stranded crochet
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

When Hannah proposed a Knit Along called

I thought it would be a great excuse to practice my stranding techniques. But when she said there were no rules, I got it in my head that I should crochet a fair-isle pattern instead.

Normally, when crocheting with two colors, you crochet over the color not being used making a very dense and stiff fabric–its great for bags and tams, and its called Tapestry Crochet. Carol Ventura has written several books about this technique which is popular in Central America. (One advantage of tapestry crochet is, it’s reversible). I thought, if I stranded the yarn, instead of crocheting over it, I’d get a more supple result. It worked. The fabric is a little thicker, but not at all stiff. I’m using Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport (that I got at the new yarn store, A Tangled Skein, in Hyattsville, MD).

As you can see, the inside of the fabric looks a lot like stranded knitting. Now, when I knit fair-isle, I do it two-handed. That just doesn’t work for crochet (you can’t easily throw the yarn), so I ended up holding the main color over my index finger of my left hand, and the green yarn over my thumb. It’s working well, but my tension isn’t perfect.

The hat is a simple toque crocheted from the top down in single crochet. I started with 6 sc, and added 6 per row until it fit my head–ending with a multiple of 12 because that’s what my chart calls for. I actually like the pattern so much, I think I’ll knit it again after I’ve finished the hat, maybe some cuffs.

Stranded with Crochet