Disclosure

This blog is written and edited by Iva Stencel.

Occasionally this blog accepts forms of cash advertising or other forms of compensation (affiliate links). The compensation received never influences the content, topics or posts made in this blog as this blog is aimed to help other to learn and or become a crocheter or a better crocheter.

I believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The content, advertising space or post is clearly identified as a paid or sponsored content.

Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for the posts or advertisements, always gives the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the owner’s own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content, which might present a conflict of interest.

All images, unless otherwise stated, are original and my own. Please do not use without seeking permission first.

All comments are moderated and therefore any disrespectful comments will be deleted.

Boy Hat – Free Pattern

I have used this Baby Blues Hat by DROPS Design pattern to create a hat for my son.

It is very easy pattern with good instructions to follow. It is very good for beginners and I would say quite quick project too (e.g. I spent a probably an hour a day and took me a week to complete the hat).

I gave it a little twist with a little bit different colour scheme and edging.

Here is the final result:

Let me know, if you like it 🙂

I.

6 facts about crochet you may not know

Here are 6 amazing facts about crochet, which I found fascinating. They will probably not make you a better crocheter, however it can enhance your admiration to this craft and promote a deeper connection if you would know that:

1. The word “CROCHET”

is thought to be derived from the French word “croc” or “croche”, meaning to hook. Crochet is known as sphepherd’s knitting in Scotalnd, pjoning in Norway, häkelarbeit in Germany and háčkování in Czechia.

2. Where the CROCHET came from?

Well, there is no single theory where the crochet technique originated. One is, that it originated in Arabia, spreading east to Tibet and west to Spain, from where it followed the Arab trade routes to other Mediterranean countries.

Another potential origin is from South America, where a primitive tribe was meant to have used crocheted ornamentation in ceremonies.

3. Mademoiselle Riego de la Blanchardiere – Irish crochet lace founder

The inventor if Irish crochet, Mademoiselle Riego de la Blanchardiere. She was the daughter of a Franco-Spanish nobleman and an Irish mother. She figured out how to make lace that resembled Venetian needlepoint, but that could be worked on a crochet hook, greatly speeding production. A seven-inch piece that took at least 200 hours to make with a needle could be crocheted in only (!) 20 hours. Now this technique is known under Irish crochet lace.

4. Ursuline Sisters – life savers

Ursuline sisters (religious institutes of the Catholic Church) set up crochet centres during potato Famine in Ireland in mid 1840s to alleviate the suffering around them.

The very first centre was at Blackrock in County Cork.  These centres produced crocheted items, which become very popular around the world ( and still probably are..)

 

5. Cuffs, collars & doileys

The very first items made by crocheting were cuffs, collars, edging for linen and doileys. In 1950s very first thicker yarn was used, which allowed to create a “granny square”.

These were used on bedspreads, throws and rugs.

 

 

6. Hooks

Standard crochet hooks come in a various sizes and wide range of colours and materials. Did you know that there are hooks made from:

• aluminium
• steel
• wood
• bamboo
• plastic
• wood
• bone
• ivory
• Bakelite
• and also from resin?

So did you know these facts already or did you learn something new today?

I.

My crochet journey

I always thought, that crocheting is something what only a very old women do…never paid attention to it.

And of course, there was the awkward hook to be used…

However, as a kid I liked a yarn, I liked a feel of it. To play with strings, bits and pieces, putting them into dolls hair or making a collage gluing it onto a paper or a cardboard.

When I was sick and stuck in bed with flu or cold, I use to take a ball of yarn and played with it (pay attention as I believe these are my roots to crocheting journey…)

Later, when I was a teenager, I tried to knit (I found it as a very slow process to make something bigger than a barbie doll jumper …ehh) and crochet. I had a book with very flimsy pictures but after a very long process I created a crocheted flower.

I got very excited, but I did not know what to do with the flower. Then an idea sparked, that I could crochet hundreds and thousands of them, connect and have a …..vest 🙂

Well, I did 5 of them and I was finished. Never made it to anything bigger than 3 connected flowers and as a totally exhausted teenager, moved on.

In my young twenties, I picked up the yarn again and tried the knotting in a pretty way (it is called macramé). Again, it never made it to a bigger project, but led me back to a yarn and its beauty.

When I was pregnant with my first, I started to knit again, just to pass the time. Also, I tried loom knitting and finger knitting. All these techniques were great, BUT, just too slow for me to make anything out of it.

Then, I picked up the hook again and then my REAL crocheting journey has started. So far I did not put it down … (yes of course I do not sleep with it :)…

 

 

About me

Hello my name is Iva Stencel and I have a passion for playing with yarn and threads ever since I was a child. Over the years, I attempted various techniques such as knitting, loom knitting, finger knitting, macramé and finally crocheting. In 2018 an idea sparked in my mind to write an ultimate tutorial blog to help others learn the art of crochet and how to crochet for beginners through to intermediate and advanced stitches.