Crochet 101

     I love helping others discover and polish their talents, so this post, and the ones to follow seemed only natural. I learned to crochet through mostly online resources, so I am well aware there are already many great tutorials. Therefor I will not reinvent the wheel. I'll share videos and resources I found that helped me, along with some of my own tips and tricks. My goal is to bring the overwhelming mosaic of info available together in a guide that can be used even by someone with no prior knowledge. With that said, as with all my blog post unless otherwise stated links to outside sources I post are not made by or affiliated with PepperCraft in anyway.

   First lets take a minute to talk about yarn. I won't get very detailed but I want to cover enough to get you started. It can be made from many different materials such as wool and acrylic. Most of the yarn you'll see in the store is acrylic. There are also many textures, from smooth to hairy. But, one of the most important characteristics I feel I should talk about is weight, or how thick the yarn is. This link is a list of the standardized weights and the names/numbers for them.
http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/weight.html
When you look at most skeins of yarn it will have the number symbol on it . Any pattern you look at should specify the weight of the yarn needed. 4 or worsted weight is most common(at least in U.S.)

Now on to hooks. In the U.S. hook sizes are usually labeled by letters but sometimes they are specified by measurement in mm. The further down the alphabet, the thicker the hook. Like yarn, the hook size should be specified in a pattern. Here is a chart of hook sizes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_standard_crochet_hook_and_knitting_needle_sizes

That brings us to gauge. Different people may crochet a different size with the same hook, depending on how tight they work. That is why gauge is important. It measures how many stitches per inch (or usually 4in) there should be to obtain a certain final size. If you are making something where size is important(such as clothing) make sure you check your gauge by making a small square to measure. If your work is too small or too big simply use a different hook of a smaller or bigger size.
To get started I recommend using a solid color(not too bright, not too dark) worsted weight yarn and a medium sized hook(like H  or I).
Hurray you've now made it to the fun part. Here are some good videos for learning the basic stitches. With crochet or knitting you want to get to where the basic movement is second nature so just keep practicing making squares and rectangles. The biggest thing is to not give up! It is worth getting through the rough learning patch.
Note: These videos have links with them to left-handed versions and other videos that might be helpful.

To Russia With Love

   Shortly after discovering I had a talent for crochet and knitting I prayed for opportunities to use it to bless others. In May God answered that prayer. Artist Allison Hoffman asked others to join her in making bears for orphaned children in Russia. You can read her blog herehere.

It all started with this movie from To Russia With Love.

              
Like Allison, I was touched by the film and all that To Russia with Love is doing to improve the lives of children. Watching the story of these bears unfold has really shown me how God can grow seeds of kindness to large and powerful trees. Kindness tends to have a snowball effect, causing people who see others doing it to want to jump on the wagon with them. I'm so excited for these bears to end up in the loving arms of a child all their own.

Adventures in Knitting; Knitting vs Crochet

   Many people confuse knitting and crochet. Perfectly understandable. They do have some similarities. They both are ways to turn yarn(or maybe thread) into a fabric. They both follow similarly written patterns. But they are different techniques that give different results.

Knitting involves working with two (or more) needles to make a bunch of loops. Knit fabric is usually more stretchy and flexible. Knitting can also be done with machines. This has made it easier to mass produce knitted items and make fabric with smaller threads. Because of that knit fabrics are more familiar to most people. A random observation I've made is that many people will refer to both techniques as knitting and that when one technique is depicted in a movie or show it is almost always knitting.
 Crochet involves using one hook to make a series of knots and loops. The fabric tends to be more firm and durable. So far, there is no machine that can duplicate crochet.


   Because they are so different I have noticed a trend when talking with others. Most strongly prefer one of the other (but it seems they have at least tried both). I've heard many different reasons as to why someone prefers knitting over crochet or vice versa, but is one actually easier or better than the other?
   If someone could be completely unbiased, they would probably say no. But people are usually biased to some degree. Even when it comes to a particular type of project you get many mixed reviews. I have even heard some people claim the same pro and con for one that someone else claims for the other(for example, how fast it is).
I think it would be interesting to take people with no history or experience with crochet or knitting and try to teach them both as simultaneously as possible. Then see what the people end up liking or disliking.
  
  Here is my own experience.
My greatgrandmother crocheted. When I was a tiny tot she taught me how to make a basic chain. It was a while before I learned actual crochet stitches but never really did much with them. When I really started to crochet, I met it like an old acquaintance.

I'll confess that I expected knitting to come as easily to me as crochet. It did not. I didn't grow up around knitting. I met it like a complete stranger. It was very frustrating to learn. I'm not patient but I am tenacious. I'm glad I stuck to it. I have recently completely my first knitting project.

My advise for the evening is to remember that anyone's opinion is just that; an opinion. Don't let another person frighten you away from learning something, or make you feel bad if something came easily to them that doesn't to you.

 

Day One - Saint Patrick's Day and Baby Dragon Maewyn

Sláinte! Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! Happy St Patrick's Day! 

Time to take off and fly!

Or not...

Spring is a time of life; of birth, renewal, and beginning. So this fine spring day seems a good day to start something. So here it is, the PepperCraft blog. The goal is to eventually be able to raise money for various charities by selling crafts and patterns and to help others cultivate their own creative talents. PepperCraft may not yet be ready to fully spread its wings, but everything has to start some where. You have to glide before you fly right?
I'm not actually making any orders yet (swamped with projects already). But, you can still go ahead and "preorder" so I can be planning on making what you want. Anything I've made and posted here (unless otherwise noted) can eventually be ordered.
Right now my focus is more on sharing what I've been doing and developing my skills and new designs.

Now on to Maewyn. Maewyn is named after what is believed to be St Patrick's given name. I decided to look at other people's crochet dragon patterns for inspiration and guidance. I found several good patterns.
  There was the popular baby snow dragon by Marjorie Jones. It is a cute, but very simple pattern. It is great for a beginning crocheter or someone new to amigurumi (crochet/knit stuff animals)

The fierce but friendly dragon pattern by Lucy Ravenscar is also great. It is almost like a winged adult version of the baby snow dragon. It looks a little more complex but still doesn't look to hard.

I ended up using the posable little dragon pattern by Kati Galusz. But I want a four legged dragon baby dragon so I changed it up a good bit.

The wings and the spine were the only thing that I didn't change at least a little bit.

Maewyn is about 8 in long from nose to tail-tip. About half of that is tail.

The following is a list of the modifications to Kati's patterns. I'm sorry I have to be so vague but I cannot put any of the original pattern.

Notes: Because Maewyn is fatter, I used two pipe cleaners in body.

Head: Add three extra stitches to magic ring. Continue increasing and decreases as specified in pattern just with more stitches in each round. This will make a fatter dragon.
For the eyes, if using large beads in round 4 make two small holes
about 3 to 4 st apart. Make the holes by chaining in between your stitches (ex. sc, ch 3, sc). Chain as many as needed to make a hole just big enough for the bead to be pushed through. The bead should fit very snugly. Sew in beads after round 5. 
Horns: ch 3, sl st in 3st ch, sc in next chain, hdc in last
Legs (front): skip 4th row (for 4th row do instructions for 5th row and so on till last row)
Legs (back):  1 : sc 5 in magic ring
   2 - 4: 1 sc in each sc (5 sc)
   5: 2 sc in first two sc, sc in each remaining sc (6 sc)
   6: same as 2
   7-8: sc in first sc, sc in each remaining sc (8 sc)

Feet(front):  4 sc in magic ring. In next row follow instructions for paws to make toes. Make 4
Feet(back):  6 sc in magic ring. In next row follow instructions for paws to make toes but add one to chain of each toe (also an extra sc). Make 4

The leg wire extends to the tip of the middle toe. Take a tiny piece of wire or pipe cleaner and wrap it around where the side toes go. Sew feet right side to wrong side (or what ever looks best to you) around the leg/foot wire "skeleton". Poke pipe cleaner through leg and sew foot to leg. Put leg wire all the way through body, sew it in place. Sew other foot and leg to other end of pipe cleaner.

front feet (left) back feet (right) right/palm side (top) wrong/back side (bottom)