Shaping up the Crochet

Shaping up the Crochet

Now that I’ve learned the crochet basics, I’ve challenged myself to follow instructions to learn to make shapes.

I guess I’m really thinking spring because I first tried flowers using two different methods.  I like the yellow one better since the hole is less noticeable.

A little fancier flower which wasn’t as hard as I thought.

Then a circle.

Feeling more confident I did a triangle motif. Since I’m using medium weight yarn it ended up larger than I expected and kind of floppy.  I may try again with a smaller hook and tighter yarn.

Of course, I needed to try  a heart.

And my favorite shape an octagon.

By accident in making an octagon,  I made a nonagon (a nine sided polygon) which I didn’t know existed.   There is a cool animation of how a nonogon is calculated here. It’s not perfectly balanced, but I like it.

All of these were made with combinations of the basic stitches.  It was interesting re-learning how to follow instructions to create these shapes.  I thought the videos would be better, but found I kept referring to written instruction. Probably because I could reread instead of rewinding. That is if the written instructions are accurate which in a couple cases they weren’t.  I did a lot of tearing out and redoing, but that’s how we learn.

Have you tried something new recently?

 

13 thoughts on “Shaping up the Crochet

  1. Your crochet is beautiful! The accidental nonagon doesn’t look accidental at all – it’s perfect. I’m really liking the octagon but is it because of the colours in the yarn?

    If you carried on with the circle, then did a couple of rows without increasing or decreasing, then started to decrease, would you end up with a pod? And if you used wool, could you full it?

    Do try a flower using embroidery silk – it’s quite a different effect.

    1. Thanks Lyn! Perhaps it is the colors of the octagon. I think it makes you look harder to see the shape. Perhaps I’ll try a solid color.

      The nonagon was purely accidental I could have never followed that diagram in order to figure out how to make one.

      I believe you’re right about the pod. I saw a tutorial for a bellflower and decreasing did form a pod shape. I’m sure if I did one in wool it could be felted similarly to what we do now. I think you just gave me an assignment. 🙂

      I will definitely try embroidery thread for a flower.

    1. Thanks Cathy! I just wish the teal were a little tighter, but the yarn is shiny and loose. Perhaps a smaller hook would work.

      I’m glad to hear you’re hanging in there with the spinning. Practice makes perfect (or as close as we can get.) :-). I look forward to seeing your home spun yarn.

  2. Wow! Beautiful shapes. A couple years ago, I undertook the exact same “challenge” for learning shapes, and I started with a flower too! I had found a picture of a baby blanket crocheted in shades of bright blues and greens…all in the shapes of flowers. It was my inspiration and I wanted to make it. It is still sitting here in my crochet to-do basket, undone. Lol! I made about 30 flowers then got bored. If I can find a picture of the blanket that inspired me, I will post it.

    1. Thanks Terri! I can see why you were inspired by the blanket. It’s beautiful! I can see getting bored though making all those flowers. I hope you finish it at some point. When you do, be sure to let us see it.

  3. Great flowers and shapes Marilyn. My crochet was always uneven and I couldn’t even manage a square. I like the blue flower better because the petals look more distinct. The purple one is really nice too.

    1. Thanks Ann! Believe me I do a lot of tearing out and redoing to get it right. 🙂

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