Free form crochet is becoming more and more popular, as people begin to experiment with yarns and hooks, it’s another exciting time to be a crocheter. However, there is one thing about free forming I want to make absolutely clear: Scrumbling is not the only thing that constitutes free form.
Scrumbling, or crochet doodling, is what is most commonly seen as free form. Don’t get me wrong, scrumbling is fun, and can be a gorgeous and fun way to create in crochet. But it’s not the only way to free form, it is a way of freeforming.
I don’t scrumble often, mostly because I’ll loose all the darn pieces before I ever get them sewn together. I most often free form using lace, I’ll free form sleeves, or borders to sweaters, occaisionally I’ll free form hats and scarves.
No, I don’t mean just going patternless, that’s commando crocheting ! You can free form with squares, motifs, plain crochet. It takes a couple different kinds of yarns, a few different hook sizes, switching up stitches, or yarns. I’ve done a free form piece only using HDC, but changing my yarns throughout allowing the yarn to do the work for me. I’ve used the same yarn, and changed hooks and stitches and let them do the work.
I’ve done a straight sweater and free formed the sleeves. It all depends…
Oh, and I love bullions they are fun to make, but you can free form without using those too! I know, I know blasphemer that I am! Personally I love surface crocheting, and structural crochet for free forming!
In Portland, I took Myra Wood’s Advanced Free Form class and it was absolutely lovely. I got tons of new ideas. Yes, I knew many of the techniques, but what I got out of the class was a new way to look at putting it all together! That was so much fun!
So, if you are lured into free form but don’t want to work with itty bitty pieces, don’t worry about it! You don’t have to…and there are some scramblers who will tell you that scrumbles don’t have to be little either!
Remember, there are very few rules to free form: It’s freely forming something…It’s very liberating!
ABOUT THE CLF
- Fearless Leader of the CLF
- Everywhere, No where
- I started the CLF as a joke on Ravelry, back in July of 2007. The joke was on me, we're a real group, that seeks to liberate ourselves from stereo types about our craft and ourselves. Other than being called "Fearless Leader", I'm a designer, mother, editor, wife, hand spinner, yarn addict, incessant reader, and over all geek in the coolest of geeky ways.
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