Creating your own crochet patterns

I've tried from the neck down. Figured increasing would be easier then decreasing. Wouldn't you see an error well before finishing?

LOL

Hugs, Katherine

My Mom could play piano by ear. She had been taught violin when she was little and her sister had been taught piano... my mom couldn't follow piano sheet music, but could sit in front of the piano and play what she had heard her sister practicing... really ticked her sister off too, because she used to struggle with her lessons. When Matthew was about 6 my Mom was left a piano by someone she had looked after as a homecare worker... five minutes after it came into the house Matthew was plunking on the piano and actually picked out "Joy To The World". I can pick out a couple of songs at times, but can't read music at all... it looks like tadpoles squashed on paper to me. LOL Very poetic, huh?

Unfortunately, Matthew was never interested in taking piano lessons, but we still have the piano... it's an antique upright, gorgeous. It is in dire need of being tuned though. It's on our "someday" list!

As far as creating patterns: I have (totally by trial and error, because I didn't know the first thing about crocheting at the time) crocheted a sweater for my dog that I had before Matthew was born... didn't write it down though, because I didn't know what the stitches were then... I *think* I just did sc all around. I also crocheted little flowers (unimpressive.. basically a chain that I looped together as I went) to add to a knitted "basket-weave" purse that I made up as I went along. I've knitted a few other purses the that I made up as I went along, some cushion covers, a shawl. I knit a baby elephant (about 1 1/2' high x 2' long) that I actually wrote the pattern down for... if I can find where I put it! LOL I also knit a sweater once that I totally made up, but it turned out so large that I ripped it out... although my Mom said she would wear it.... I think I was too embarrassed to have anyone see it, and thought that she was just being nice to encourage me.

Gem

Your post about your blanket just reminded me that I once made up (as I went along and measured... again, I didn't write it down. *sigh*) a cover for a sofa we had that was form-fitting. My parents loved it, and I was quite proud of it too. When that sofa went though, the cover never fit anything else, so I recycled the yarn and knit it into cushion covers, slippers, etc. :o)

It was about this time that I started teaching my mom to knit. She never caught on to the casting on and off part, so I would do that for her and she would knit striped strips of about 12" wide to about 4 1/2' long. She was hoping to sew them together to give her grandchildren someday... never completed them though, and I came across some of the strips when we were moving. I'll have to see how many there are... maybe I can put them together (if they're still okay and not moth-eaten) and give them "from Nana" to one sister's kids & "from Grandmother" to the other sister's kids. If there is even one strip left after all of them (there are 7 of them) I will add to it and give it to Matthew "from Ahna" and myself. ;o)

Gemini

Hah! Another Gregg writer! I was starting to think I was the only one left in the world that knew that (they don't even teach it anymore do they?) It sure came in handy, thirty years later and I still keep notes with that.

But I still need a pattern to knit from. One of my goals is to someday be able to some day create my own lace patterns. Some day.

Karen in MN

I don't think they DO teach it anymore, Karen! But I've found it very very useful too. ay, chay, jay... LOL Noreen

Gregg *shorthand*, Mirjam. Hope that helps, Hugs, Noreen

To design a pattern:

if you work well with graph paper, draw it on the graph paper first. I it's stranded knitting, square graph paper is find because stranded knitting pulls in more. If it's intarsia, knitter's graph paper is better because stockinette is usually wider than it is long. For lace, I think square graph paper is fine because the lace hangs looser than stockinette.

If you don't work well with graph paper, just draw a sketch of what you want for a result. Write out a pattern: where there's a hole, do a yarnover. Put in a k2tog or a ssk to subtract the extra stitch created by the yo. The subtraction doesn't have to be on the same row... lace is very flexible. Just note that there will be more stitches on that row, so you don't panic about the stitch count.

Start knitting a swatch. Take notes of what you did. If it looks awful, rip it out and try something else. If it looks pretty good but wasn't what you planned, keep it and try again with a new swatch and plan.

The important part: Never admit that a result that looks okay might not have been what you originally planned.

Have fun.

=Tamar

Thank you Noreen

now you mentioned i rememberd i heard this aggggggggeeeeees ago . mirjam

Gemini, But with my I learn to do accidential crochet. What I meant by accidential is where you make it the chain too long, you have to count the links. And start crocheting what from the lessons on pages in magazine or whatever you using. I also sometimes when I can use a knitting comb where you have to wrap yarn around each tooth of the knitting comb and use a tool to pull the yarn around each wrap yarn. I have made my dog a blanket that way she lays on it all the time. My niece is alway wanting to learn to use it, but, then she gives up, saying that she can't learn to do the comb. But have learn to make links with a chochet needle.

Pam-Doggirl3

The blanket that your dog enjoys sounds really nice. I'm not really sure what a knitting comb is though.... it may be something that I don't have in my collection. I know that I don't have everything that people knit and crochet with, but I have a lot of different sizes of knitting needles and crochet hooks. Making things up as you go is fun and interesting. That was how I did it when I was playing with a crochet hook and ended up making my dog a sweater (that was the dog I had before my son was born)... I had no idea what I was doing, but I found it fascinating that *something* was being created by what I was doing. :o)

Gemini

Gemini, This is what it looks like.

Ah... I definitely don't have one of those. In fact I don't really remember seeing one of those... but thank you for sharing the picture. I'll keep a look out for one in the stores to get a closer look and see if there are instructions or patterns nearby them (if I see any) on how to use them. :o)

Thanks again!

Gemini

Another one here! I use my Gregg every day! Some things never change.

Jackie

Experience is a tough teacher. You get the test first, then the lesson. snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net

Gemini, It called kitting Mate hand-knitting machine. It come with instruction manual and every thing. Carol wright magazine use to sale them. I suggest looking for them in magazines or pester the Walmart & K-Mart stores to carry them. That what some people do to get them. Pam-Doggirl3

Cool, thank you! :o)

Gemini

You're welcome

Pam-Doggirl3

Thanks so much!!! When you explain it like that, it doesn't seem quite as daunting, and it sounds FUN!