Going to the dark side
Who would have thought?
After decades of ignoring anything crochet, two days ago I found myself at Kinokuniya in Little Tokyo (these things just happen to me) where a seriously depleted knitting shelf (emphasis on the singular) forced me to look around the other craft shelves and against my better judgement I picked up two crochet books.
Before the crochet crowd starts throwing rocks at me, let me explain that by “against my better judgement” I mean nothing disparaging regarding crochet, only that if you decide to learn a new skill, getting your trainer books in Japanese is not the sanest option.
In my defense I can say that my judgement had been impaired by a convergence of brain-draining factors:
— Constant construction work around the house for several weeks this time, with at least two weeks of sawing, cutting, rotating blades ablaze, dust and noise at record levels.
— A sudden spike in errands and things that needed to be done now, including medical and dental stuff. After yesterday’s radioactive pill I am positively glowing.
— A five-day-long smell attack on our house that made the place stink like a body farm in a bad CSI show. We suspect a rather large animal died under the house (we are on a slope and such spaces abound) and with temperatures in the 90s until two days ago… you get the picture. Well, finally the decomp smell subsided and we were enjoying an evening of TV and reading when a skunk decided to restore our olfactory environment to Code Red.
Tile cutting station conveniently located under my office window.
As you can see, it’s not that I am going gaga; I had objective reasons for not being at my best when I set foot in that Kinokuniya store.
Tile surgery
But back to crochet. In case you wonder why I never had the urge before, the main reason is that to me the process of crocheting “hardens” the yarn. If the same yarn is used to knit or crochet, the knitted item will be softer and nicer to touch, and warmer to wear. As a result, until now the only crocheted items I liked were straw/rafia/cord bags and hats. On top of that, I never cared for the granny square look. Then a couple of weeks ago I happened to come across the photo of a shawl crocheted with Kidsilk Haze that looked as soft and fluffy as any knitted shawl. Time to revise my opinion of crochet, me thinks.
Any good crochet tutorial in English or Italian that you know of?
I get the gist of the individual Japanese symbols since I can look them up, but run into problems of interpretation when it comes to putting them together.
Any tips from the pros?
Posted by Francesca | 13 comments
dee near Berkeley
PS There are KNITTING equivalents to all these books – except the “Asahi Original” books. I own many more of the Japanese knitting books and they take my breath away. Quite pricey, but delicious!!
dee near Berkeley
Forgot to add – go back to Kinokuniya and do your buying there, *after* holding the books in your hands and browsing through them. You can even find a stool to sit on…
dee near Berkeley
Now, the first step down this slippery slope is this – go back to Kinokuniya and buy a crochet book from Nihon Vogue (I think) with a medium pink cover, white Japanese characters, palest grey line drawing of a crochet hook in mid-stitch, and a purple “120 technique” in the lower left corner of the front cover. The Japanese ISBN is 978-4-529-04589-6. You can find a picture of the cover on amazon.jp. Be sure to click “In English” at the top right of the page, then I entered ISBN 9784529045896 (with no dashes) and the book came up. It’s a technique book that explains the symbols used in Japanese crochet patterns in such a way that you don’t need to know a “word” of Japanese. Trust me. I paid $24.50 my copy a year or so ago.
Next step – look at “Crochet Patterns Book 300” – Japanese ISBN 9784529041751. Be amazed. 300 crochet patterns that are stunning in their complexity or difference and/or elegance. Each with a chart next to it to show how to make it. In addition, the book has a small version of “125 technique” in the back to help you.
The fatal step is to look at the “Asahi Original” books. Put that in the search box and click go. You should get a list with a book (again in pink) at the top. The title – in English – is “Lacework – floral design 100” and it says “Japanese books”. Click on that. Scroll down that next page to “Customers who bought this book also bought” and look through that horizontal listing. On page 2 is “Crochet flower corsage 100”. Look at that one – closely. I drool over it.
But the trip to amazon.jp is just window shopping. You really need to hold these in your hands, look and drool yourself. They are nothing short of amazing.
But, be warned. It is a greased, teflon-lined rabbit hole that could eat time like bon-bons. Just saying…
(ask me how I know….)
LizzieK8
If you use a hook one to two sizes larger than suggested, crochet fabric WILL NOT be stiff or hard in comparison to knitted fabric.
mary jane
I’ve been bitten by the crochet bug too. All my favorite things on Pinterest lately have been crochet. I think it isn’t especially good for garments, but it is great for all kinds of other things, especially homey things. Whenever I go to Uwajimaya, ostensibly for grocery shopping, I end up in Kinokuniya with an armload of books in subjects I didn’t know I was interested in.
Rachel
I don’t have any suggestions for crochet sites – I picked up a pamphlet and was able to pick up the stitches pretty easily. The patterns, on the other hand, took me a while. Crochet patterns tell you where to do your next stitch and sometimes you are not crocheting into a stitch but rather into a space or crocheting 3 stitches into the same stitch – that’s what I find difficult. What I really like about crochet is how versatile it is.
You might find some good stuff on the Crochet Spot tutorials and help page http://www.crochetspot.com/category/tutorials-and-help/ I get their emails and they’re interesting, though the projects aren’t always my cup of tea. In boca al lupo!
Alyssa
Wish I could offer some advice, but I know as much about crochet as a lion knows about racecar driving… But the snowflake-like things one the right book cover are gorgeous!
karen
You’ll be happy to hear Seattle also has a Kinokuniya (inside a large store called Uwajimaya), and it usually has a large selection of knitting books…and other hard-to-resist funky crafts…
Lydia
“Glowing”? Did you take I-131 for thyroid cells? I ask because I did that many years ago.
Crochet: Really, I don’t think you need any tutorial, just get a book with crochet instructions in it and the rest just follows, for the most part, although I probably count as a novice crocheter. Those Japanese books probably have sufficient photos to get you started. A handy book is Ondori Crochet & Knit, it’s a Japanese publication written in English; available at Amazon.
Carolyn
I’ve been told I hold a crochet hook the way one would hold a live rattlesnake. I think the person meant to say I looked a bit uneasy crocheting. I have gauge issues with it, and use it only when necessary to trim knitting. And since when did Norwegians trim their sweaters with crochet?
Nicole
I love crochet. I even love granny squares. learntocrochet.lionbrand.com is pretty great to cover the basics.
Annie
Another non-crocheter here … I’d like to be able to crochet, but how would I find time for crochet as well as knitting?
Have you seen Lucy’s blog, Attic24, lots of crochet tips there :)
Have fun with your hook ;)
fleegle
It does make pretty edgings, but otherwise, I leave crochet alone. Hurts my hands, too.