News RSS



Irish Crochet Cushion Cover - Part 1

I've just moved from California to Florida. It's a new city, a new state and most significantly for this post, a new house.  My nesting instinct is in overdrive as we settle in to our new home and nearly all my free time right now is house-related.  One of my projects is updating our sofa cushions, and I was dreaming about a pillow in Irish Crochet.   It's a project that I'm making just for me, but I decided to share my progress on the blog because this technique is just  so mysterious for so many people.  Although I teach a Craftsy class on crochet lace and even devote an entire lesson to Irish Crochet, we really only had time to present...

Continue reading



3-Color-Tunisian Cowls (or What to do with little bits of yarn)

In my preparations for moving the studio, I recently came upon a little treasure trove of yarn samples.  Most were upper end yarns but none of the yarn quantities were enough to make more than a swatch.  What simple, fast project could I make that would combine them to result in a celebration of different colors and textures? My go-to technique for this kind of thing is 3-Color Tunisian Crochet as epitomized by the Stashbuster Blanket design I did several years ago.  No need to rethink things, I thought, so this time I just used the technique on a much smaller scale with a smaller hook and smaller quantities of yarn.   I wanted to make something small that would use about...

Continue reading



Summerfest Bracelet with Lucet

Here’s a fun little lucet project that I’ve just whipped up. You could use any kind of lucet cording (Basic, No Turn Method, or with a Single Gimp), but I made this project to showcase a cord I made for a new tutorial: How to make Lucet Cord with 2 Gimps. Take a look at the technique below: The technique is simple, and I think an armful of these in different colors would be an absolutely beautiful accessory for summer.   Here are the steps: What you will need: Yarn(s) - one or more depending on whether you will be making a simple lucet cord with one yarn or a lucet cord with A Single Gimp or with 2 Gimps.  Note that I used 1...

Continue reading



Are you Color-Challenged?

I'm just back from our show at Stitches West 2015, and as usual it was such a blast meeting and talking with the knitters and crocheters who came to our booth. It is always a thrill to see projects worked from our patterns and to demonstrate techniques one-on-one to those who come and visit us. Probably the most common question I receive, after technique-related questions, has to do with choosing yarn colors. More often than not, a knitter or crocheter choosing yarn colors asks my advice on what colors go together, or they bring a friend that can offer advice.   Or they just fall into the pattern of choosing the same colors, and they complain about it.  I can't count...

Continue reading



How To Make a Lucet Cord Bracelet: Lucet Cord with Gimp

Make this very simple bracelet with a lucet cord and a decorative button. For this cord we used a lucet cord with a decorative gimp.  Don't know how to do it?  Take a look at the how-to-video below to learn how.  You can use a lucet cord with a gimp for this bracelet, or just use any kind of lucet cord that you'd like. (See our Lucet Cord Tutorials for other cord options.) To make the bracelet with your finished lucet cord, just take a look at the photo tutorial below. What you need Here's what you will need: A finished lucet cord of about 54".  Make it shorter or longer based on how many times you'd like to wrap it around...

Continue reading