Design Your Own Crochet Projects: Magic Formulas for Creating Custom Scarves, Cowls, Hats, Socks, Mittens & Gloves

Delaney, Sara

ISBN 10: 1612126588 ISBN 13: 9781612126586

Verlag: Storey Publishing, LLC, 2017

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With Sara Delaney’s clear, detailed formulas and fill-in-the-blank templates, crocheters of all levels will discover how simple it is to create their own custom patterns for perfectly fitting head-to-toe accessories using any yarn or stitch pattern.

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Sara Delaney is the author of Design Your Own Crochet Projects and How to Crochet. She has been designing and writing her own patterns for more than 10 years. She teaches crochet classes online at Craftsy, and she lives in western Massachusetts. 

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Expert Guidance + Customizable Templates = Perfectly Fitting Accessories

Creating customized crochet wearables is easier than you think. Designer Sara Delaney walks you through the entire process, from choosing the most appropriate yarns to developing your own unique patterns.

Flexible formulas and fill-in-the-blank templates show you exactly what you need to make one-of-a-kind scarves, cowls, fingerless mitts, mittens, gloves, hats, and socks. If you're new to designing, build your confidence with 18 practice patterns for head-to-toe garments that use Delaney's customizable formulas.

This first-of-its-kind crochet book – complete with a stitch dictionary featuring 31 classic stitches – gives you everything you need to make flawless and singular crocheted accessories.

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Design Your Own Crochet Projects

Magic Formulas for Creating Custom Scarves, Cowls, Hats, Socks, Mittens, and Gloves

By Sara Delaney, Ilona Sherratt, Gwen Steege

Storey Publishing

Copyright © 2017 Sara H. Delaney
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-61212-658-6

Contents

Introduction, 
1. SCARVES, 
2. COWLS, 
3. HATS, 
4. FINGERLESS MITTS, 
5. MITTENS, 
6. GLOVES, 
7. SOCKS, 
APPENDIX, 
Index, 
Copyright, 
Other Storey Books You Will Enjoy, 

CHAPTER 1

Scarves

While crocheting a scarf may seem too predictable and even slightly boring to the experienced crafter, the simple rectangle is the perfect starting point for creating your first designs. No need to worry about shaping or working in rows: you have the gloriously simple task of working rows of stitches in a shape with four 90-degree-angle corners. Your only decision will be choosing whether to work widthwise or lengthwise.

Creating a Scarf Design

Begin by determining the size scarf you'd like to make. With that in mind, jot down your plan: the design you've chosen, the size scarf you want to make, and any style details.

SCARF WIDTH. Will your scarf be skinny or wide? Some scarves become so wide they can be considered stoles or shawls, but most are between 6 and 10 inches wide. If you want to be sure your scarf will keep out cold drafts, make it at least as wide as the measurement at the back of your neck from your hairline to the spinous process of your seventh vertebra (that bony bump at the bottom of your neck).

SCARF LENGTH. Will this be a scarf that hangs around your neck as decoration, or will it wrap several times around your neck for warmth? Most scarves are between 40 and 60 inches long — long enough to wrap once around your neck and still have enough to tuck the tails inside your coat, but not so lengthy that they seem overlong if your coat is left open, unless you're designing a replica of Doctor Who's scarf (the Fourth Doctor, that is). Determine the ideal length by looping a tape measure around the back of your neck, or wrapping it around your neck as many times as you'd like. If your tape measure is too short for the length you want, you can use a scrap length of yarn and then measure that piece flat afterward. Keep in mind that you usually want a scarf length that is close to a person's height. This is a particularly useful rule of thumb if you're making a scarf for a child.

What's Your Favorite ...?

You can use a scarf you already love as a template for width or length.

The Magic of the Swatch

With your design in mind, it's time to find a stitch/yarn/hook combination that you like. Working with the yarn you intend to use for your scarf, begin by making your swatch. When you're satisfied that the yarn, hook, and pattern stitch are working together, block and then measure (see Introduction from here to here) and weigh your swatch. Jot down these results in The Basics information (worksheet below).

A simple kitchen scale works well for weighing your swatch, though I like to use my antique postal scale. This is an important step in figuring out how much yarn you will need for a project, which we will get to shortly. Consider adding a half skein to the number of skeins your calculations indicate you need, so that you're covered if there are any defects in the yarn, like knots or frayed spots, or last-minute additions and adjustments to your pattern.

STANDARD SCARF SIZES AND YARDAGE REQUIREMENTS

This table shows three standard scarf measurements and their approximate yardage requirements based on a pattern consisting of a single stitch (sc, hdc, dc, and so on).

THE BASICS FOR SCARVES

Use the following data provided by your swatch to fill in the formula for calculating the amount of yarn you'll need for your scarf (see Calculating Yardage for a Scarf, below). Be sure to use the same unit of measurement (ounces or grams) for both the swatch weight and the skein weight.

SWATCH

Stitch pattern

Stitch multiple

Beginning stitch count for swatch

A Swatch width

B Swatch height

C Swatch weight

D Stitches per inch

E Rows per inch

F Pattern repeats per inch

G Stitches per pattern repeat

H Rows per vertical pattern repeat

YARN

I Weight of one skein of project yarn

MEASUREMENTS

J Desired width

K Desired length

Visit storey.com/crochet-calculator to create your customized pattern online.

CALCULATING YARDAGE FOR A SCARF

A × B = L Swatch area

J × K = M Area of finished scarf

M ÷ L = N Number of swatches to equal area of scarf

C × N = O Weight of yarn needed

O ÷ I = P Number of skeins needed

Note: Remember to give yourself some extra yardage as insurance.

Follow a Formula to Create the Pattern

It's always best to work from a written pattern. Even if you have no plans to make another scarf just like the one you're beginning here, it's useful to write out your pattern before you begin. You can certainly make changes as you go along. In fact, that's part of the creative process, but having a written plan is just a good habit. If you do decide to make another scarf like this one, you'll have all the information you need to do so, rather than trying to remember what you did and reverse engineer the pattern. The Scarf Pattern Formula (see below) is perfect if you're using a simple, single stitch throughout the whole scarf. If you are planning to use a more complicated stitch pattern with multiple stitches and rows to the pattern, however, you will want to use all or part of the Scarf Pattern Expanded Formula (see below).

To begin, complete The Basics worksheet. This is where you store all the detailed information about your design, gauge, the yarn and hook size used — the important things you'll need to know to recreate your pattern! Once you have all of this vital information, plug the right numbers into the pattern formula: just look for the corresponding letters to know what to fill in where.

SCARF PATTERN FORMULA

D × J = Q Beginning stitch count for scarf

E × K = R Rows to work

SCARF PATTERN EXPANDED FORMULA

You need to make a few more calculations when you are developing a pattern with specific stitch multiple requirements.

F × G × J = S Beginning stitch count

(E × K) ÷ H = T Total number of vertical pattern repeats

Fill in the Scarf Pattern Template

You can now fill out the Scarf Pattern Template (see below or download the printable PDF at bit.ly/crochet-scarf-template). Include a description of the project, your inspiration for it, and how yummy the yarn is. Be sure to give some information about the item and how it's worn. List all the abbreviations included in the pattern, and give directions for any special stitches in the places provided. Include a note if you have any additional information about your pattern that doesn't fall under the headings in the basic template. (Note that you may not need or want to include some of the items in the template for every scarf you make — for instance, the border stitch information.)

Scarf...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Storey Publishing, LLC
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2017
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1612126588
• ISBN 13: 9781612126586
• Einband: Spiralbindung
• Anzahl der Seiten: 256
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: WordUnited GmbH; distribution@wordunited.com; ; Theodorstrasse 105; DUSSELDORF; 40472; Deutschland