Over the past few years, I've reacquainted myself with the first needle craft I learned--crochet. As I've honed my skills, I've been lucky enough to see some of my patterns make it to the pages of Crochet World, Crochet!, and other magazines. Now, I get a thrill when a new submissions call goes out and it's time to come up with a new project idea. So where do I start? For me, the design process begins with choosing the crochet stitches that best suit the project I want to make.Like all crochet addicts, I have a collection of crochet stitch books on my shelf that provide inspiration and instruction. My favorite is Crochet Stitch Dictionary by Sarah Hazell, which includes photos, written and charted instructions, and an extremely helpful description of each of the 200 featured stitches. Another tried-and-true stitch source is The Big Book of Crochet Stitches by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. This one features more than 350 stitches, with a photo and written instructions for each.
A few months ago, while I was flipping through my stitch books and marking pages with sticky notes, I began thinking about how great it would be to have actual stitch swatches on hand when I was planning a project. And that's how the "Swatch Project" was born. I gathered up unused yarn from my stash and crocheted a swatch of each stitch I had marked with sticky notes. I added a tag to each that included the name of the stitch and the book and page it appeared on. I'll admit it took a bit of time, but it was a great project to work on during evening TV time.The Swatch Project has become an ongoing endeavor. I keep the dozens of swatches I've crocheted so far in a big box--admittedly, in no particular order. When it's time to start a new design, I pull out the swatches and play with them until I find the right texture, look, and stitch combination for the project I have in mind.
As you can see in the photo below, the swatches really make the stitches come to life. The photos in stitch books are crisp and clear, but they don't always do a stitch's depth and texture justice. Crocheting these little samples also gave me the opportunity to try new stitches and techniques--and to use up those pesky yarn remnants that had accumulated in my craft room.
For now, I'm content with box of jumbled swatches, but I may have to come up with an organization system soon. If I do, I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, check out my previous post Printables: Yarn Organizer Cards for another tip for yarn-lovers.
