide. Wellknown merino breeds include the Australian, Peppin, Saxony, Rambouillet, and Vermont. Wool is naturally flame retardant. Superwash wool has an altered surface to make wool machine washable. Plant Fibers Cotton comes from the seedpod and linen/flax and hemp are from the stalk of the plant, the bast fibers. Bio Synthetic Name Bamboo Banana Chitin Corn Cupro Milk Rayon, tencel and viscose Sugarcane SeaCell® Soy
wood cellulose
Source bamboo plants banana trees crab and shrimp shells corn plant sugars cotton plant linter milk proteins, casein bagasse seaweed soy protein
Bamboo yarn may be the spun extracted fibers of bamboo or made from the pulp of bamboo plants. The Bamboo plant is a fast growing grass. Banana silk is made from the aged bark (outer layers) of banana palm trees using a process similar to rayon. The stem of the banana plant has 15 layers. The fiber is said to equal silkworm silk, in luster and tension strength. Chitin and Chitosan are derived primarily from shrimp and crab shells. Corn yarn is made by fermenting the simple sugar from the corn plant. This fermentation process transforms the sugar into a polymer called polyactide / polylactic acid, which is then extruded at high force like other polymers into a fiber that is spun into yarn. Cupro is produced from the linter, the short downy fiber surrounding the seed of cotton plants. Milk fiber was invented in 1930’s in Italy and America to compete with wool. A combination of milk protein, casein, and acrylonitrile, it is a regenerated protein fiber. Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber created by a process originating in1894. Soy fiber is made as a by-product of the soybean industry out of soy proteins. Sugar cane yarn is created after sugar is extracted. Crushed sugar cane plant waste called bagasse is shredded, broken down with chemicals, then, while in a liquid form, pumped at very high pressure thru very small holes (extrusion). This long strand of fiber is then solidified in an acid or other chemical bath and spun into yarn. Synthetic Fibers Name Nylon Modacrylic Olefin Acrylic Polyester
Date (1931) (1949) (1949) (1950) (1953
How Yarn is Sold Yarn is sold in hanks, skeins and occasionally, balls. Hanks are big coils of yarn twisted around itself.
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resource tab
You have to make a ball from it – otherwise you’ll end up with a mess. You’ll need something or someone to hold the hank while you make a ball such as have a ladder-back chair or willing friend. But as you acquire more yarn, you’ll find investing in a couple of yarn management tools to be useful and time saving. These tools are a yarn swift and a ball winder. The yarn swift holds the hank of yarn and enables you to easily hand wind it or use a ball winder. The ball winder enables you to wind the yarn into a center-pull ball. Yarn ply and weight The Craft Yarn Council of America CYCA has been developing standards for categories of yarn by weight, gauge ranges and recommended needle and hook sizes. Yarn weight goes from 0 to 6: 0 is lace, 1 is superfine, 2 is fine, 3 is light, 4 is medium, 5 is bulky and 6 is super bulky. You can find this here: http:// www.craftyarncouncil.com/weight.html. The challenge is that manufacturers use many other words to describe their yarns. WPI Wraps Per Inch Every company marks their yarn differently and there seems to be a wide range within the CYCA (Craft Yarn Council of America) parameters. The best thing to do is check the “wraps per inch” (wpi) yourself by wrapping the yarn around an inch of a ruler or piece of cardboard and counting the approximate number of wraps. This will give you a truer gauge to within one or two wpi.
Wraps per inch (wpi) is an extremely accurate way to check your yarn weight and holds true regardless of the company labeling of the yarn on the ball bands and tags. Swatching for gauge ( to match pattern recommendations) is also extremely important and will help you see if the hook you are using and your individual tension needs adjusting. Adjust your hook size before adjusting your tension — you can let the hook do the work and not worry about tension during the entire piece. So… FIRST: check the wpi, THEN: swatch, FINALLY: adjust hook size to obtain correct gauge. Fiber Identification What kind of yarn do I have? How much do I have? You might be able to tell by feel. To determine its weight classification you can use wrap per inch. Using Wraps per inch: Lace Superfine/Fingering Fine/Sport Light/DK Medium/Worsted Bulky Super Bulky
0.055 inch 0.071 inch 0.083 inch 0.09 inch 0.11 inch 0.14 inch 0.20 inch
1.41 mm 1.81mm 2.12mm 2.31mm 2.82 mm 3.63mm 5 mm
(18 wpi) (14 wpi) (12 wpi) (11 wpi) (9 wpi) (7 wpi) (5 wpi)
If you know the name and manufacturer, most new yarn labels tell you the yardage and the weight. The rest is math. Once you know the weight of one yard of that particular fiber, weighing your balls or ends will then tell you how many yards you have. A yarn I use with some frequency calls itself worsted and is 110 yds/50g. I think of it as alight worsted (by feel). And so when I see yarns that are 100yds/50 g — I think of those as heavy worsted and yarns that are 130yds/50g as dk. Of course if you can feel and touch the yarns, this may not be needed, but it offers a very accurate way to know what you’re getting when ordering online or from a catalog. Fiber Content by Burn Chart -PROCEED WITH CAUTION and CARE! All fibers either burn and must be put out or burn until there is nothing to burn, or they burn and go out on their own after a few seconds leaving remaining unburned fiber and are therefore self-extinguishing, or the fiber does not burn even with a flame held directly to it. To identify unknown fibers, cut off about 6”. Hold the strand of fiber in a pair of tweezers over something that won't burn or melt (a tuna can or glass ashtray is
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ideal) and with either a match or cigarette lighter put the strand directly into the flame long enough for it to catch on fire. Watch the as it burns. Does it go out on its own? Then it's self-extinguishing — go to the lavender area of the chart. Do you have to put it out or does it burn to nothing? Then it's not self-extinguishing — go to the aqua area of the chart. Does it defy all attempts to burn it? Then it does not burn; check small yellow section of the chart. The further breakdown of the chart helps identify the fibers by the smell of the smoke it gives off in burning, and the ash or melted bead that remains after it has burned. Remember that some fibers are blends, and the blend of fibers may make the burn test an unreliable test for fiber content. Also, some fibers have chemical finishes and sizings applied to them that will alter the way that they burn, making them unidentifiable by this chart. You can find a burn chart on the left page, used with permission from the fabulous people at: http://www.ditzyprints.com/dpburnchart.html. Inexpensive Yarn on the Web Bargain Yarns http://www.bargainyarns.com/ Elann http://www.elann.com Knitting-Warehouse http://store.knitting-warehouse.com (great commercial hook prices) KnitPicks http://www.knitpicks.com Smileys Yarns http://www.smileysyarns.com/ Webs http://www.yarn.com
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On Crochet Hooks Crochet hooks are made of many materials, from glass to gold. Most commercial hooks are made of metal or plastic. Some recent designs include both metal and plastic where the plastic or polymer is used for the handle and the shaft to head portion is made of metal. Wood is also prevalent as a crochet hook material. It is helpful to be familiar with the range and options available of hook styles, hook configurations and hook materials, because what is comfortable and efficient for you today may not be so tomorrow. The right design may make what’s going well go better and faster. The right configuration may ease pain or enable you to crochet for longer periods. Even when labeled the same (letter) size, different brands of crochet hooks may be, and often are, different shapes and sizes. So the next best determination (still not absolute, but 95% certain) is to go by the designated millimeter (mm). The best approach is to get a hook/needle gauge and to measure the hook yourself. The other way to know what you’re getting is to understand how your hook is designed. Naming the Parts Head — for me this is the most critical part. Point — at the top of the head. It may be sharp, it may be rounded or something in between. It’s where the hook enters the fabric. Thread Guide — a slight indentation at the side of the head. It’s surprising how many manufacturers don’t include it. Lip — the overhang. Some are short, others long, some are rounded, and others are flat. Bowl — The area under the lip, above the throat, may be deep or shallow. Throat — the angled front of the hook, just below the head.
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Neck — of which the throat is the front. Shank/Shaft — below throat, above thumb rest (if there is one), above handle. Lengths vary. It holds the loops you’re working on and determines their size.
Thumb Rest — below the shank/shaft, above the handle, a flattened area, not always defined on all hooks. Handle — the rest of the hook, the area most figured, turned, carved by hand hook makers. It usually extends beyond the hand. The Crochet Guild of America has an extensive crochet hook classification based on material used to make the hook (not the handle) and the method of manufacture here: https://crochet.site-ym.com/?page=HookClass. Familiarity with the parts of a crochet hook helps distinguish the difference between different designs. Hook makers vary any and all of these. For instance, early on, I realized I preferred Susan Bates hooks. I didn’t know why, other than that their heads seemed more sharply pointed and the shape underneath the head, that (bowl/throat) angle seemed to suit me. I remember the BIG A-HA when Mark Dittrick, in his book HARD CROCHET, instructed the reader to amend the little/steel hooks’ narrow handles by wrapping them with masking tape to
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enable you to grip better as you worked with heavier yarn. I still have a couple of those hooks encircled by now immoveable masking tape. At long last manufacturers have caught up and you can find even steel hooks with polymer, wood and bamboo handles. Inline and Tapered hooks One of the major, identifiable areas of distinction is not shown in the illustration. Crochet hooks can be separated into two camps: inline and tapered. Susan Bates is the manufacturer of record for the inline shape and Boyd is the manufacturer for the tapered shape. The head of inline hooks is "in line" with its body. The throat and neck are the same width as the head. Tapered crochet hooks have a narrowing or tapered throat. Only in the last 15 years have I embarked on the journey of finding the right hook. And along the way I had the joy of learning that for me, it depends on what I'm making, my desired outcome. Now I know that I prefer an inline hook, a certain depth of bowl, and throat angle, a longer shank, a wider handle and no thumb rest. I know my preferred width and handle/ body length. What joy to find out that there are makers who provide a variety of configurations for crocheters. I hope to save everyone the time of seeking, or the time spent not knowing how good it can be, by encouraging everyone to consider these particulars.
Following is a list that summarizes options and manufacturers. Materials Aluminum Bamboo Glass Steel Plastic/Polymer Precious Metals Wood Combined (generally metal heads with plastic, wood or bamboo bodies)
Head Styles Pointy Traditional Bates Rounded Boye
Throat Styles Inline – e.g. Susan Bates - the head is exactly inline with the shaft of the hook. Tapered - e.g. Boye In between – e.g. Tulip Etimo Shaft Styles Straight Bates Tapered Furls
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Types Crochet Double-ended Crochet Bullion Hooks Afghan/Tunisian straight Afghan/Tunisian cabled Croknit/Crochet knit/Cro-hook (double ended) Croknit/Crochet knit/Cro-hook (double ended, cabled) Lighted Interchangeable
Lengths Commercial 5- 6� Handmade generally 7+ inches (BagSmith are 9�)
Manufacture - Mass/Commercial Susan Bates (steel, aluminum, plastic, bamboo) Addi Turbo (plastic body metal head) Boye (metal, rosewood) Clover (metal) Clover Soft touch (polymer body, metal head) Clover Amour Denise (plastic handle, interchangeable metal heads) Hiyahiya (nickel plated, aluminum) Lion Brand Pony Prym Soft Handle (polymer body, metal head) Sharp Crochet Hook (metal) Skacel ergonomic hook, polymer body, metal head) Symphonie (wood and interchangeable) Tulip/Etimo (polymer body, metal shaft and head)
Manufacture - Handmade ArtYarn Yummies (wood) BagSmith (wood) Brainsbarn (domestic & exotic hardwoods.) Brittany (white birch) Celtic Swan (hot forged sterling silver, 14k gold) Chiaogoo (bamboo and bamboo body with metal head) Citadel Jewelry (aluminum, hand forged) Daystar (various woods) Dewberry Ridge (exotic hardwood) DyakCraft (colored woods) Eleggant Hooks (wood egg-shaped handle, metal shaft) Grizzly Mountain Arts (Birch and dark East Indian Rosewood) Jenkins (maple) Jimbo (various woods) Knitting Glass Guy (glass ) Laurel Hill (forest palmwood, Nam Oc wood) Lantern Moon (rosewood, ebony) Michael & Sheila Ernst (glass) rparishwoodworks (various woods) Sistermaide wood Surina (red wood) Turn of the Century (various woods) Twin Birch (Birch)
Where to Buy Online Commercial Amazon.com Accessories Unlimited http:// www.accessoriesunlimitedinc.com Chiaogoo Bargain Yarns http://www.yarnmarket.com/knitting/ Crochet-Hooks-586.html Colonial Needle (Sycamore wood) http://www.colonialneedle.com/cgi-bin/ quikstore.cgi? search=yes&category=CROCHET Ebay http://www.ebay.com/sch/NeedlecraftsYarn-/160706/i.html? _from=R40&_nkw=crochet+hooks HiyaHiya http://hiyahiyanorthamerica.com/crochethooks-c-43.html Joann http://www.joann.com Purple Linda (UK) http://www.purplelindacrafts.co.uk/ crochet-hooks-59-c.asp Karp Styles Crochet and Knitting http://www.karpstyles.com/ maincat_Crochet %20Hooks.html#.USIPLei1n9h Walmart.com Yarnmarket.com http://www.yarnmarket.com/knitting/ Crochet-Hooks-586.html
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Handmade ArtYarn Yummies https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtYarnYummies? section_id=10950163 BagSmith Big Stitch Crochet Tools http://www.bagsmith.com/big-stitch-knittingcrochet-tools/ BrainsBarn Handcrafted Wooden Crochet Hooks http://www.brainsbarn.com Brittany http://www.brittanyneedles.com/bkdistrib. Celtic Swan Forge http://www.celticswan.com/ Katharine Kowalski/Daystar http://www.daystarhandworks.com/ http://www.etsy.com/shop/daystar07? section_id=5122793# Dewberry Ridge http://www.dewberryridge.com Dyakcraft http://www.dyakcraft.com/crochet.htm. Furls Crochet http://furlscrochet.com/ Grizzly Mountain Arts http://www.etsy.com/shop/grizzlymountainarts Jenkins Yarn Tools http://www.yarntools.com/ Jimbo http://jimbosfrontporch.blogspot.com/index.html Knitting Glass Guy http://glasspens.com/crochethooks/ crochethooks1.html http://knittingglassguy.com/pages/crochet.html Lantern Moon Handcrafted http://www.lanternmoon.com/Crochet_c_13.html Laurel Hill Forest Palmwood Hooks http://www.laurelhillonline.com/catalog/ Laurel_Hill_Crochet_Hooks-2-1.html Needlelite http://www.etsy.com/shop/needlelite rparishwoodworks http://www.etsy.com/shop/rparishwoodworks Sistermaide http://www.sistermaide.com/ Surina http://surinaknittingneedles.com/ crochethookplain.html http://www.skokist.etsy.com Turn of the Century http://www.turn-of-the-century.com/hooks.htm
Thanks to Jenkins, Brittany Hooks, Jimbo’s Crochet hooks, Ultralight from Needlelite, Diane from Sistermaide, Surina Hooks, Laurel Hill, Robert Parish’s Crochet hooks, and Katherine Kowaiski for photos of your wonderful hooks!
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A List of Standard Crochet Abbreviations A: alt = alternate approx = approximately B: beg = begin(ning) bet = between BL/bk lp = back loop(s) BLO = back loop only bo = bobble BP = back post BPdc = back post double crochet(s) BPsc = back post single crochet(s) BPtr = back post triple crochet(s)
together dec = decrease dtr/d trc = double triple/treble crochet E: ea = each est = established F: FLO = front loop only foll = follow FP = front post FPdc = front post double crochet(s) FPsc = front post single crochet(s) FPtr/FPtrc = front post triple/treble crochet(s) FL/ft lp = front loop(s)
C:
G:
CA = color A CB = color B CC = contrasting color ch(s) = chain(s) ch- = refers to chain previously made/worked ch-sp = chain space CL(s) =cluster(s) cm = centimeter cont = continue
g = gram grp(s) = groups
D:
L:
dc = double crochet dc2tog = double crochet 2 stitches
lp(s) = loop(s) lp st = loop stitch
H: hdc = half double crochet hk = hook I: inc = increase
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M:
T:
MC = main color m = meters mm = millimeters
tch/t-ch = turning chain tog = together tr/trc = treble/triple crochet tr tr/tr trc = triple treble crochet/ triple triple crochet
O: oz = ounce(s) P: p = picot pat(s) = pattern(s) PC(s) = popcorn(s) pm = placemaker prev = previous R: rem = remain rep = repeat(s) rev sc/reverse sc = reverse single crochet rnd(s) = round(s) RS = right side
W: WS = wrong side X: X-st = cross-stitch Y: yd = yard(s) yo = yarn over yoh = yarn over hook
S: sc = single crochet sc2tog = single crochet 2 stitches together sdc = short double crochet sk = skip(ped) sl st = slip stitch sp(s) = space(s) st(s) = stitch(es)
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