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| Spider stitch features in this scarf. (Made by Jodiebodie 2014. Pattern: Diamond-Strike Scarf by Kristen Stolzfus) |
Are you familiar with the phenomenon where you buy a new car and when you go driving, you suddenly start seeing lots of cars of the same model and make where previously you had never noticed them before?
I think that is what happened to me with spider stitches!
"Her Lady of Perpetual Coincidence" (as I have been ceremoniously dubbed in the past) has done it again 'with a little help from my friends' (I don't mind if you want to hum or sing along that line with me).
Within a week of posting about crocheted spider stitches, I have come across more examples and uses to share with you and spark the imagination.
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| Inside Crochet magazine Issue 66 (Tailor Made Publishing Ltd 2015) |
As I flicked through the pages, the first thing to catch my attention was the Pineapple Lace Top from the Wendy Design Team.
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| Pineapple Lace Top by Wendy Design Team from Inside Crochet, Issue 66 (Photo: Lucy Williams. Used with permission from Inside Crochet.) |
It is not made with pineapple motifs, as the name suggests, but diamonds of spider lace crochet (pages 44–46). I can see how the diamond shapes can resemble the pattern on a pineapple but at the heart of each diamond is spider stitch.
May I take a moment to say 'Thank you' to Adrian Lito and the team at Inside Crochet magazine for allowing me to share Lucy Williams' photo here on Lupey Loops–it makes it easy to compare the different spider stitch examples without having to jump across to a linked page elsewhere; but if you would like to follow any of the shared links, that's great because there's a big world of crochet inspiration and education out there!
Then I got home and right in front of my eyes was the table centre that I made in 2009 called "Rambling". There is a sneak peek of it in a previous post, "Sneak Peek: Take a SIP of Colour …". I thought there existed a better photograph of this work in its entirety but I am having trouble finding it! When I find it, I will post it but, for now, here is the sneak peek:
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| The "Rambling" table centre uses spider stitches in its design. (Made by Jodiebodie in 2009. Pattern: Crochet Monthly) |
Of course, there was the Diamond-Strike Banded Scarf designed by Kristen Stolzfus that I crocheted a year ago. Here is a close up view of the stitches:
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| Diamond-Strike Banded Scarf made by Jodiebodie, December 2014. (Design by Kristen Stolzfus) |
Then, this week, I have been searching for the right edging for my latest tea towel design and I came across spider stitch being used as a decorative element in a crocheted curtain heading.
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| Curtain heading designed by Lucinda Ganderton. (Photo courtesy of Anness Publishing, London, UK. Used with permission.) |
The curtain heading is designed by Lucinda Ganderton and appeared in her Needlecraft book (Anness Publishing 2007). Further details and full title of the book can be found in the reference list below. Thank you to Paul Anness of Anness Publishing in London for his kind permission to reproduce the photograph on
Lupey Loops.
How funny to have come across so many spider stitch projects in one week!
If you would like more information about how to create this stitch, you will find it in my post about Spring Stories & Spider Stitches. It is a long post with the spider stitch notes towards the end.
I love the different ways the spider stitch can be made; e.g. Lucinda Ganderton's curtain heading has 'spiders' with 16 'legs', the "Rambling" table centre has 'spiders' with 12 'legs' of chain stitch, the Pineapple Lace Top seems to have 'spiders' with 10 legs and the red scarf with 8 'legs' (as any good arachnid should)!
Somehow I felt a sigh of relief about the '8 legs'–a spider with 8 legs and all is right with the world.
I will leave you with links to a modern variation by Amanda Hyde, Canadian blogger and crocheter, of Stitch Noir. She has a very creative adaptation of the spider stitch lace pattern and would love to share it with you. Do click on the link to see Amanda's beautifully coloured fun designs.
May this inspire you to look at your stitch dictionary slightly differently and consider ways to create new effects with basic stitch construction ideas.
If you have used a traditional pattern stitch to create a contemporary motif, I would love to hear about it. You are more than welcome to add your own ideas and pattern links in a comment.
Have you tried spider stitch crochet lace yet?
Post Scriptum 29 December 2015
... and then Adrienne visited me and she was crocheting a Spider Lace Jacket for her mother!Related Posts on Lupey Loops
"Procrastinate Now", 13 December 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/procrastinate-now.html
A glimpse of the latest tea towel design in progress.
"Spring Stories & Spider Stitches", 22 November 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/spring-stories-spider-stitches.html
More links to spider stitch patterns and instructions.
"Seeing Double", 15 January 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/seeing-double.html
Information about the Diamond-Strike Banded Scarf project.
"Sneak Peek: Take a SIP of Colour–Scarves In Progress", 25 March 2014: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/sneak-peek-take-sip-of-colour-scarves.html
A glimpse of the "Rambling" table centre.
References
Bourg, Brenda,"Spider Lace Jacket", free crochet pattern LW3232, Red Heart: http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/spider-lace-jacket
Ganderton, Lucinda, Needlecraft: Skills; Techniques; 65 Practical Projects: A Step-by-step Guide to Embroidery, Patchwork, Appliqué. Quilting, Crochet, Threadwork, Knitting and More, with 1000 Photographs, p 219, Hermes House, imprint of Anness Publishing Ltd., London, UK, 2007
This book has been published in various incarnations; e.g. it was formerly published as "Stitch in Time", as "The Complete Guide to Needlecraft" in 1996 and has since been republished in 2009.
Hyde, Amanda, Stitch Noir, Toronto, Canada:
- Blog: http://stitchnoir.com/category/crochet/skulls/
- Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/StitchNoir
Kelly,Tamara, "10 Modern and Refreshing Pineapple Crochet Patterns", online article, Moogly blog, 16 July 2013: http://www.mooglyblog.com/10-free-pineapple-crochet-patterns/
Les Éditions de Saxe, "Rambling", crochet pattern, Crochet Monthly, No. 320, p. 14, Lyon, France, 2006.
Levering, Lola, "Crochet Pineapple", Pinterest, accessed 21 December 2015: https://www.pinterest.com/gon2calvary/crochet-pineapple/
Montgomerie, Claire, [Editor], Inside Crochet, Issue 66, Tailor Made Publishing Ltd, Bournemouth, UK, 2015: http://www.insidecrochet.co.uk/magazine/issue/66
The photo of the Pineapple Lace Top by Lucy Williams appears on page 45.
My Picot, spider stitch lace patterns:
- Diamond spider stitch
Online: http://www.mypicot.com/2022.html
Diagram: http://www.mypicot.com/patterns/2022.pdf - Square spider stitch
Online: http://www.mypicot.com/2032.html
Diagram: http://www.mypicot.com/patterns/2032.pdf - Lace in solid columns
Online: http://www.mypicot.com/2046.html
Diagram: http://www.mypicot.com/patterns/2046.pdf - Lace in open columns
Online: http://www.mypicot.com/2047.html
Diagram: http://www.mypicot.com/patterns/2047.pdf - Open spider stitch lace allover pattern
Online: http://www.mypicot.com/2049.html
Diagram: http://www.mypicot.com/patterns/2049.pdf - Diamond mesh or grid style variation
Online: http://www.mypicot.com/2051.html
Diagram: http://www.mypicot.com/patterns/2051.pdf
- Round motif
Online: http://www.mypicot.com/4011.html
Diagram: http://www.mypicot.com/patterns/4011.pdf
Stolzfus, Kristen, "Diamond-strike Banded Scarf", crochet pattern:
- Published in Durant, J. & Eckman, E. [Editors], Crochet One-Skein Wonders: 101 Projects from Crocheters Around the World, 1st printing, ISBN 978-1-61212-042-3, www.storey.com, Storey Publishing LLC, 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247, USA, 2013
- Ravelry pattern page: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diamond-strike-banded-scarf
Wendy Design Team, "Pineapple Lace Top", crochet pattern, Inside Crochet, Issue 66, pp. 44–46, 2015: http://www.insidecrochet.co.uk/patterns/pineapple-lace-top/
It is weird how you notice things when you start looking for or at them isn't it! xx
ReplyDeleteYes, Amy, it *is* a strange phenomenon. Perhaps it is proof that we only see what we want to see? ;-)
DeleteWow. I love the serendipity of you finding these stiches in so many places. I have never tried it, but it is not on my least of things to do.
ReplyDelete"Serendipity" THAT's the word! Trust you to have 'just the right word', Mary-Anne! ;-)
DeleteHardly surprising since you enjoy writing so much. I haven't had a lot of time to do much reading but I am looking forward to settling down to more blog reading during the Christmas-New Year break. May 2016 be good for you!
So many ideas!I think I need to start learning this spider-y stitches next year!
ReplyDeleteAnd you are so right seeing things a lot once you noticed them! I became an auntie to twins three weeks ago and all of a sudden I see baby twins everywhere! :)
Take care
Anne
Crochet Between Worlds
Congratulations on your 'Auntiehood' Anne! :-)
DeleteDo you have lots of baby-related crochet to do? Did you make corner-to-corner blankets for the twins? I will pop over to your blog to have a look!
I am glad the spider stitch posts have given you some new ideas. I love all the variations on it and yet they are all called 'spider stitch' or 'spider lace' etc. Between this post and 'Spring Stories' there are heaps of links to learn from. Have fun with your twins and your crochet. :-)
I hope you are feeling a little better this week. xx