The Crocheter's Skill Building Workshop: Essential Techniques for Becoming a More Versatile, Adventerous Crocheter

by Dora Ohrenstein

Overview

From choosing yarns, shapes, and styles to finishing off your project with flair, Dora Ohrenstein shows you how take your crocheted creations to the next level. This fun guide includes more than 70 stitch-along swatches that teach specific crochet techniques and five projects — a hat, shawl, neck warmer, bag, and scarf — that put your new skills to use. With a variety of stitch patterns and shaping types explained, you’ll be inspired to build upon Ohrenstein’s creations and develop your own sophisticated designs. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612122465
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	11/18/2014
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	358,612
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dora Ohrenstein is a leading crochet designer, author, and teacher. She is the author of Top-Down Crochet Sweaters and The Crocheter’s Skill-Building Workshop, which is being hailed as a must-have resource by the crochet community. Ohrenstein’s chic and innovative designs appear regularly in Interweave Crochet, Crochet!, Crochet World, Vogue Knitting Crochet, and many other print and online magazines. She is the co-editor of Crochet World's “Talking Crochet” column, and she has written for various other publications about crochet history, international traditions, and techniques. 

Table of Contents

Preface

Part 1: Techniques

1. Choosing Yarns
      Yarn Sources
      Yarn Manufacturing
      Spinning and Twisting
      Yarn Weights
      Specialty Yarns
      Hand-Dyed Yarns
      Fabric and Drape

2. The Crochet Toolbox
      Hooks
      Other Tools

3. Controlling Tension
     Flexible Tension
     Working the Starting Chain
     Working Turning Chains
     Adjusting Stitch Height
     Hand Health

4. Fundamental Techniques
     Making a Slip Knot
     Basic Stitches
     Fastening Off
     Counting Stitches
     Working into the Starting Chain
     More About Turning Chain
     Alternatives to Standard Turning Chains
     Extended Stitches Can Solve Problems
     Joining and Changing Yarns
     Foundation Stitches
     13 Ways of Looking at Insertion Points
     Working Clusters
     Unraveling Work
     Unusual Stitches

5. Shaping and Construction in Crochet
    The Many Ways to Crochet Squares
    Mitered Corners
    Increasing and Decreasing
    Gauge Always Matters
    The Math: Starting with Something Simple

6. Crochet in the Round
     Starting the Circle
     Starting and Ending Rounds
     Shaping a Circle
     Working in a Spiral
     Stitch Patterns in Circular Work
     Crocheting Tubes

7. Advanced Shaping
     Shaping and Stitch Patterns
     Shaping with Half Pattern Repeats
     Shaping Ripples
     Internal Shaping
     Shaping in Columns
     Shaping Complex Lace
     Short Rows

8. Texture
     Puffs, Bobbles, and Popcorns
     Crossed Stitches
     Cabling, Techniques and Stitches
     Crochet Ribbing

9. Crochet in Color
     Carrying Colors along the Side
     Spike Stitches
     Complex Colorwork
     Tapestry Crochet

10. Finishing Techniques
       Weaving in Ends
       Crochet Seams
       Edging
       Blocking
       Care of Crochet

Part 2: Projects
      Slouchy Hat
      Marguerite Cowl
      Colorwork Bag
      Lace Capelet
      Cabled Lace Scarf


Pattern Reading
Glossary
Key Stitch Guide
Abbreviations and Basic Stitches
Resources
Acknowledgments
Index


 

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2015
Well-known crochet designer Ohrenstein (The New Tunisian Crochet) takes a basics-and-beyond approach to crochet in this workshop-style overview of crochet techniques. Ohrenstein starts with project planning, including choice of yarn and hook, tension, and gauge, followed by crochet basics, including common stitches and starting and turning chains. Several chapters on intermediate techniques, including working in the round, shaping, textured stitches, and colorwork, are also featured. Full-color photographs appear throughout, and many of the illustrations consist of close-ups of the stitches being formed, making it easy to understand the written directions. A small selection of projects reinforces the concepts in the book. VERDICT Ohrenstein's latest is both a course-in-a-book and a useful reference to crochet techniques.

Library Journal