Crochet Extra – December 2023/January 2024

It’s the end of the year – can you believe it?

With the beginning of 2024 fast approaching have you got your New Years’ Crochet Resolutions sorted?  New projects, new techniques to learn, new yarns to try?  I’ve got so many noted down that I have a feeling I will run out of time!  But I will have fun trying.  Take a look at our classes for 2024 here to see how they will help achieve your resolutions.  Our Monday online classes are attracting people far and wide.  We are also fortunate to have a special one day workshop with Emily Littlefair to crochet a mandala from her book Making Mandalas.

And of course Christmas is just round the corner.  Are you still looking for gifts to give to your friends and family?  Check out the items on our Christmas Gift Giving Page.

Are you being asked by your family and friends what you would like for Christmas?  Don’t forget to add your Crochet items to your Christmas wish list – while your at it, why not add attendance at our Hunter Valley Crochet Retreat – and tell them all donations are welcome! What a magical gift that would be to have your loved ones fund some or all of your Crochet Retreat package. Making memories is so much more valuable than buying things.

We had some excitement this month as the new colours in the Wren 8 ply cotton arrived, along with new colours in the Stash ‘n Store.  We also have a new yarn arriving soon – Jody Long Flora – a beautiful cotton tweed, perfect for our summer weather.

Until next time

Lynda

Theme— Vintage Crochet, Knitting & Tatting – If I Could Turn Back Time

When I think of Vintage Crafting, I have memories of my elderly family members and all the beautiful crochet, knit and tatted items they used to make.  How many of you have old patterns you’ve inherited from mothers, grandmothers or aunts that are over 30 years old or found them in second hand stores?  Or perhaps you’ve inherited or found old hand made pieces for a bygone era.  I always marvel at the intricacy and creative talent that we have in our history.

Lace, pineapple, and filet as crochet techniques featured heavily in vintage patterns.  Home décor such as doilies, chair toppers, curtains, table runners; lace inserts, gloves, and collars also appeared regularly, as did baby clothes.  We have in stock many of the older crochet magazines from the 1980s and 1990s that feature these patterns, the Paragon patterns from the 1920s and 1930s that have been reproduced by Craft Moods, Elizabeth Hiddleston patterns from the 1950s and Mary Card from the early 1900s – just to name a few. These older patterns made with the latest beautiful yarns and threads we have at our disposal today would look amazing and be quite on trend.

Much of the vintage patterns use thread. However, many of the threads that the patterns were done in have been long discontinued.  The finer threads do of course still exist, but as newer brands – DMC threads – cebelia and babylo; Lizbeth threads by Handy Hands and Madame Tricot Maxi and Daphne threads are all modern-day equivalents of some of the traditional threads, with many more colours to choose from.  Many of the designs can also be modernised using many of the other vast array of threads and yarns that are now available. I’ve seen many people make Irish lace and doilies in the 4 and 8 ply yarns to create something truly magnificent. And of course, rayon still appears for that silky look for baby christening gowns and comes in 1kilo cones and 25g balls.

While there are some beautiful designs from these times, vintage patterns are not without their troubles – namely they seem to use a completely different language and refer to yarns and threads that have been discontinued long ago.  This unfortunately puts many people off recreating the vintage designs that sit in their pattern library or even acquiring old vintage patterns to make. 

Many of the vintage pieces may also be used to create something more useful today. I have seen many people create artwork and frame it to keep their heirlooms safe and easy to display, such as this from Regina’s Art Supply Exchange. Refer to her blog for other ideas http://artsupplyexchange.blogspot.com/2021/06/vintage-doily-art.html. Or use older pieces to embellish their clothes and bags.  Don’t keep them locked away in a cupboard, let them out and make them shine again.  Or if you come across a historical piece that has frayed or been damaged, if it means something to you, have it mended – talk to us about how!

Vintage Crochet also brings to mind the ever-faithful Granny Square which has seen its own transformational journey through the decades. The good old granny square is making a huge come back in fashion this year and next year with many items such as dresses, bags, hats, jackets, scarves, blankets, and more being increasingly popular amongst the younger generation. Many of the big stars have been seen sporting their latest crochet fashion piece. Even Dior has crochet items for sale based on the granny square or vintage style lace.

At Crochet Australia we also have a wide range of vintage patterns, including the faithful granny square – with something to suit everyone’s tastes and skill level.  Check out next section to see just a selection of what we have available.  To help you get started, why not try one of these vintage patterns from freevintagecrochet.com – the Pineapple Fan Chair Set.

Look What We Found

Crochet Books

Knitting & Tatting Books

Yarns, Notions and Accessories