Crochet

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Max Schlichting : Girls crocheting in Knokke, Belgium 1892
Rudolf Epp : Girl crocheting a border
Crocheted doily

Crochet is a method of textile processing in which stitches are created with thread and crochet hook and linked together.

In contrast to the smooth knitting needle , the crochet needle has a hook at its point. With the help of this hook, it is possible to pull the thread through already worked stitches and thus to create a coherent mesh structure.

Crocheting is a much younger technique than knitting . There are no known crocheted pieces that can be proven to date before 1800, while knitting, as far as is known, was practiced north of the Alps from the 13th century.

A wide range of applications is possible, depending on fashion and contemporary tastes: Filet crocheting with the finest yarns to potholders made of firm cotton to garments such as hats, pullovers, scarves made of a wide variety of yarns ( silk , cotton, wool , synthetic fibers ). Practical items for the household (blankets, egg warmers , pot holders, etc.) or decorative items (tablecloths, dolls, etc.) are also crocheted. For a long time, crocheted baby clothes and blankets were popular.

Filet crocheting and Tunisian crocheting are subspecies or special cases of the crochet technique. Bruges crochet lace is like bobbin lace. Irish crochet tips are modeled on the needle tip.

Crocheted workpieces are only slightly elastic.

Word origin

The word crochet has been attested since the end of the 17th century and originally had the more general meaning “to hook”; today it only refers to working with the crochet hook. Presumably it is a derivation of hooks with the l - ending of the verb (so-called iterative formation) or a derivation of the diminutive form hækel , the Middle High German word for "hook".

Crochet technique

Meshes

There are four basic stitches on which the technique is based: chain stitch, single crochet, double crochet (also called whole double crochet) and half double crochet. Different patterns are then built from the basic meshes.

Chain mesh

Chain mesh
Chain stitches - the beginning of a crochet job

Chain stitches are the starting point for every crochet job, but are also used to bridge the gap (for example at the beginning of a new row of double crochets) or to form loops in openwork patterns.

To crochet the first chain stitch, shape the yarn into a loop and pull the thread leading to the ball to the front as a new loop. A new chain stitch is created by guiding the crochet hook from below behind the ball of thread and pulling it out of the previously formed loop.

By crocheting chain stitches, you create a chain of stitches (cord) that can be used as the beginning of a rectangular piece of work.

For round crochet work, three or four chain stitches can be closed to form a ring by piercing the first stitch (using a slip stitch), which is then crocheted around.

For chain stitches, see also the Knot Slipstek and for chain stitches see the chain handle .

Solid mesh

Crochet single crochet

For a single crochet stitch, stitch into an existing stitch and pull out a loop. There are now two loops on the crochet hook. Now the thread leading to the ball is pulled through both loops with the crochet hook. This binding off creates the single crochet.

At the beginning of a row of single crochets, a chain stitch (also called a turn stitch) is usually crocheted to reach the required height.

Extended single crochet

For an extended single stitch, an existing stitch is inserted and a loop is pulled out. There are now two loops on the crochet hook. Now the thread leading to the ball is pulled through the first loop with the crochet hook, there are still 2 loops on the needle. And again, the thread leading to the ball is pulled through both loops with the crochet hook. This binding off creates the extended single crochet.

At the beginning of a series of extended single crochet stitches, a chain stitch (also called a turn stitch) is usually crocheted in order to reach the necessary height.

rod

For a double crochet, the thread is looped around the crochet hook before inserting it as with the single crochet and pulling out another loop. Of the three loops now on the needle, only two are cast off in the next step. The remaining two loops are then cast off.

At the beginning of a double crochet row, three chain stitches are crocheted.

Half double crochet

Crochet half double crochets

Half a double crochet is started like a double crochet with a yarn over, only here the three loops are cast off in one go.

Half a double crochet is about two chain stitches high.

Multiple double crochet

In addition to half double crochets and double crochets, there are also double double crochets, triple double crochets, etc. These are started by turning them twice or more. When binding off, two loops are reduced to one at a time. The multiple binding creates extra high sticks.

Slip stitch

For a slip stitch, the thread is pulled through the puncture point and the loop on the needle in one go. In this way, stitches can be connected to one another in the shortest possible way, for example when closing a chain of stitches to form a ring. With slip stitches it is also possible to continue crocheting in the working direction without increasing the work (significantly), since slip stitches are not the same height as a single stitch.

Puncture site

When inserting the crochet needle, the back or the front loop thread or both loop threads of an existing loop can be picked up. This results in different structures in the mesh fabric. For crocheting patterns, chain arcs or occasionally double crochets are also crocheted without piercing.

Gaining and losing weight

The widening of a crocheted part is increased by piercing it several times at the same point, so that several stitches are placed on one stitch of the previous row.

You can increase at the edge by crocheting a chain stitch, which is then crocheted over.

The decrease to narrow a crocheted part is brought about on the one hand by skipping stitches. No new stitch is formed over some stitches, which reduces the total number of stitches in the current crochet row. You can also stitch off stitches together to reduce the number of stitches. The advantage of the second variant is that every stitch of the lower row is inserted, which corresponds to a more even stitch and pattern.

Decrease at the edge by crocheting over the first stitches using slip stitches or omitting the last stitches in a row.

template

Csetneker tip

There are no limits to the design of crochet patterns and any workpiece shapes thanks to the optional combination of the different basic meshes.

See also

Web links

Commons : Crochet  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Duden Volume 7 - Dictionary of Origin, Etymology of the German Language. 3rd edition, Bibliographisches Institut & FA Brockhaus AG, Mannheim 2001, p. 311.
  2. ↑ Elmar Seebold: Kluge Etymological Dictionary of the German Language. 24th edition, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2002, p. 384.