Tag Archives: broomstick

Crochet in the Groove

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To find something in crochet that I have never seen before takes some doing, but I was fortunate enough to have one such product find me.

The Groove by Chetnanigans is a hand crafted tool designed to make the creation of broomstick lace quicker and easier. My understanding of its origins involves a woodworking husband fulfilling the dreams of his crocheting wife. This couple has created many creative products to fulfill the needs of crocheters including, but not limited to; hook and notion organizers, blocking boards, and hair pin lace looms. But the groove is something unlike anything else I have seen.

Sean and Holly of Chetnanigans reached out to me earlier this summer, after noticing that I was teaching a Broomstick Lace Technique class at the CGOA national Chainlink conference. They asked if I would give the Groove a try and give them some feedback. Well I found it unique enough to even share it with my students, many of which ordered their own.

Traditional broomstick lace has been done with a knitting needles. By working loops over a knitting needle and then working the loops back off to create a stitch that sometimes is noted as resembling the eye of a peacock tail. One of the biggest drawbacks to this techniques is that it is a bit awkward…it feels like you need a third hand to hold everything.

The Groove addresses this issue by putting a base on the “needle” so that it can actually stand upright on a table, so simple it becomes a “why didn’t I think of that?” kind of thing. However the Groove doesn’t just stop there, it then has…well…a groove at its tip. It is this groove that sets the Groove apart.

A crochet hook slips into this slit and under the loops that have been added to ease the removal and really make the process faster. When using a traditional knitting needle you move these loops to the tip and work your crochet hook between the loops and needle, it is not particularly difficult, but it is a slow process when compared to using the Groove.

The Groove is equivalent of a 25mm knitting needle, or in other terms has a 1” diameter shaft, so it is a perfect size for light to medium weight yarns. It has a nice weight, not feeling to light or flimsy or to heavy and clumsy. The only drawback I have found is that my kids think it would be a great spike to kill vampires or even club someone, so I have to keep an eye on its location to ensure that it is only used for its intended purpose. But if I find some vampires I guess I am prepared, and in the mean time I will have a great time crocheting up some broomstick lace.

Teaching in a Larger Setting, My Experience at the CGOA Annual Conference

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ScannedImageIt is hard to believe that I have been home from my adventure of teaching at a national venue for a month now. It has taken me a little while to decompress from the annual Crochet Guild of America conference this year in Charleston, SC. Then arriving home and getting the kids ready to head back to school has delayed my opportunity to really absorb the event. Last week I explained how there was so much going on at the conference that I needed to break it into smaller bites, so today I want to tackle my four classes; Re-Invented Broomstick Lace, Yarn Overload, What the Pattern Doesn’t Say, and Beading Three Ways.

I have taught for a few years in smaller settings, I taught drop in lessons at a coffee shop for 4 fours, more recently I have been teaching weekly at my local yarn store, but teaching at a national conference is a bit different. For one the class size is larger I averaged 16 students per class, with my largest being 20, but they are usually much more focused students that are well prepared and have in depth questions, so it is not a class that you can bluff your way through, you really need to know your material.

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Class materials for Yarn Overload Photo courtesy of the CGOA Facebook page

I also never know what my class room will really look like and I need to bring all my supplies with me. In the local yarn store if a question comes up that I wasn’t prepared for I can find a prop to explain things from items in the store, I always feel that visuals help so much more than just words. At a large conference you are arranged in a hotel meeting or ballroom, so you need to be prepared for random questions and ways of explaining them. Also students expect good handouts, so that they can go home and almost relive the class, local students know that they can access you again in the future if need be.

So after getting all my ducks in a row, and feeling like I have everything together for each class, I walked into my first class, Re-Invented Broomstick Lace, with a few butterflies. The butterflies were primarily from the concern of my relationship with my students. I saw many faces for friends that wanted to support me in my first event, but I always find it a little more difficult to teach friends. It could be the times I have spent as a heckler of my friends teaching, in a good natured way of course, but I know myself well enough to know that to relax in a different setting I might slip into a relaxed situation with my friends and thus not create an inclusive atmosphere for the rest of the class. Fortunately I do not think this occurred, I made a special point to stay professional as much as possible, while still giving personality to the class. It is not an easy undertaking, so I hope I accomplished this! I haven’t received the results of the class evaluations yet, but students did give me positive feedback after the class.

The next class I taught was a complete mental download. Yarn Overload consisted of talking about various aspect of fiber and yarn construction and how it can affect your fabric. Fortunately it was the only class I taught that day, because the material was vast, and the students had some really great questions pressing my knowledge on a variety of fiber crafts, including weaving. I cannot believe that people could listen to me talk that long, but once again I had students expressing how much they really enjoyed the class, I even heard from others at the conference, as word spread about how much was covered in the topic. That makes me feel pretty good. One of the best compliments I received was that one of the students now feels like she can walk into a small yarn store and be empowered instead of intimidated about the yarns in front of her.

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Teaching Re-Invented Broomstick Lace Photo courtesy of CGOA Facebook page

My final day of teaching covered two topics, the first What the Pattern Doesn’t Say followed by Beading Three Ways. There were many ‘Ah ha’ moments for the students during the pattern class, and several people wanted information about my book on the topic, which is not written by the way. I explained many things that you are assumed to know in working patterns, and short cuts, and various ways to create and improve your work. I felt this class was a success as well.

My learning moment came in my last class, which I had to remind myself, it is not the way everything starts it is the way everything ends that is important. Beginning the class I realize that I am missing some important items…needle and thread. The first 2 techniques are taught with them and my sewing tomato pin cushion was nowhere to be found. After a bit of searching and a little regrouping, I had a very generous student offer to run down to the hotel front desk and pick up a stack of emergency sewing packs. I began the class working on the final beading method that did not involve a needle, while the student ran down and picked up supplies. She was a life saver, and fortunately the hotel was gracious enough to accommodate our needs. I managed to keep my composure and I think the class ended much better than it began, at least I hope the students feel it was successful.

I am not sure when I get to see the class evaluations, but I want to learn and grow as a teacher, so this is one of the only tools available for me to enhance the experience in my classroom. You always learn more by teaching, whether it be the skill itself or the art of instruction. This was definitely a learning opportunity for me, which I hope to repeat.

Inspiration from Broomstick

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ScannedImageIt is so inspiring to share a concept with a student and see the spark in their eyes, and then see them make it their own. This has happened to me recently with an introduction discussion on Broomstick Lace.

I teach an informal crochet class at my local yarn shop, and keep it student driven, meaning that every student works on projects that they want to create and I teach them the parts they need to learn in an individual/group setting. I find that the students really get inspired from one another, and have such varied ideas for project that they want to create, this makes for a class that is different everyday highlights the beauty of how crochet can be some much to so many. The one constant is that I open every class with a new technique or skill.

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one simple row of Broomstick LAce

Last week I shared how to create Broomstick Lace, one student was inspired enough by this concept that she took it home and began working a row of it in her latest baby afghan. I love how she did not feel intimated by it, or feeling that she needed to find a pattern, she jumped right into how she could apply it to her latest project.

With this inspiration fresh in my heart, I wanted to share with you the basics to this traditional technique.

You can begin this stitch on a base of any fabric, you can even start it in a foundation chain, and it is really versatile. You use a large knitting needle, I typical do not use a needle smaller than a US 19 (15 mm) when using a light or medium weight yarn, the thing to keep in mind is that the larger the needle in relationship to the yarn the larger the “eye” of the stitch.

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Pull loops through base stitches and over a large knitting needle

Pull the working yarn over the needle, then insert your hook in the next stitch and pull up a loop, place this loop over the needle until you have pulled a loop through all the stitches in the row. Then you turn the work, and begin working the loops off the needle. This is done by inserting the hook through a number of loops on the needle (this number can vary, it can be as little as one, or as great as you like, often you see somewhere between 3 to 6 loops), yarn over, and pull a loop through these loops on the needle, chain 1, and work the either single or double crochet stitches in the space that the needle once sat, essentially in the loops. To maintain an even stitch count you want to add the same number of stitches as loops in the same stitches, for instance, if you are working in 5 loops, you want to place 5 stitches in the top of the loops. This process is continued across the needle.

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After loading the needle with loops, turn the fabric and work the loops off in groups, insert hook through loops, yarn over and pull through a loop, then chain 1

This is actually a very forgiving stitch, as if you somehow end up with too many or to little loops, you can correct the pattern by adding the number of stitches you should have in the top of the loops, so if you have 4 loops, but should have 5, work 5 stitches in the top of the loops and you have made corrections for the next row, while creating a piece that visually shows not difference.

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Working through the same space that the needle was located, work the same number stitches as there are loops into this space

This stitch may have originally received its name as being worked over a broomstick instead of a knitting needle, but has a reminiscent feel to Tunisian crochet and even Drop stitch crochet. These long loops pulled through stitches may be worked in different ways, but they create something uniquely crochet, and it is heart lifting to see them breathe new life.I can see them as rows of fabric, or used as an edging, they have great possibilities and are finding a new audience.

New Approaches to Broomstick Lace- The Bombay Vest with Elongated Loops

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ScannedImageIn case you haven’t noticed I enjoy playing with stitch techniques and my latest design is no different.

With the Bombay Vest, in The April 2015 of Crochet World, I was playing with broomstick lace. This classic crochet technique is one that I find has a great untapped potential. It creates such a iconic “peacock eye” appearance, but what if you use those loops a little differently?Crochet World_April2015_Cover

For someone new to the concept of broomstick lace, it is a process in which you pull loops through a crochet base and over a large knitting needle (or as in times past a broomstick, hence the name; although it can also go by Jiffy Lace due to a long ago popular pattern). Once all these loops are placed on a needle, they are then grouped, usually in sets of 4-5 loops and single crochets are worked into the set of loops. The single crochet is most traditional, but any stitch can be used to solidify these loops into a group.

One of the ways I decided to play with this stitch was to simply twist the loops before filling it with stitches. This gives a very different positive/negative space appearance, almost more silhouetted, making you recognize the space between the set of stitches then the loops of “eye” created in the center.

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Bombay Vest- April 2015 issue Crochet World Photo courtesy of Annie’s

Then I took this one step further, by attempting to create 2 different heights of lace using the same knitting needle. One of the limitations with broomstick lace, in my opinion, is that the height of the row is limited by the size of the knitting needle (or broomstick) you are using. Yes, this tool gives you even and consistent loops, but often they are smaller then I might like, I want something really open, really tall. So I found that I could accomplish this by using every other loop of a set, and pulling the unused loops back into the ones that I have selected. As a result I have a loop set that is twice as tall as the needle created. (To get a better visual of this effect, please watch my video here). My only note of caution is to make sure that if you are going to pull up loops that you make sure that you do not drop the last loop from the needle, make sure that this is a loop that you elongate the length on, as it is part of the last stitch of the row below, and you do not want this to unravel.

When playing with these techniques I ended up creating a swatch, almost by accident, and thought it offered a great, almost retro feel, and immediately thought of a vest to wear. Then to find the proper yarn, I was looking for something that was not to springy and offered great drape, so Paton’s Bamboo Silk worked as an easy fit. This is a fun work project to work up, but I have to say I really enjoy the approach to the technique. So I hope that you consider giving it a try and see what broomstick lace can have the potential of being.