tunisian stitch has me quivering in fear

[creativegoodness]

I have the simply creative crochet mag and there is a jacket there i want to make, the cowgirl's fringed jacket. so much so that i didn't pay attention to the fact that I also had to look for an afghan/tunsian hook...... i have never tried it before, had not even given it a 2nd thought until i got home and realized what the durn hook would be for after looking at the instructions. And now I am........

i want this jacket....i can't find a similar pattern on the net (it has peplum), so my questions are

 

1. is it as scary as it seems?

 

2. if so, is it worth it?

 

3. any tips/suggestions on working in this stitch or am i blowing it out of porportion?

 

help?

 

(i know, i know...just jump into it and get started right?!......i'm a big chicken)

[creativegoodness]

It just says "The stitch used in this project is known as Tunisian or Afghan stitch"........? I didn't know there were names and stuff....see how little I know about it?!

[Alice]

I have also just become fascinated with Tunisian knit stitch. So far I've only done a swatch but I'd eventyally like to do a sweater if possible. I just can't figure out how to decrease and increase in Tunisian. Does anyone know of any good tutorials which cover increasing and decreasing?

[NexStitch]

So sorry. I did not make myself clear on that post. I was referring to the Tunisian video.

Happy anniversary - nice to have you with us!

 

Heavens, NO NEED to apologize. I was chuckling when I wrote that. ;-) For me, it seems like I've been at this for longer than I have. It's all these hours or work that make it feel that way.

[swapnae]

One trick I learned is on the first row, instead of inserting the hook from front to back to pick up the stitches, insert from back to front. It helps keep it from curling.

 

Also, if you always work TSS in the first and last stitch of a row, it helps too (but I don't like how this looks myself so I would swatch it before doing it).

 

I should try this sometime....I've been put off because the only Tunisian hooks I have are about 2mm, which isn't very thick, and i can see myself spending the rest of my life trying to finish a garment:hook

[crochetfun]

LOL. Steadily approaching the 1 year anniversary actually. I don't think I'll ever forget that because the hosting fee is due at the end of this month. LOL! What a way to celebrate an anniversary!!

 

So sorry. I did not make myself clear on that post. I was referring to the Tunisian video.

Happy anniversary - nice to have you with us!

[NexStitch]

nexstitch is fairly new, I think maybe a month old. [/url]

 

LOL. Steadily approaching the 1 year anniversary actually. I don't think I'll ever forget that because the hosting fee is due at the end of this month. LOL! What a way to celebrate an anniversary!!

[crochetfun]

I did not find working with a long hook difficult, however, I am really bad with the cable hook. It feels really awkward. Maybe it just requires more time to get used to it.

 

It's probably like anything else: practice.

[kahud48]

YOUR WELCOME From kahud48

Check out this free pattern in Tunisian! Very easy. Have made , and works up with your basic crochet hook. I find this much easier than the longer hooks.

 

http://www.geocities.com/mountainhome1999/gg.htm[/quote

 

Thanks for that link:)

[creativegoodness]

Well, my jacket is NOT coming along at all. I still can't get used to working with the long hook and my whole piece attatched to it. I haven't picked it up to work on it in a few days. I think this won't get done for a long while. I am probably going to have to take it one piece at a time.....slowly....and then when I am done hopefully I have more motivation for it. Maybe it is just my attention span..lately I can't seem to stay focused. But the LB Suede I am using isn't curling TOO bad.....but it's still there. I know when I get it done I will it. I just have to keep my motivation for it.

[xantha]

I always find my tunisian works out very tight and curls up tightly. Am I crocheting it too tight or is there a way around?

 

One trick I learned is on the first row, instead of inserting the hook from front to back to pick up the stitches, insert from back to front. It helps keep it from curling.

 

Also, if you always work TSS in the first and last stitch of a row, it helps too (but I don't like how this looks myself so I would swatch it before doing it).

[crochetfun]

I always find my tunisian works out very tight and curls up tightly. Am I crocheting it too tight or is there a way around?

Thanks.

Curling is to be expected w. Tunisian. Blocking takes care of most of it. At least this is my understanding. (some stitches curl more than others)

 

Try a bigger hook to minimize curling.

[Captain Hook]

Naw! I got the hang of tunisian really quickly. I think some people do have a problem with it, but I find it to be a breeze. StitchGuide.com has some absolutely excellent illustrated guides to several tunisian stitches. The easiest is the simple tunisian stitch. If you want to be totally blown away, check out the tunisian knit stitch, which looks exactly like knitting, except for the thickness.

 

Swapnae, that is the nature of tunisian, just like knitting. The thicker the stitch, the less it will curl, the bigger the hook, the less it will curl, and the looser the tension, the less it will curl. If you can, and it's not too thick, try doubling it over. If not, try doing a row of sc around the edge of the article in question, which helps some.

[swapnae]

I always find my tunisian works out very tight and curls up tightly. Am I crocheting it too tight or is there a way around?

Thanks.

[crochetfun]

nexstitch is fairly new, I think maybe a month old.

 

I really liked the video, found it helpful to get into the rhythm of the stitch.

 

Glad you liked it, too.

 

 

 

I forgot to give you this link:

 

http://hischild64.tripod.com/AngiesCrochetCorner.htm

[creativegoodness]

I had never seen that nexstitch.....thanks so much for the link! I those shawl patterns you can buy. I want all 3! And those videos are great...when I am trying something new the videos help so much better!!!

 

It is still going great, although slow. I am still getting used to holding the hook as my piece gets bigger.

[crochetfun]

It's probably the basic stitch then. (Just an uneducated guess)

 

 

Have you had a chance to look at the different stitches on the net?

 

http://www.stitchdiva.com/custom.aspx?id=40

www.chezcrochet.com/page0002.html

www.stitchguide.com/stitches/crochet/stitch_pages/cro_tunisian.html

 

and my favourite tutorial:

www.nexstitch.com/Tutorials.html

[crochetfun]

Which Tunisian Stitch are you doing? (Curious)

[creativegoodness]

Well, so far so good. I didn't get a chance to start until Saturday, and after frogging because of just silliness on my part, I got a feww rows down good. It is coming along nicely. I haven't gotten to work on it as much as I wanted this past weekend with mothers day and all, but I will start again today. It is going pretty well, I think! I doubt I'll finish by Friday like I wanted, but that is ok. I am just happy that it's going well, and my piece looks pretty decent so far!! I'm excited! Thanks for the tips and the link to that pattern. You all were right, it isn't as bad as it seems at all! Once I get more used to it, I know I'll like it. It does make a pretty neat look!!!

[crochetfun]

Check out this free pattern in Tunisian! Very easy. Have made , and works up with your basic crochet hook. I find this much easier than the longer hooks.

 

http://www.geocities.com/mountainhome1999/gg.htm[/quote

 

Thanks for that link:)

[Stashaholic]

I taught Tunisian to two blind women, so there's no excuse - if they can do it, anyone can!

 

The basic stitch is so simple - put the stitches on, take them off. It doesn't get any easier :-)

 

If you want some inspiration, visit my friend Julia's site - she's a Tunisian designer and teacher extraordinaire.

 

http://fibrefantastics.com

[hookedoncrochet]

I didn't make the jacket you are refering to but I did make a tote bag! It really does look worse than it really is....you need to go slow and do a few practice swatches...make the time because you have to think a little more than the regular stiches you are used to....and the previous advice about counting your stiches is probably the best!

 

Please post a picture when you are finished!

[kahud48]

Check out this free pattern in Tunisian! Very easy. Have made , and works up with your basic crochet hook. I find this much easier than the longer hooks.

 

http://www.geocities.com/mountainhome1999/gg.htm

[crochetfun]

www.chezcrochet.com is a good place to start.

[jpr54_]

it is not difficult to do-

practice

it looks beautiful when completed

[threeolivemartini]

good tip!