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Freeform Knitting and Crochet

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By Moonmaiden

Freeform piece waiting to be part of a garment

A scrumble.
A scrumble.
Sporkle hat by F.Z. Harper
Sporkle hat by F.Z. Harper
My 'sporkle' hat I designed.
My 'sporkle' hat I designed.

Scrumbles

Are you one of those people that never wanted to color inside the lines? Are you happier inventing your own way of doing things than you are in following a pattern? Do you love wild shapes and textures?

Then Freeform Knitting and Crochet may be for you.

I first got into this in the 1970's when it was called organic fiber arts. At the time macramé and hippy crafts were having a revival and folk art was making a big impact. Then in the 80's I made a fantastical rock opera style robe to wear to street fairs. People stopped me constantly to ask me how to make one just like it! I told them it was a one of a kind original and I couldn't make another one just like it even if I tried.

Since then that creative process has been bubbling away and gathering momentum.

Freeform crochet is a modular form. You make random sized pieces sometimes called "Scrumbles" and then you put them together to form garments and purses and wall hangings. It's a lot of fun because everything is original and very much like painting with yarns, ribbons, beads, seashells and found objects.

Some people like to toss each ‘scrumble' in a bin and figure out what to do with it later.

Others sort their piles by color or texture.

It really helps to have a dress form. Or talk a friend into helping you pin it all together. I love to use safety pins to temporarily attach all the parts together.

To be good at freeform you need to know how to increase and decrease so you can make squares, triangles, circles and amoeba type shapes. It's a great way to use up leftover bits of yarn. Sometimes freeform artists swap pieces with each other to add more variety to the look.

Don't be surprised if people stop by to ask what you are making. I usually answer, "I don't know yet, but I bet it's going to be awesome."

More about freeform

Need more knitting info?

If you are more interested in basic knitting or need to learn to increase or decrease, read my Hub here and look at the resource links: http://hubpages.com/_l6f64eotqm13/hub/Be_a_Better_Knitter

Teaching Free Form Crochet and Knitting

I just found out I'm going to be teaching FF crochet and knitting in November at a major retailer. So I'm going to make up a bunch of samples to give people the idea. What a great opportunity to help people break free of following patterns and blaze a new trail.

Since I have a crochet class to teach tonight, I was reviewing some things. I randomly grabbed Silvia Cosh's Crochet Sweater Book off my bookshelf and realized her butterfly sweater would be a perfect format for a freeform crochet project! I think I will make it in shades of purple and blue and maybe some metallic silver for pizazz. I was surprised to see this book from the '80's is still available on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Crochet-Sweater-Book-Sylvia-Cosh/dp/0517564785/sr=1-2/qid=1163007939/ref=sr_1_2/104-7623166-2246324?ie=UTF8&s=books

The how to instructions are excellent and will be a big help in tonight's class.

Wild Crochet

Teapot Hat I made using freefrom crochet.
Teapot Hat I made using freefrom crochet.
A hat that pancakes in on itself.
A hat that pancakes in on itself.
Another view of the hat I made.
Another view of the hat I made.
A piece waiting to be a part of something great.
A piece waiting to be a part of something great.

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RSS for comments on this Hub

intimo  says:
3 years ago

Thanks for the link.

Eileen Hughes profile image

Eileen Hughes  says:
2 years ago

Its funny that a lot of people knit, and do not realise that is is quicker to crochet things and I think they look prettier too. Especially baby things. and toys.

Thanks for sharing I have a helpful crochet hut to if you care to have a look.

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-find-Free-Crochet-P

squ-202  says:
2 years ago

[...]Where did you find those cute valentine’s to crochet on? The crochet is lovely. Its darling. And my collection of Japanese books grows. I try to get one a month.[...]

وصفات البشرة  says:
18 months ago

thanks nice hubpage

bbt-me  says:
11 months ago

please continue posting these information so that we could get more about Crochet from you

Denis  says:
7 months ago

It is very nice hubpage and so sweety

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