Advice on what stitches to use for a giant crochet funnel/tornado

[Christine Dake]

Hi.

I'm an artist, and next year I will be doing an art installation. I want to create crocheted funnels that hang from the ceiling and go down onto the floor. I want them at their widest to be a few feet around. I am teaching myself to crochet specifically for this. I was wondering if any of you would have an idea on what stitches would be best. I can look everything up on Youtube to learn it, but I don't know the language of crochet, except for now, chain stitch and double crochet. 

 

Any advice would be well appreciated!

 

Sincerely,

 

Christine Dake, NY

[magiccrochetfan]

assuming you want them to be pretty soild fabric, i would use single crochet or half double crochet stitches.  

 

welcome to the viile!  

[Christine Dake]

Thank you, Kathy!

[Real Deal]

I would use single crochet, and be aware these are going to take a long time to make because you want them so large. Also you need to figure out how to make them hold their shapes ~ stuff them, use hoops, etc. It will have to be fairly lightweight or the funnels will droop.

[ReniC]

You mentioned floor to ceiling. That will be very large pieces. I would use double crochet (dc) or triple crochet (tr) to make it go as fast as possible. Also, a bulky yarn like a "6 weight" (on yarn labels) or even a type of lightweight rope- something that would accommodate a Q hook or even larger if you can find such a hook. If going with some kind of rope, you could always dye it if necessary. Hope your show goes well.

[Christine Dake]

Thank you! I woke up this morning with an idea of the yarn. Let me upload some photos... Okay, so what I saw in my mind this morning is something a friend made me years ago, but I just saw that it's knitted, not crocheted. Is there a similar stitch in crochet? (see picture). I've also attached the sketch of the installation I will be doing. It's a year long project, so there's no rush. I'm just trying to get ahead.

 

 

 

 

[magiccrochetfan]

The structure of knitting and crochet are different so you cant exactly replicate knit fabric by crocheting. The crochet stitch your photo brings to mind is Solomon's Knot,

[magiccrochetfan]

Also called Love knot http://crochetpatterncompanion.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-to-crochet-love-knot-part-1-of-3.html

[Christine Dake]

Wow! That's a pretty one! Thank you!

[magiccrochetfan]

Also, if you do any crochet stitch at a very large gauge, you will get a more open look like the knit piece. Try crocheting with a very large hook and then stretching the fabric to open up the stitches.

[magiccrochetfan]

Example of open look of stitches at lrage gauge http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hemp-produce-drawstring-sac

 

Also if you google James Walters crochet, his site has pdf workshops that may be helpful, and you may like to read his book on freeform which is called either Crochet Workshop or Workbook i think. It discusses how to make lots of shapes. Sorry i cant post in more detail now.

[Christine Dake]

Thank you so much, Magic! I appreciate all that you've said. You've all been very helpful!

[magiccrochetfan]

You're welcome! Let us know how the project goes if you can

[Christine Dake]

It will be awhile, but I will! Happy Holidays!