freeform crochet

FREEFORM CROCHET
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO FREEDOM!
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Freeform Crochet: the base stitches
Il freeform crochet has no rules, by definition.
But there are some stitches and some forms that are often used
First because those stitches and forms are the ones that give more movement
and enrich your job
Second, having a list of the best stitches and forms is a great help when you are
stuck and you do not know how to proceed!
Ok, keep this guide at hand and let it inspire you!
Let’s start.
Freeform Crochet: i punti base
These are the stitches and forms that you’ll find in this guide:
-
Puffy Button
Bullion Stitch made easy
Puffy stitch
Pop Corn
Rouche e fans
Spiral with two or more colors
Bigger Spiral
Special effects with spirals
Shells
Puffy Button
The Puffy Button is the starting for many freeform crochet
items. And sometimes it is used also as a real botton, or as a
center in doilies!
Instructions:
Wrap the yarn around your pinkie 10-15 times (add rounds if you wish a puffier
button)
Remove all those loops from your finger together, you will obtain a ring made of
many loops.
Insert the hook in the centre of this ring, yo, extract the yarn. You have now one loop
on the hook!
Ch1 to fix
Puffy Button
Insert the hook again in the ring, yo, extract and close like a sc.
Go on working all around in sc until you cover all the loops
Start a second round over the first, so you will have a puffier button, and you will close
the hole in the middle
You can add a third and fourth round, until you are happy with the result
On the back of the button you will find the stitches for your next round
Bullion Stitch
The Bullion stitch is absolutely beautiful and difficult!
You will find it often in freeform items because of its tridimesionality, and for the
movement it gives to the item
The problem is how to do it. There are many ways, and many crocheters use a second
crochet (or even a special tool).
I do not love to add instruments, so I suggest this easy method!
Instructions
The trick is to build the bullion around a triple crochet!
Make 3 ch e and a triple crochet in the same stitch
Triple crochet: yarn over twice insert the hook in the stitch, yarn over and close 2
rings each time
Now you work in the space between the 3ch and the triple crochet
Bullion Stitch
Now you work in the space between the 3ch and the triple crochet:
*yarn on the hook once, insert the hook in the space and yarn over*; keep the yarn
a little loose, you will have to pass into this ring with your hook
Repeat from * to * 5 times.
Now you have all the rings on your hook
Yarn over and insert the hook in the same stitch of the triple
Yarn over
Yarn over and close all the loops together, carefully
If you need to go back to the base level, 3ch and close with a slst
Done!
Puffy Stitch
And now something easy and beautifu!
The puffy stitch is a tridimensional stitch, that you can use all-around.
If you make a series of stitches close one to the other, you will obtain a ribbed
effect
But you can also make petals and flowers!
Instructions
*Insert the hook and yo*, repeat 3 times without closing the stitch, and
keeping the loop loose. Close with a chain.
You can also make more than 3 loops. The more the loops, the puffier the
stitch
How to make a petal with puffy stitch
Make a puffy stitch without closing it, and repeat the same 3 yo in the following
stitch. You have now many loops on your hook.
Close them all together with one chain!
Popcorn Stitch
Popcorn is an easy stitch, with a tridimensional effect more evident than in
the puffy one.
Some crocheters use to take away the hook from the job to close the stitch,
but I have a trick to avoid it!
Instructions
The classical popcorn stitch is with 5 dc, you can make more dc if you
want it puffier
Do the 5 dc all in the same stitch. Now turn your job, insert the hook at the
top of the first dc, yarn over and close with a slst
Turn your job again and proceed!
Before and after the popcorn, you will often need to make 3 chains to
reach the right level of the job
Rouche & fans
Rouche e fans are often used to give a nice movement to your job, especially at the edges
You will prepare the rouches from the previous row, making a series of little arches of 2 or 3
chains, with a sc in between
Instructions
1st option: light rouche
In each arch repeat *dc, 1 ch* 8 times
Close with a sc on the sc of the previous row
2nd option: crescent rouche
In each arch repeat: *1sc, 2hdc, 2dc, 2tc, 2dc, 2hdc, 1sc*
Close with a sc on the sc of the previous row
Spiral
Freeform e spiral really go together!
Ok, it is not compulsory to have spirals in your freeform corchet, but you will find
them very often in freeform pieces!
Instructions
Start with a magic ring with the first color
Here is a step by step tutorial for the magic ring:
Turn the thread around your forefinger and middle finger, from front to back (see pics)
Spiral – magic ring
Bring the thread in
front, and cross
Bring the thread behind
your fingers again
Insert the hook in the ring
and pick the thread that
you just brought behind
Extract the thread
Spiral – the magic ring
Pick up again the
thread
This will be the first
loop of your job!
Spiral
Work in the big ring: 1 ch, 1sc, 1hdc, 2 dc
Remember to work in the big ring and when you pick up the thread
you have to work around the loose end also (the one that you will pull
at the end of first round)
Remove the hook and secure this end (with a marker, or a safety pin, or
just pull the loop)
Spiral
Now take the second color and go on working in the magic ring:
1 ch, 1sc, 1hdc, 2 dc
Remove the hook and secure this end (with a marker, or a safety
pin, or just pull the loop)
This is the end you have to pull to close the
magic ring
Now close the magic ring, pulling the loose end (first color)
Spiral
Go back to the first color and work on the stitches of the
second color:
2 dc in each stitch until you get to the end
Remove the hook and secure this end (with a marker, or a safety
pin, or just pull the loop)
With the second color make 2 dc in each of the next 8 stitches
Complete the spiral with the first color (2 dc in each stitches)
The basic spiral is ready!
3 (or more) colors spiral
Let’s add some color to our spiral!
Instructions
Magic ring with the first color. In the ring: 1ch, 1sc, 1hdc, 2dc
Remove the hook and secure this end (with a marker, or a safety pin, or just
pull the loop)
Second color, work in the magic ring
In the ring: 1ch, 1sc, 1hdc, 2dc
Remove the hook and secure this end (with a marker, or a safety pin, or just pull
the loop)
Repeat for all the colors you want to add
Close the magic ring
3 (or more) colors spiral
Go back to the first color and work on the stitches of the second color:
2 dc in each stitch until you get to the end
Remove the hook and secure this end (with a marker, or a safety pin, or
just pull the loop)
With the second color make 2 dc in each of the next 8 stitches
3 (or more) colors spiral
Third color: work on the stitches of the second color:
2 dc in the next 4 stitches
Now the spiral is ready!
You can choose if you want to go on and have a bigger spiral, or
close it in a round like this
Would you like to know how to do it?
Go on reading and I will guide you through it!
Big Spiral
Now that you have your basic spiral, you may want to make it bigger and use it
on a beanie, or as decoration to a bag
Instructions
Starting from the basic spiral
We want to have a flat spiral, so we can’t go on making 2dc in each stitch, in
some stitches we will need to have only one dc
Let’s see how
Big Spiral
My advice is to use a marker, that you will place at the end of each round for each color. You will
move it to the following round each time.
In this way it will be clear when you need to increase!
This is the spiral with the markers
Big Spiral
First round
First color: *1dc , 2dc in the following stitch*
Repeat until you get to the marker
Remove the hook (fix the loop)
Repeat with the second color: *1dc , 2dc in the following
stitch*
Repeat until you get to the marker
Remove the hook (fix the loop)
Always end with 2dc in the stitch
You will get this:
Big Spiral
Second round
Move the markers to next level, in the last stitch of each color
For each color: *1dc, 1dc, 2dc in the same stitch*.
Always stop when you reach the marker
Big Spiral
Move the markers to next level, in the last stitch of each color
The logic is to increase the stitch with 1 dc at each round
So, in the third round you will have:
1dc, 1dc, 1dc, 2dc in the same stitch
If you did not mark the beginnign of the round, you will need
to check where the work changes (for example, the first single
dc in the first round, the first 2 single dc in the second one, the
first 3 dc in the third one etc..)
Proceed this way, increasing the number of single dc between
the 2 dc in one stitch
Spiral: special effects – the circle
How to bring a spiral in a circle
If you want to close your spiral and make a circle from it, you need to decrease
the height of the stitches gradually
Easy!
For each color: 3hdc, 3 sc, 1 slst
Done!
Spiral: special effects – 3D Edge
3d Edge
This is a very simple way to create a movement in your spiral: you just need to work in back post dc
This is something often used in freeform
This is the symbol:
This is the effect you will obtain:
As you can see, compared to the classic spiral, the colors are neatly separated,
the edge stands out like a little chain
The colors do not cross one another
You yo like a dc but you insert the hook from the back to the front of your work,
around the post of the dc of the previous round
Here following you’ll find the step by step tutorial
Spiral: special effects – 3D Edge
Start a basic spiral with the 2 colors and close the magic ring
When you make the dc on the previous round, do not insert the hook as usual, but
follow the instructions
Insert the hook between the 2 dc of the previous round, from behind to the front of
your work.
Here are the pictures from different angles:
Spiral: special effects – 3D Edge
Now turn your hook horizontally
The hook will be ahead the dc and you will insert it in the following space
Here are the pictures from different angles:
Spiral: special effects – 3D Edge
Yarn over and close the loops liek in a normal dc
Shell
The shell is one of the forms that is often found in freefomr, together with the spiral
You can use one single color, its beauty stays in the fact that the stitches increase their
height every time
A trick for an extra effect is to work in the back loop only, or to add an edge in contrasting
color
IstInstructions
Magic Ring
In the ring: 1ch, 2sc, 2hdc, 8dc
Close the ring
Shell
2dc in each of the following 3 stitches (so now you have 16 dc in
total)
1htc (it means that you turn the thread twice on the hook, like a tc,
insert the hook in the stitch, yo, close the first 2 loops and then close
the remaining 3 loops together) – this is an intermediate stitch, a little
lower than a tc
In the same stitch of the htc make a tc
2tc in each of the following 5 stitches
Shell
Now we need a higher stitch!
You will turn the thread 3 times around your hook before
inserting is. This is the Double Treble Crochet (dtc)
In the first stitch we will make an intermediate stitch: start
as a dtc, yarn over and close 2 loops each time until you
have 3, that you will close all together.
Dtc in the same stitch
2dtc in the following 7 stitches
Done!