Tunisian Crochet is a technique that always has something bold to offer. It seems to be a bit cyclical in the design world, making a splash every few years. With every splash creating a great surge in creativity, and the new digital release of The Tunisian Collect from I Like Crochet Magazine is no exception.
I am fortunate enough to have 2 designs in this publication.
A Teenager Loved Pillow
The Cozy At Home Tunisian Tassel Pillow is one that my teenage son liked enough that he had me make some for his room (this is always a huge reward for my work…that the kids actually like it). It really only uses two Tunisian stitches, a Simple Stitch and a Purl Stitch to create this visual effect. In addition it uses a large hook size, so it works up pretty quickly.
Cozy At Home Tunisian Tassel Pillow
I like the edging that seams the two sides as you work it,
and the tassels were a definite highlight for my son, so maybe it is a new
trending feature.
A Fun Hat
The In The Round Tunisian Full Stitch Hat is one that is a real skill builder. It works what I mistakenly thought was the most basic stitch in Tunisian until I learned more about it, the Full Stitch. This stitch creates a pattern of little lines that do not directly stack atop one another, but are off-set. I have always loved the look.
In The Round Tunisian Full Stitch Hat
This pattern though has a little twist, it is worked in the
round. Working in the round is not something that is commonly worked in Tunisian
crochet, as it is a technique worked by loading up loops on the hook and then
working it back off. So you never turn the work, and it is easiest to work flat.
To help you celebrate National Crochet Month, I am sharing a technique to help advance your crochet skills, and including a free pattern. Today I am sharing how to work Tunisian Crochet in the Round.
First, I would like to thank Crochetville for including me in they blog tour for this month long celebration. Everyday you are introduced to a new designer, or hobbyist or teacher, to help inspire a new desire of crochet within you. Don’t miss a day, check out the participants here.
What Makes this Special
Tunisian crochet is an interesting technique that produces a
fabric that can look woven, or even knitted. It is worked with in a two-step
process. The first step is to load up the hook with loops (Forward Pass), like
casting on in knitting, the second step is working all the loops off until only
one remains (Return Pass).
Here is One Option
This back and for of the two-steps, actually can make it a
bit challenging to work the fabric in the round, so often it is worked flat and
then seamed. However, there are a couple of different approaches to working in
the round. One is to work with a double ended crochet hook, so you can load
from one end and work off the loops with the other. This process works the
piece in a spiral and two strands of yarn, it looks nice, but finding double
ended hooks is not exactly an easy task.
The Option I like
The method I employ more is one that I discovered from Jennifer Hanson, the Stitch Diva. It is a Tunisian Loop Return Pass. It involves using a cabled Tunisian hook, and adding joining loops to the fabric while working the Return Pass. I have tweaked it a bit from what Jennifer has in her video, as it works for me. So let me share my tweaked version.
How to Make it Work
After you have completed the Forward Pass of a Round, fold the
cable of the hook so that the end is next to the hook, the next step for a return
pass is to now yarn over and pull through a loop, you will still do this step
but you wrap the yarn around the cable as you are yarning over. Basically I
have the cable laying adjacent to the hook so that when I yarn over, the yarn
is coming over the cable as well, and then I pull through 1 loop.
Include the cable in the yarn over.Yarn over and pull through 1 loop on hook.
Keeping the cable laying adjacent to the hook still, I now yarn over and pull through 2 loops. At this point I have just added 2 loops to the end of the cable.
Yarn over the cable and hook again, then pull through 2 loops on the hook. After working the 2 added joining loops to the cable, now work the standard process for a Return Pass of Yo, pull through 2 loops, across until 2 loops from the forward pass, and the 2 added joining loops remain.
Finishing the Join
I now continue the Return Pass, by yarning over and pulling through 2 loops without working over the cable until 2 loop from the Forward Pass and the 2 added loops remain, (this will be 4 loops on the hook). Yarn over and pull through the last 4 loops.
2 loops of the Return Pass, and the 2 added joining loopsPush the added joining loops up the cable and onto the hook. Yarn over and pull through all loops. First Round is joined.
Work all subsequent round this way, and the fabric with be
joined.
Yarn over cable and hook before beginning the Return Pass of every round.
In some of the Tunisian stitches there may be some gapping at the join. I have found this with the Tunisian Full Stitch for example, but overall it is satisfactory to me. In addition as the fabric is joined in the Return Pass, during the very first Round the beginning chain is not joined, so when I weave in the ends, I use this opportunity to close this gap.
The look of the seam after a few rounds.
Tunisian Cup Cozy Pattern
Tunisian Cup Cozy
Materials
Any medium weight yarn
M/N (9 mm) Tunisian cabled crochet hook
Special Stitches
Tunisian
Loop Return Pass (TLRP)–
*Bring end of cable to working end of hook, bring working yarn to bottom
of hook and in front of cable, loop working yarn under cable to top of hook,**
YO, pull through a loop; Rep from * to ** once, YO, pull through 2 loops (2
loops added at end of row); (Yo, pull through 2 loops) until 4 loops remain on
hook, YO, pull through 4 loops.
Tunisian Simple Stitch (Tss)—Working from right to left, hold working yarn behind work, insert hook under next vertical bar, yarn over and draw up a loop.
Getting Started
Rnd 1: Ch 23, load hook by inserting hook in next ch, YO, pull up a loop across. TLRP. -23 sts
Rnd 2 & 3: Tss in each stitch. TLRP.
Rnd 4: Sc in each st across. Fasten off. Weave in ends.
