It has been a while between posts because I’ve been busy making the first items for my brand new Etsy shop, give me a crown. To create my items I’ve been experimenting with a variety of techniques and materials including making my first proper doilies. I’ve attempted and made a few simple doilies before but these latest ones have been specifically to test my skill and learn about different combinations of crochet stitches.

A few things I learned on the way:

• Reading charts saves time – having used written and photographed tutorials for amigurumi and potholders, for doilies I decided that I had to learn how to read charts. When I started out it took some time switching between the chart and the descriptions of the symbols to learn this new language but it’s been worth it! I find looking at the charts much quicker now as a reference than continually going back to written descriptions and having to visualise where the stitches are going. One useful note I read was that the crochet symbols were made to symbolise how the stitches look on the crochet piece. A useful reference chart for crochet symbols (with US terms) can be found at actors, dancers and yarn – oh my!. Continue reading →