Freeform Knitting and Crochet

73

By Moonmaiden

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."

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.

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.

Animated Wormheads

Story Crochet

intimo 5 years ago

Thanks for the link.

Eileen Hughes profile image

Eileen Hughes Level 3 Commenter 4 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 3 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 3 years ago

thanks nice hubpage

bbt-me 3 years ago

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

Denis 2 years ago

It is very nice hubpage and so sweety

StevenCavendish profile image

StevenCavendish 2 years ago

What an awesome article. Thanks very much for sharing this information.

VivekSri 23 months ago

Gorgeous take and lovable pics. This hub makes a great point and that's an invigorating new style of presenting.

Moonmaiden profile image

Moonmaiden Hub Author 16 months ago

Hello Jonathan,

I always try to let other people know about creative things out there and other fiber artists. However I don't have patterns for any of your hats, and have been making freeform hats of my own for many years. No two of my

hats are even like each other, much less exact copies of yours. To copy yours, I'd have to hold it in my hands, count stiches, figure out rows, and measure dimensions.

In fact, there is another vendor on Etsy that I thought had copied my ideas. But after a few years on Etsy I realized that many artists make similar designs. I haven't watched your videos in years and can't recall you

making a teapot hat at all. Or did you mean the other hat? For them to be copies, they'd have to be the same stitches, the same dimensions and the same sizes. My hats easily contain more than 3 different elements, not even

counting the colors. But if it would give you more peace of mind I can unlink your videos from mine. Congrats on your show in L.A. You were an inspiration to me and took my work in a new direction.

Pamela N Red profile image

Pamela N Red Level 6 Commenter 14 months ago

These are cool. I love to knit and crochet, it is so therapeutic.

MoiraCrochets profile image

MoiraCrochets Level 4 Commenter 8 months ago

I've always wanted to crochet something freeform. I just couldn't get my mind to go in that direction. Nice hub!

PWalker281 profile image

PWalker281 Level 7 Commenter 8 months ago

Moonmaiden, you sound like a kindred soul. I got seriously into crochet in the 70s and 80s, although I didn't discover freeform crochet until the mid 2000s which was when I joined the FFCrochet group on Yahoo. I've been hooked ever since. Your hub is a great intro to the subject. Rated up and useful!

Moonmaiden profile image

Moonmaiden Hub Author 6 months ago

Thanks PWalker281. I am also a member of that Yahoo group. So many interests, so little time!

Moonmaiden profile image

Moonmaiden Hub Author 6 months ago

Thanks PWalker281. I am also a member of that Yahoo group. So many interests, so little time!

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