I'm very excited to announce a new technique that uses live loops to make amazing cables in crochet:
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| Live-Loop Cables in Crochet - a new technique by Sue Perez :) |
The photos above are just a sample of cables you can make with the Live-Loop method.
Live-Loop cables are made by working a crochet stitch, pulling up a set of loops, then working a partial crochet stitch. The hook is then removed, and the two crochet stitches are linked together behind the cable loops. This leaves the cable loops free (or "live") on the front of the fabric.
On each succeeding round or row, a new loop is pulled up in each of the live loops from the previous row, and the crochet stitches on either side are again linked behind the cable. (If this sounds hopelessly confusing, see the video at the bottom of the post.)
The result is a flexible, I-cord-like cable that travels up the fabric surface without disrupting background texture or stitch count. Live-Loop cables can be made 1 or more loops wide (the more the loops, the fatter the cable). They can curve left or right, cross other cables, or individual loops can be crossed within a single cable. Fun fact: a Live-Loop cable can also be frogged and repaired while leaving the rest of the project intact.
If you'd like to try this technique right away, you can find a full tutorial in Interweave Crochet Fall 2017. Also appearing in this issue are two Live-Loop crochet projects: the Blue Spruce Hat and the Bristlecone Mitts.
The Blue Spruce hat is worked bottom-up and packed with fun details: a cushiony, lettuce-edge slip stitch band, Live-Loop cables both winding and straight, bobbles, and a unique slip-stitch crown finish:
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| Photos courtesy of Interweave Crochet and Harper Point Photography |
I think the crown is my favourite part. :)
The Bristlecone Mitts are small bundes of cozy slip-stitch ribbing and cabled joy. Flat 4-loop cables travel up the backs, and the thumb gusset is set off by a tidy 1-loop cable:
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| Photos courtesy of Interweave Crochet and Harper Point Photography |
Interweave Crochet Fall 2017 also features several other cable techniques, and many beautiful non-cabled projects. It's available in both print and digital editions here.
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If you'd like to see Live-Loop crochet in action, here's a video demonstration that explains the theory behind the technique, and walks the viewer through making a Live-Loop cable swatch:
The Live-Loop method has opened up a world of possibilities for cables in crochet. I've learned (and am still learning) so much while developing this technique, and I have a ton of pattern ideas. There's much more to be said on the subject than will fit into any magazine article or blog post - so I'm writing a book about it. :)
I hope you'll try the Live-Loop method for yourself. It's fun, it's fascinating, and it produces amazing cables in crochet.
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Thoughts and prayers are going out for all of you who are in the path of Hurricane Irma.
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That technique makes beautiful cables.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dee! Thinking of you this morning and praying for all of you in Florida. Stay safe.
DeleteLovely cables. It's good to see you posting....missed you. :) Wishing you a day filled with many blessings sweet friend. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks V! Thinks have been really busy lately. I've written a lot of blog posts in my mind, but somehow none of them have made it to the screen. :)
DeleteIt's wonderful, when it finally cools down here and I start crocheting again I will give it a try.
ReplyDeleteThanks Janet! Thinking of you this morning, with all that wind coming your way. Hope you guys can ride it out safely.
DeleteI've bought the issue, and think this amazing. Maybe a little overwhelming, but so many possibilities. Thank-you. S.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's not as overwhelming as it might seem - I think if you try it you'll like it. The hardest bits are keeping proper tension and teaching your brain to make only a partial stitch after you pull up the cable loops. That muscle memory just wants to kick in and pull through more loops than it should!
DeleteCongratulations on publishing your cable technique, it's brilliant. Looking forward to how the book turns out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sis! :)
DeleteOh Sue, you simply amaze me, you truly do! You have found a way to make crochet look like knitting. You are writing a book about it? Good for you, show those knitters what's what!
ReplyDeleteHey - my sister is one of "those knitters"! And so, occasionally, am I. :) But thanks Kay!
DeleteHow neat is that? You have taught me something entirely knew out there in crochet land!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy! It is entirely new in crochet land, as far as I know. :D Very exciting too.
DeletePublishing a book--how fantastic is that! Wonderful news!
ReplyDeleteStill in the swatching and jotting-down-lots-of-thoughts stage. But it's slowly beginning to take shape. Thanks!
DeleteThis is so intriguing. I applaud your ingenuity. I look forward to future patterns using this technique. Congrats on your new book. When will it be out?
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's not a book yet - just the pieces of one - but I hope it will be out sometime next year. :)
DeleteAwesome! I picked up the magazine and was to the floor when I saw this technique! Thank you for sharing such a beautiful technique:)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, and thanks for the kind comment! :)
DeleteI watched the video (which was great!) Do you think this technique could be used for doing increases and decreases?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure - do you mean the cables, or the finish-the-stitch-after-the-fact bit? If you think about it, most decreases are some kind of stitch 2 together - making 2 partial stitches and then hitching them together at the top. That's very similar to what I'm doing with the Live-Loop stitches, only with my technique the stitches come out single and complete once they're hooked up. I can't quite picture using the Live-Loop method for increases, but honestly I got so caught up in the cable possibilities that I haven't experimented too much with other things. If you try it, let me know!
DeleteThanks for commenting. :)
Thank you for this wonderful technique. I followed along on with the video and it was so amazing to see the cables grow in such a fluid and 3D way. I will happily be on the wait list for your book, can't wait to see more.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! It is a fun technique and I'm really enjoying developing it and finding out what it can and can't do. Thanks very much for the encouragement. :)
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