Adventures with Bees, Bugs and Butterflies.

This review of Vanessa Mooncie's book, Bees, bugs and Buttterflies is rather late. It's six months late in fact, thanks to the tardy service of a major British bookseller. But, let's brush off my outrage and get on with the job at hand!

    The trouble I always think with choosing crochet books is never knowing if they will be truly useful. If you are buying on line you don't get to flick through and see the contents. Let's start there.

    We are told that the book offers us ten projects, this is a little white lie. This is the good kind of little white lie because all in all there are instructions for eighteen different critters if you include all the variations on a theme.

    And is this book really useful? The only way to find out is to give it a go. As an ardent Vanessa Mooncie fan I was all ready for all her complex short rows and weird changes of direction. There are always masses of photos for every conceivable angle. Along with the stitch diagrams they help to unlock any difficulties you may encounter.

    All of the projects in this book use thread crochet of one kind or another. I decided from the outset that I would not rush out and buy any new yarns but instead work from my stash, even if I had to make a few odd choices. As you will see this decision didn't last long!

   

    I dove straight into the Praying Mantis. What truly weird creatures these are! The thought of making fiddly little stitches with a tiny1.25mm hook struck me immediately as absurd. Instead I had some Schachenmayr Catania cotton which is a 4ply yarn, along with a 2.25mm hook I had something more manageable.

And who doesn't love giant insects?! Making the parts was easy, the problems now arose from the fact I have scaled it up, what size wire do I use? Once again I just went with what I had and used the photos as a reference.

   For the next project I went with the Ladybird, because it looks fairly simple and I actually had all the ingredients for this project. Vanessa kindly allows us to use a 1.75mm hook for this project, which I thought I could manage. Note to self: do not try to crochet black thread crochet at night while watching the telly! A strong overhead daylight lamp and one of those tiny metal stitch markers is fairly essential if you do.

   Having made the tiny ladybird I decided to make a giant one with some DMC Natura yarn. The difference in scale is quite surprising, don't you think? There is a lot of colour and spot variation in the Ladybird world. So should you wish you could create an entire rainbow army of these little greenfly-eating bugs. The spots and markings are embroidered on at the end which makes this a fairly quick project.

   Feeling really confident after my successes so far, I thought to try the Christmas beetle which comes in three variants. The designs are supposed to be made In DMC Coton Perle and a Diamant Metallic thread held together. I had none of these, but began with some odds and ends that I already had. The result was unsatisfactory, I gave up and for once in my life did as instructed, I ordered the yarn! I'm so glad I did the Coton Perle is a soft and, as the name suggests, pearly thread.

    The body is made in one piece, the wings made separately and then attached afterwards.

    I don't think we have these beetles in Britain, so I thought, as it worked out well, I would have a go at creating a Sorrel beetle. Not being a big beetle fan, I find these delightful, they can be seen chomping away on dock plants here in May.   

    The bellies of the female beetles become so swollen that they can be seen beneath the wings. In order to make the abdomen larger I used two strands of the Coton Perle together. To give you an idea of the size, the eyes are just 3mm.

   The Swallowtail butterfly comes in three variants. Foolishly I chose the Zebra Swallowtail despite the fact I absolutely hate tapestry crochet. This is made in No10 crochet thread and that dastardly 1.25mm hook. I decided to give a 1.5mm hook a go instead. Now, there is gauge information for each of these projects, but this is the one time I will not make a gauge swatch. Does the author really expect me to make 10cm gauge swatches in thread crochet? I'm sure she doesn't.

    I found this challenging, to say the least. However having achieved this result I think he may end up in a box frame. I could have gone easy on myself and made the more simple blue Pinevine variation, or I could have made my own variation in solid colours. I think I may have found a mistake in the pattern, or I may just have confused myself! There are written instructions along with charts and in numerable photographs. So if like me you end up in a muddle you can easily make reference to the other details.

     While I was ordering the Cotton Perle I also bought some little balls of Kid-silk so that I could make the White tailed Bumble Bee. Although Vanessa again gives us three bee species to choose from, this one is visually my favourite even if apiarists wouldn't agree with me! This also calls for the 1.25mm hook.

I should probably, at this point, explain my problem with these smaller hooks. It may be that a different brand of hook would work better for me but neither of the two I have work well, they both tend to split the yarn. However I thought I would give it a go with this yarn and it worked fine. Although it must be added that crocheting anything in black is done more by touch than sight! I would recommend a strong light source and if you get into problems a magnifying glass helps! The wings are supposed to be made in a stranded embroidery thread which I didn't have. I messed about with various threads but just got in a terrible muddle. In the end I went with a No10 thread so my wings are bigger and chunkier than they should be.

   Would you want to crochet a moth? They are so ugly aren't they? Not in this book. I was hard pressed to choose from the three variations but after my struggles with the tapestry crochet I went with the Ermine Moth. His black markings are embroidered on at the end.

I had more or less the right yarns except for the alpaca needed for the head, instead I used the Kid-silk again. I held it doubled and trebled to get the fat head and brushed it when completed to get the ermine effect.

   Having gained confidence with all these projects I decided to go back and have another go at the Praying Mantis. I think I made a mistake in making this project first. This time I went with a No12 crochet thread.

Crocheting him is the easy part, putting him together requires you to have  faith in Vanessa. I forgot to wire his wings, so rather than make them again, this time I starched them. I am more than thrilled with the way he has turned out.

     My favourite of all insects is the dragon fly. I'm not enamoured with the version in the book but when I compared it to the real thing I found it was very accurate. I rather suspect it is impossible for any human to truly recreate the majesty of this creature. So I left it alone. The other projects I haven't attempted are the spider, Cicada and Stag beetle. Of course my partner liked the Stag beetle best, if he learns to crochet he can make one for himself!

     Should you wish to know more information about what I made, I have recorded the information for each project on my Raverly page. I hope that I have given you an idea that these designs are fun, adaptable and as challenging as you want to make them. I will be waiting for someone to make an enormous Praying Mantis! Super-chunky perhaps?

Fastening off...

 

 

P.S.

The blog has gone out a few days early this month as thePulledStitch is moving house this month. I will endeavour to back with you again in May, but should I be late you will know why!

     

How to Increase and Decrease in Slip-stitch Crochet.

    

To round off my season of Slip-stitch crochet there are a couple of things we haven't talked about yet. I've spent the last month making a number of short-row crochet projects and my learning curve has taken a steep climb. Suddenly I have more information to share with you. So, let's look at how to increase and decrease in Slip-stitch crochet.

    It immediately strikes me that despite this being a necessary topic, it makes for a dull Blog post. But hang on until the end, I've attempted to jazz it up for you!

Decreasing

    Let's start with decreasing because that's dead simple! Decreasing with slip stitches is no different from any other type of crochet, you place the hook in two stitches, the difference here is, of course, that you don't pull up a loop in the stitches. I'm using a second colour to make it easier for you to see what I am up to.

 

Here I am working in Back-loop-only stitches. Once the hook is in both stitches, yarn over the hook...

 ...and pull through all three loops on the hook.

 

As the first example was in Back-loop-only, here I am showing you the same thing in Front-loop-only.

 

You could skip a stitch in between the two stitches if you want a bigger decrease...

 

...or you could put the hook into three adjacent stitches.

 

Increasing

    Increasing is just a bit different to the standard method and leads to a number of solutions. 

 

Method1:

This is done by adding a Chain1 where ever an increase is required.

 

Method2:

This time we make two Slip-stitches into the same stitch, the second slip stitch is anchored by the succeeding stitch.

 

Method3:

This is the more traditional method and is done over two stitches, the instructions look a little mad. At first glance it looks as if we are removing stitches.

    make a Slip-stitch in the first stitch...

...make a decrease using that same stitch, which already contains a stitch, and the next one

...make another Slip-stitch in the second stitch which already contains the decrease.

So two stitches become three.

Method4:

If you need more than one increase, try this.

    make a Slip-stitch in the first stitch...

 ...make a decrease using that same, first stitch and the next one

...make another Slip-stitch in the second stitch which already contains the decrease.

 ...make a decrease using that second stitch and the next one

...make another Slip-stitch in the third stitch which already contains the decrease.

So three stitches become five.

Zigzag Rib

    Now that we know how to increase and decrease it must be easy to work up a Chevron or Zigzag. You may remember that I talked about how to make Zigzags back in 2021. All you need to do, I told you, was to increase and decrease by the same number of stitches. Oh how my words came back to haunt me! With taller crochet stitches you can put as many stitches as you like into a previous row stitch. But it is not so easy with Slip-stitches. I nearly drove myself crazy trying to work it out!

Here is a solution that I found for Zigzag Rib: 

All the stitches are made into the Back-loop only. I have used Method4 to increase.

I worked over a repeat of 13 stitches, plus 3 for the end and turning chain. So begin with a multiple of 13+3 chain.

 

Row1. 

Decrease over first 2sts,

*Slip-st x5,

(Decrease over last and next st, Slip-st in last)x2, 

Slip-st x4,

Decrease over next 2sts,

repeat from* to end of starting chain, chain1 and turn.

 

Row2.

Decrease over first 2sts,

*Slip-stx5,

(Decrease over last and next st, Slip-st in last)x2, 

Slip-stx4,

Decrease over next 3sts skipping the central st,

repeat from* to last two sts, at which point decrease over last two sts only, chain1 and turn. 

Repeat row2 to desired length.

Here's a little chart to help, the funny little upside down V's represent the decreases. They indicate which stitches the hook goes into.

 

This was actually my second solution to this problem so I am certain that you will discover something more elegant.

Fastening off...

How to Join Slip-stitch Crochet Ribbing

    

Up until recently Slip-stitch crochet has felt, for me, rather like groping around in the dark. Finally it's all beginning to make sense! To round off my mini Slip-stitch series there are some things I missed out.

As a reminder I've talked about:

• how to Slip-Stich crochet, here
• a mini Slip-Stitch dictionary, here
  
• how to Slip-stitch in the round, here, with more designs
  
• a round Slip-stitch rug design, here
  
• how to make crochet ribbing, here.

At last I can talk intelligently about how to join Slip-stitch crochet and ribbing panels. So let's start with the simplest method first. It just happens to be perfect for joining ribbing.

     

    What we are going to do is use surface crochet. It feels a bit weird and not intuitive. This is where we need to apply our Slip-stitch knowledge. What we have to remember is that if we work a back-loop-only stitch it leaves behind the front loop creating a little line. But, if we work a front-loop-only stitch you get a different result. This first method is equivalent to making a row of Back-loop stitches. Let's dive in and hopefully you will see what I mean!

    I need you to pretend that my two little swatches here are one whole piece of ribbing, like a cuff perhaps, which we are joining. At the end of the last row I have made one chain because we are about to make a new row. I have joined in a different colour so that you can see exactly what is happening.

As we are making surface crochet, I now need to keep my working yarn to the back and my hook to the front.

Now, here comes the non-intuitive bit! Take the hook to the right and put it under the Back-loop, from the right.

Immediately take the hook to the left and put it under the Front-loop, from the left.

Yarn over the hook and pull through all three loops on the hook. That's your first stitch made.

Repeat this for each stitch along the row.

Tah dah!

You now have a pseudo line of rib which joins your work and is invisible to all but you!

    The second method is done with a needle, like mattress stitch. It is the equivalent of making a row of Front-loop stitches.

Once again I have joined in a different colour and I am beginning with a chain stitch.

Once the chain stitch is made, cut the yarn about twice as long as the seam you are about to join and thread a darning needle.

To begin; push the needle through the end stitch, under the fabric and back out behind the back loop of the first stitch on the right hand side. What you have done is to take the yarn around under that stitch's post. Pull the yarn through.

Now on the left, take the needle down between the two loops of the first stitch and back up between the two loops of the next stitch. Pull the yarn through.

Take the needle back to the right, down where you came out last, around the stem of the next stitch and back out. 

Returning to the left, the needle goes back into the place it came out last, down between the two loops and up between the loops of the next stitch.

The thing to remember is that you go out of and into each stitch.

This creates a join which looks very much like working into Front-loops-only.

Here's a swatch I made using alternating rows of Front-loop and Back-loop Slip-stitch, so you can see how beautifully it mimics the stitches.

 

There must be more joining techniques possible, for more complex  Slip-stitch patterns, depending on where you insert the hook/needle. But for today that's all she wrote!

Fastening off...