THE MAKING OF A LOVELY CARDIGAN IN TUNISIAN CROCHET In the last little while, as you may have noticed, I have been working on an ambitious project: the creation of a Tunisian crochet garment, using a leaf motif (or "spades", as I preferred to call it) already seen in some wonderful knitting projects. First, I thought about replicating the spade pattern in Tunisian crochet, which was not difficult, as I have created similar patterns before - you can find them, for example, in these projects of mine: Leaf it On Shawl , Leaf it On Scarf , Leaf it On Cowl . Leaf it On Scarf Next, I thought it best to make a garment that had a simple workmanship, i.e. worked flat, and not in the round, to avoid, at least initially, over-complicating the design. A cardigan, therefore, was the best choice. Next, I chose a yarn that I liked and opted for a fine multicoloured yarn. This was the result: "QUEEN OF SPADES" - THE CAL! I liked the finished garment very much, and so did you, whic
Let’s get finally to the fun part of the matter: let’s start crocheting!
So grab your Tunisian hooks (or regular crochet hooks) and begin with a crochet Chain in any
number of stitches. Yes, it all begins with a Chain, as usual… Just another
brief but important explanation before we start: conceptually (and practically)
what differentiates Tunisian crochet from regular crochet and knitting is the
fact that a single row is created through two stages, one in which the stitches
are collected on the hook (I will presently explain you how), called FORWARD
PASS, and one in which those stiches are brought off the hook (called REVERSE
PASS, or RETURN PASS). All Tunisian crochet is created this way. A single Row,
or Round, always consists of a Forward Pass followed by a Reverse Pass.
Photo 1 - Tunisian Foundation Row
FOUNDATION ROW
The Foundation Row is the first row of a project and it is formed on an
initial Chain of stitches, from which loops are pulled up and collected on the
hook. It is usually worked in Tunisian Simple Stitch, regardless of the pattern
and stitch you will be using for the rest of the project.
First Row (Foundation Row) – Forward Pass: insert the hook in
each stitch of the beginning Chain, starting from the second chain from hook,
yarn over and pull up loop after loop, leaving them on the hook as you proceed
towards the end of the Chain. At the end of the Forward Pass you should have as
many loops on your hook as the number of stitches forming the initial chain, including the initial loop on the hook
(photo 2).
Photo 2 - Tunisian Foundation Row
First Row (Foundation Row) – Reverse Pass: without turning your
work, yarn over and pull through the 1st loop (= Chain 1, photo 3), then yarn over
and pull through 2 loops together (photo 4) until you cast off all stitches and remain with
just one loop on the hook. You have completed the First Row (Foundation Row),
photo 5.
Photo 3 - Tunisian Foundation Row
Photo 4 - Tunisian Foundation Row
Photo 5 - Tunisian Foundation Row
CAN TUNISIAN CROCHET BE SO EASY?!
I know, I know, I can hear you thinking: "So? Is this it? Can it be so easy?!" The simple answer is: Yes! But this is "only" the Foundation Row, so how do we proceed from here? Well, the method is pretty similar, of course. After the Foundation Row, we will start crocheting properly in Tunisian Simple Stitch (or any other stitch), but before we move on to that I suggest you take a look at my video on the Foundation Row in my YouTube Channel to be quite sure you are making everything right.
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