Some experiments with Mosaic Crochet.

Finally after two months of isolation (I started early because of my cold) I think my natural inner introvert is reasserting itself and I am beginning to feel comfortable with the way things are. But on to the subject of this post.

Having seen a few examples of mosaic crochet, I let myself get sidetracked into having a go.

Just to explain if you have not seen mosaic crochet that the basic idea is that you use two colours, working two rows in each alternately. Most of the stiches are dcs (US-scs) with chains and trs (US-dcs) used to create the patterning.

I decided that I wanted to try a Celtic Knot plaitwork style pattern and drew out a possible chart.

These drawn charts are a bit muddy because my hands rub pencil on the clean bits and it shows up even more when photographed

However I realised from comparing the charts that designs seemed to get stretched vertically.

I was also unsure if the chart above would make the pattern clear enough so I drew another chart. It didn’t seem that long stretches of one colour when you were working the other one were a good idea, so I decided to do a sort of checkerboard pattern for the empty areas. Letting the foreground colour predominate for the lower part and the background colur for the upper part to see which worked best.

Wondering if I could eliminate the stretching : I experimented with doubling the stitches sideways for a basic arch pattern and comparing it with the normal way of working. I decided that I wasn’t sure it was the answer, then started working the chart in the prescribed way.

As you can see the stretching is quite pronounced for a Celtic type pattern. I decided that liked the background style of the top half best.

For interest here is the wrong side of the work.

I decided that I need to think of other patterns I might like to try, decided on Greek Key patterns and drew out several only to realise that being based on a square shape they would enounter the same problem.

I decided to experiment with using slightly different stitches for the rows and doubling the number worked for each square this did produce a much better result however, before I had time to try working a whole chart (due to also wanting to make my succulents), I discovered a different type of mosaic crochet.

This type only uses one row of crochet for one row of the chart. Of course it means you have to cut the yarn and start each row with a new piece. However it was obviously going to give a squarer result.

So I drew out a chart, on my computer this time.

and decided to try working it. As you can see I decided to increase each row and then decrease to eliminate a large area of background round the design.

Before I show you the result, I have to say that it might have been easier if I hadn’t chosen such a dark colour for the background and I had worked from the above chart instead of using one I had drawn up for the other method.

So I am not sure if the border part is correct in all places. With both methods I am not very good at working from the chart and often find I have made mistakes in the row. I think I would find a written pattern with numbers easier and it would be quite easy to work up a written pattern that could be adapted for any size of plaitwork square.

So here is the result of my efforts. I used DK yarn and a 5mm hook so as not to put too much strain on my wrists and because I always think a 5mm hook is likely to give a softer feel for a blanket which is what I had in mind.

I didn’t bother to use the two colour method for the top and bottom though I might if it wasn’t just an experiment.

Here is the reverse. Similar to the other style of mosaic crochet as you can see.

Here is the design as it would appear if you were using it for a square, as I had in mind.

It would be possible to make a whole blanket this way with a more extensive plait.

Of course Celtic plaitwork always has several paths when you make a square design so I also drew out a plan for a rectangle with a continuous path.

So would I consider making a blanket like this, if I had a reason to make another blanket and had the time? I am not sure. I love the soft, cuddly, fluidity of my granny ripple blankets. This makes a stiffer fabric, good for a bag and possible for a blanket because people use it that way but life is short.