Linda Permann author of Crochet adorned which I reviewed a while back has a new book out Little Crochet: Modern Designs for Babies and Toddlers
, and she is on blog tour once again. Welcome to Whipup.net Linda!
Linda is going to chat about the different techniques she uses in this book – its not all crochet!
Although many people might know me only as a crochet designer, I’ve always been someone who dabbles in lots of different crafts. I can’t help but mix and match some of my crafty techniques with my crochet patterns, so it was only natural for me to use sewing and embroidery on some of the patterns in my new book, Little Crochet. It’s part of my design MO to use crafty touches as a way to add texture and color to classic pieces. Since I think of Whipup.net as an every craft blog, I wanted to highlight some of the ways I incorporated sewing and embroidery with my crochet work.
For the Sweet Daisy Sundress, I used some simple embroidered lazy daisies to set off the bodice with a subtle hint of color. I threaded a ribbon through the waistband to give the dress another texture—and ribbon-as-drawstring helps the dress to last a little bit longer (if you make it big to start out with).
I also used embroidered touches to the Mix and Match Motif Blanket. I wanted to make an easily memorizeable pattern, but one where each of the squares were a little bit different. Crochet stitches can take up a lot of visual space, but embroidered stitches allowed me to “sprinkle” the blanket with various colors and tie the whole piece together.
For the Tiny Tee Appliques, I dove into my embroidery floss stash to make these cute embellishments. Since the floss comes in small amounts and tons of colors, you can easily and affordably adorn onesies and tees—or rejuvenate hand me downs. Simple sewing skills are all it takes to attach them to your kid’s clothes—and you can make them using thicker yarn for an older kid (or, ahem, maybe yourself?).
A little more sewing is involved in the Strawberry Patch Party Frock, which is half crocheted and half sewn. I scoured my fabrics to get the perfect match, but you could also make the bottom of this dress with a vintage pillowcase and leave yourself very little sewing to do. It’s a fun way to use crochet even in warmer climates. (And those of you who know my work might remember that I made a similar version for adults in Crochet Adorned).
Finally, the most sewing heavy project in the book is the Soft Owl Pillow. I wanted to make the pillow part removable so that the cover could be washed, since the book is geared towards babies and toddlers, who we all know make messes. But who are we kidding, maybe you’ll make this one for yourself. Either way, I detail how to sew an owl shaped pillow insert—this will keep the stuffing contained and if you use fabric that’s darker than your yarn, it will give your piece a much more finished look with no stuffing showing through. It also comes with a zipper option, and one to just finish it off with crochet if you can’t see yourself washing the pillow.
Each of these projects includes detailed instructions that will help you whether you’re already into sewing and embroidery—or want to try them for the first time! And if you’re a sewer or embroiderer who’s interested in picking up your hook again, Little Crochet is full of illustrated crochet how-tos, too. I hope these projects will inspire you to mix and match your crafts at the next opportunity!
The blog tour is quite extensive and interesting with giveaways, patterns, discussion and tutorials along the way … join in …
MORE: Linda Shares her creative process : Get the pattern for the crochet legwarmers :
Week 1
April 5 Susan B. Anderson
April 6 Carrie Lundell, This Mama Makes Stuff
April 7 Natalie Zee Drieu, Craft Zine
April 8 Diane Gilleland, CraftyPod
April 9 Joanna Johnson, Phoebe On the Road
Week 2
April 11 Stefanie Japel, + fun with Mary Beth Temple/ Getting Loopy (podcast)
April 12 Shannon Mullet-Bowlsby, Shibaguyz
April 13 Alice Merlino, FutureGirl
April 14 Brett Bara, Manhattan Craft Room, + an interview on the Knit Picks Podcast
April 15 Kristin Nicholas, Getting Stitched on the Farm
Week 3
April 18 Drew Emborsky, aka The Crochet Dude
April 19 Robyn Chachula, Crochet By Faye
April 20 Laurie Wheeler, Crochet Liberation Front
April 21 Guest Post on Whip Up
April 22 Vickie Howell
April 23 Cal Patch, Hodge Podge Farm
Week 4
April 25 Susan Beal, West Coast Crafty
April 26 Kristin Omdahl, Styled By Kristin
April 27 Floresita, Feeling Stitchy
April 28 Allegra Wermuth and Brandy Fortune, Petite Purls
April 29 Marlaina Bird will interview me on her Yarn Thing Podcast
April 30 Faina Goberstein, Faina’s Knitting Mode
Disclosure: Whipup.net was provided with a review copy of this book. The Amazon link is an affiliate link.
