LESSON 2 making the choices of motifs

LESSON 2  

will be the choice of materials needed and how to find the motifs for this dress and layout.

I want to impress upon you that this process is lengthy.  Each motif needs to be worked up to the size you want for the project.  I work out 3 sizes before making a choice. That means 3 sizes of hook as we will use #10 thread.  

Materials needed will be your dress pattern from Lesson 1,  foam board, pins, motifs, printouts, crochet hooks, steam iron, and thread.

You will be using a search engine to find your terms and symbols.

It is my intention that each of you make a different dress.  This lesson will be acquiring the designs needed to make the dress with the motifs you like and can manage to make.  As we will be making several of each motif you need to be comfortable making them. 

Below is a sample from a Russian magazine.  I would hope that we are all "bi-lingual" in that we speak our native tongue and crochet. The native language is a given at our age but Crochet is another matter. 

The reason for white thread is that we can dye it but you are more than welcome to use colors. My dress has a combination of white and colors.  The reason for dyeing is to get those hard to find colors.  Most crochet thread is limited in colors and the ones we do find may not be what we were looking for.  The BIG balls of thread will give us enough thread to make the dress. You can always find white thread and if you are dyeing the dye lot# is not as important so if you need more thread you can purchase a new ball.  

 We will be looking at the different terms and comparing them to our country's standard.

This chart is one of the symbols used in Crochet in the US.

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ttps://www.myfonts.com/fonts/adriprints/stitchin-crochet-pro/

This font will work in most Windows based programs.  I like it as I can create my own designs and relate them to other people.  

Terms and explanations

crochet glossary  http://www.free-crochet.com/pages/crochet_glossary.html 

Learning to read crochet patterns Written by Brenda Stratton

The key element in learning to read  https://www.anniescatalog.com/crochet/learntoread.html

How to Read a Crochet pattern  by Jean Leinhauser    http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/tip_crochet.html

My designs will be with symbols and a short written explanation of the pattern.

Hook sizes are a big part of thread crocheting.  below is a good chart for sizing your hooks.

http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/html/warm/vhooks.htm

When choosing the motif you are going to use try several size hooks to find the best look of your motif. I revised the last round with the 7 hook because I really like the new look of the motif.  If your motif is larger than you wanted go down in size of hook.

NEXT we will be looking for designs you like.  If you are like me you love the "eye candy" in Facebook.  I have put a folder on my computer for these designs. 

 I keep these on a portable drive for accessibility and the freedom of taking it to another computer like my laptop.

You can see that I have a file folder "!Me" so I can keep my personal projects in it for ease of access as well.

 Searching for designs for your dress: I put in the search engine Crochet Flower pattern images and I get hundreds of images to look through to find a design I like.  

Once I find a motif I do a test work up to see how difficult the pattern is to read. This one is in symbols as it is from a Russian site.   Even tho I cannot read or speak the language I do know the language of Crochet.

Once you have worked it up you will know the dimensions of the motif and can see where it will best fit your pattern.

When working up these designs you will need to journal what size thread and hok you are using so later when you do make them you will be able to recreate the same size motif.

There are no set rules as to what size thread and hook you need to use. If you find you crochet looser than you like just drop the hook size a bit and see what comes out.  If you need to fill a 6x6 inch (15x15 mm) spot play around with the hook size for your motif.

Although we will be using cotton thread for this dress you can use other media.  We are using cotton because later we will be learning to dye cotton thread motifs.

During this month you need to search for Leaves and flowers to make in your dress.  The fringe or trim will be searched as well. 

What I do is to make a motif, measure it and then print the pattern in that size so I can cut out several to layup on my dress pattern I created in Lesson 1.

Here you can see that I have replaced several printouts with the finished motif.  I bought a foam board from a local pallet maker.  Most communities have a company that makes pallets and provides foam boards for shipping.  If you cannot find one let me know and I will see if we can get mine to ship to you on an individual basis. crocheting@ancestraltracks.com

These boards come in 8x4 foot sheets [I had them cut mine in half] but your local hardware store may have them in the home insulation departments for less money.  NOTE: mine is high quality and cost $110.00 I use it all the time so the cost was okay.  It is high density and 3" deep.  I use quilting pins and can steam press right on it if I keep the iron 1/4" above the board.

You can get smaller boards and place them together to make up your form. 

I cannot stress enough that you make printouts the right size so you will see just how the dress will look when finished.  it also gives you the number of each motif  you will need.

Where do I find my designs? 

I search the internet, purchase books and magazines and purchase other people's designs.

Search for "images crochet motif patterns"

Russian magazines are wonderful they use graphs and most have filler designs in them. I bought mine on E-Bay http://stores.ebay.com/Duplet-Crochet-Patterns/Duplet-Crochet-Magazines-/_i.html?_fsub=12176983&_sid=552192304&_sop=2&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14

http://crochetforyou.weebly.com/blog/archives/10-2014

Once you have found the designs you want to use and the pattern made you can begin pinning the images to the pattern and moving them around for the best look.  I find that I rearrange them at least 4 or 5 times before settling on what I will finally make.

I also find it nice to have a program to bring my designs into.  Some of the designs you find for free on the web are very low resolution and can be very hard to read once printed.  Below are a few of the programs I use.

InkScape  [FREE]

https://inkscape.org/en/download/

StitchinCrochetPro [$8.00 USD]

 https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/adriprints/stitchin-crochet-pro/

As a designer I look for all the software that will help me do what I want to do.  One of these software packages is a Graphics software.  For years I used Illustrator along with Photoshop, but after retiring 18 years ago I find that I cannot afford to purchase a version that will work in Windows 7.  I came across InkScape by accident and it is free to download and use. 

You might ask "why would we need a graphics program?"  Well I use mine daily.  It is great for Crochet patterns as well as other things like in my card making.  InkScape will allow you to import a design in a language that you do not read. Once imported [using Ctrl-I or the drop down menu] you can start placing the  font [StitchinCrochetPro] over the corresponding one and figure out how to crochet something not in your language

This way you can follow the pattern easier.  I make each rnd or row a different color and number the rnds/rows to make it more user friendly.

I open up the rows or rounds as I do them.  

We all can make something lovely and ware it.  NEVER allow anyone tell you that you can't ware your art.   This Lady makes wonderful works of art and wares them.  Show off your passion

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