Freeform Crochet Tutorials & Books

Photo from Sylvia Cosh::James Walters Crochet

Sylvia Cosh & James Walters have what I think is the most comprehensive selection of downloadable worksheets on Freeform Crochet Techniques. They've got downloads with both "English" and "American" translations of crochet terminology for each worksheet. The last sheet was posted in 2007, so it looks like this is they'll be posting. Reading through the list , it sounds like the syllabus for a complete course in Freeform Crochet.

1: Choosing Yarn & Hook
2: Terms/Abbreviations/Symbols
3: Crochet Stitch Reference – the Basics
4: Colour and the Colour 'Wheel'
5: Grey, Stone, Brown, Beige, Ochre & 'Natural' Colours
6: Colour Schemes
7: 'Scrumbling'
8: 'Crochet Circles' Fabric
9: Organic Crochet Patchwork
10: Spiral Scrumble
11: Square Scrumbling
12: 'Bosnian' Scrumbling
13: Bosnian Crochet – Neckpurse (simple project)
14: 'Tunisian/Afghan' Scrumbling
15: Openwork Scrumbling
16: Raised Square & Roundels (stitch patterns)
17: Raised Flower Hexagon & 'Lazy Wheel' (stitch patterns)
18: Intermeshing – Double Filet Basics
19: Intermeshing – Double Filet Neckpurse (simple project)
20: Spinnerama (Solomon's Knot Hanging Fabric)
21: Tote Bag Project
22: Simple Rounds and Spirals
23: Keeping Edges Straight
24: 'Flying' Stitches I'm a huge fan of James Walters & Sylvia Cosh through which I've collected over the years. I'd say "The Crochet Workbook" is the book I turn to the most when starting a freeform project. I wasn't able to find it at any local bookstores, but of course Amazon's got it.

Favorite Free Knit and Crochet Patterns for Bags

There are so many free patterns to available that I find it a bit overwhelming to choose, or to keep track of the ones I might want to make someday. There are sites that list free patterns, but they only list the name, not a photo of the piece. Even Ravelry can get overwhelming. So I'm going to start linking to favorites of mine, with pictures. Hopefully someday I'll be able to include my own photo of each of the items....

"Sunburst Granny Bag" by Rajeswari on her blog diapermum is a fresh colorful take on a summer bag. It's got a very thorough tutorial and a link to instructions on making the sunburst square.

Hexagon Beach Bag in Sugar'n Cream

Made out of Lily Sugar'n Cream this brightly colored crocheted beach bag (the body measures 15" x 17") requires just 15 motifs.And at just under $2.50 a ball, the whole bag is only $20. Seems like a perfect summer project! Get the free pattern in .pdf format here from the Lily website.

Materials needed:
Lily® Sugar’n Cream® (70.9 g/2.5 oz; 109 m/120 yds)
Contrast A
Red (00095) 60 m/66 yds or 1 ball
Contrast B
Hot Orange (01628) 65 m/71 yds or 1 ball
Contrast C
Yellow (00010) 90 m/100 yds or 1 ball
Contrast D
Hot Green (01712) 95 m/105 yds or 1 ball
Contrast E
Light Blue(00026) 200 m/220 yds or 2 balls
Contrast F
Mod Blue (01111) 215 m/236 yds or 2 balls

Size 4 mm (U.S. G or 6) crochet hook or size needed to obtain gauge. Optional: Fabric for lining approx 18” x 36” [45.5 x 91.5 cm].

"Staghorn" Cabled Purse in Sugar'n Cream

This knit bag with a large cable stitch repeat reminds me of the Margaret Nicole Bags that I've seen in Vogue & Elle and that are $150 to $200! This one is 18" x 10". You could easily substitute either the straight or round handles that Margaret Nicole uses and add a big satin ribbon. And with only 4 balls of yarn needed, it will only be about $10 for the yarn plus a few dollars for the handles. Download a .pdf of the pattern here from the Lily website.

Materials needed:
Lily® Sugar’n Cream® (70.9 g/2.5 oz; 109 m/120 yds)
Ecru (00004) 345 m/375 yds or 4 balls
Size 4.5 mm (U.S. 7) knitting needles or size
needed to obtain gauge. Cable needle.
2 leather purse handles 24” [61 cm] longas shown in the picture. Or substitute Round Bamboo Handles

Inga's Bag

Another great crocheted bag. It's the same square that's used in the Babette Blanket. Which gives you something to do with the squares you've already made but have come to realize you'll never get enough done for the whole blanket.....
Download the pdf for the bag here.

The bag is shown here in a cotton yarn from the UK called Anchor Magicline. It's essentially the same as Lily® Sugar’n Cream, which also comes in a variegated blue that would look very much like the Magicline.

Stripey Noro Messenger Bag

I can't think of anything I've seen in Noro that I don't love, but this striped knit bag is pretty terrific. Striped knitting is so much fun with Noro yarns. I always work through it very quickly because I'm so excited to see what happens next with the yarn. And the shape and size of this bag are just what I like, big, but not huge. Designer Deborah Cooke talks about it in a blog post, and the pattern is available to download on Ravelry.

It calls for 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon and 3 skeins of Patons Classic Wool Yarn.

The Simply Lovely Clutch

Seattle Yarn features another Noro Yarn, Tidiori, in this quick to make knit entrelac clutch. The relatively small size, 8" x 5" make this bag a great way to ease into learnign to knit entrelac. Tidiori was discontinued in Spring 2007, but Noro Silk Garden would make an excellent substitute. the pattern is available as a free pdf download on their website.

I'm intrigued by both the unusual shapes of this 

crocheted bag. A free download on the Interweave

 site, the bag is crocheted with 4 different colors of Rowan Cotton Glace: Heather #828 , Shoot # 814 , Sky #749 and Persimmon #832 . (The pattern calls for Pier Blue which has been discontinued, but Sky is a very close shade.) You'll  need 1 ball of each.











A cheerful summery bag to crochet is available on the Drops Design site. The Sicily bag calls for size 3.5 mm/E/4 (or size needed) to get 17 dc = width 10 cm / 4''.  1 square = approx. 10 x 10 cm / 4'' x 4''. 

Knit/Crochet Inspiration: Jean Paul Gaultier

What an amazing dress. Corkscrews for sleeves. Part of some Granny's bedspread on the sides, the detail of arches on the shoulder, and then what looks like a bow on the booty...How does someone come up with this?

New inspiration - Clare Tough

From LondonFashionWeek.com: "She uses knit in a thoroughly innovative and modern way. Natural and synthetic yarns are often combined to create unusual textures. Metallic rings or snippets of leather and suede are worked into a patchwork of different surfaces. Her shapes and colour blends are surprising. Inevitably the majority of Tough’s designs are hand-knitted."

Design Inspiration: Tao Kurihara

From the Spring 2005 collection of Tao Kurihara for Comme de Garcon. These seem to have been a one off - the collection looks very different now. The one on the left was in W Magazine in May 2005. I'm intrigued by the refinement of the freeform knitting and crochet. The way the shapes of the knit pieces produce the shape and fit of the garment. There's a great mix of textures and an almost-but-not-quite monotone colorway. On the right there's a much simpler combination of cables - but again good thought has gone into the fit and shape of the garment.

From May 2005 W Magazine article "The Tao of Design":

Tao Comme des Garcons: Once upon a time Rei Kawakubo gave her talented protege Junya Watanabe a shot at designing his own collection, and now Watanabe is doing his own talented assistant a good turn, too. In the house's showroom on Sunday, Tao Kurihara, who has worked in Watanabe's studio in Tokyo for seven years and graduated from Saint Martin's a few classes behind "Stella and Phoebe," quietly debuted her own delightful line called Tao Comme des Garcons, which will be sold in Comme des Garcons boutiques worldwide.

Starting with a simple notion -- mixing lingerie and knits -- Kurihara whipped up an elaborately girly collection. There were boned cable knit corsets with frothy lace frills, cozy knit camisoles blooming with crocheted rosettes and knitted tap pants bedecked with bows and pom-poms. A strapless petal-pink sweater with covered buttons boasted stacked ruffles around the bosom, while a pale blue knit corset bloomed with a bonanza of bows.

Each season, shifting her focus from lingerie to, say, dresses or denim, Kurihara, will explore a single concept in depth. This time out, though she is just as press-shy as her mentor, the 31-year-old designer blushingly admitted that the collection expressed, "romantic feelings." It was the beginning of a fine romance.