Freeform Crochet: Where the Rules Go to Die
Freeform crochet is all about letting go, throwing the rules out the window and doing whatever the xxxx you feel like doing with a crochet hook and some yarn.
If you are anything like me, you only read instructions when there is absolutely no other choice. And I mean anything. Mmmm, maybe that is why I design. I hate anyone telling me what to do!
Why read the instructions when you can have a go first, get completely confused, and then discover the instructions were actually useful? Occasionally, maybe?
NOPE!
With freeform crochet, you can forget all that nonsense. There are no rules, no pattern to follow and certainly no crochet police waiting to check your stitch count.
If I want to put a particular stitch there, I will. So what if I have 20 stitches on one side and 22 on the other? Who cares! I probably counted them anyway, purely out of habit, but I knew perfectly well that I didn't need to.
And as any of my pattern testers will tell you (OH SO OFTEN), I cannot count!
But Isn't Freeform Supposed to Be Free?
Some very brave entrepreneurs do offer tutorials and patterns for freeform crochet. And, to be fair, I guess they are mostly hints and tips on how to make the various shapes people like to include in freeform. Buuut...
Think about it. Someone offers you a pattern or a step-by-step guide to making a freeform piece. So, if I follow your instructions, will my finished piece look exactly like yours?
Doesn't that rather defeat the purpose?
Now, don't get me wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with learning new techniques. Look up ideas such as spirals, shells made using bullion stitches, surface slip stitches and all those wonderful ways of adding texture to your work. Read about scrumbling, which, in ordinary language, is basically making a collection of odd little motifs and joining them together.
Learn a few techniques. Experiment. See what happens when you put different stitches together.
But once you have finished your research, put the instructions away, grab your hook and some yarn, and get stuck into it.
Let your imagination run wild. If it looks a bit odd, add something else. If that doesn't work, add something else again. Eventually, you will either have something wonderful or find yourself tangled in a yarn barf mess and unable to escape.
Either way, you have been entertained.
The Joy of Making Something That Is Actually Yours
One of the things I love about freeform crochet is that you end up with something completely unique to you.
Every year, a new crochet trend comes along and suddenly the internet is full of the same item. You see it once, twice, ten times, and before long it seems as though everyone and their dog has made one.
And let me tell you, Auburncraft CEO Miss Stella refuses to join in.
As a designer, I would absolutely love to create something that everyone wants to make. Let's not pretend otherwise!
But after seeing the same thing over and over and over again, even I start to get a little bored.
So, what is the answer?
Yep. FREEFORM!
There is something rather satisfying about making a piece that doesn't come with a set of instructions telling you what to do next. You get to make the decisions, change your mind halfway through, and follow an idea simply because you feel like it.
No worrying about whether your finished piece looks like the picture. No wondering if you have used the right colour in the right place. And no frogging an entire row because you have discovered a stitch missing three rows back.
Well, you can frog it if you want to. But why would you?
My Technicolour Yarn Vest: A Freeform Masterpiece!
I have to be honest. I don't often have time to enjoy freeform crochet. I find myself far too busy with designs on the hook to go there.
My crowning glory of freeform is my Technicolour Yarn Vest.
This beauty took me over a year to finish. Partly because I kept putting it in the naughty corner multiple times, but I got there in the end.
freeform
I am happy to show off the hot mess I had while making this piece, along with the finished result. And yes, I actually wear it!
Not often, mind you, as I happen to live in a subtropical climate. But when an occasion arises where the weather is suitable, out it comes to strut its stuff!
The vest is made up of a whole pile of flowers and a few spirals, all joined together in a rather random fashion. The gaps are filled with whatever stitches take my fancy at the time.
I love it!
It is a rather thick, coat-like vest that falls just below the knees. Quite possibly warm enough to survive a small ice age, should the need arise.
Of course, living where I do, the chances of needing that much insulation are rather slim. But you never know!
The Thing About FREEFORM!
Leftover Yarn
Like most people who crochet, I have a truckload of leftover yarn. Part balls, odd colours, bits that are too good to throw away but not quite enough to make anything sensible with.
You know exactly what I mean.
You keep them because they might come in handy one day. Then you buy more yarn, add it to the collection, and suddenly you have enough leftovers to open a small yarn shop.
Freeform crochet is a brilliant way to use them up. That odd little ball of purple, the last scraps of pink, and the colour you bought for a project you abandoned three years ago can all find a home.
They don't have to match. They don't have to coordinate perfectly. And if you run out of one colour halfway through, simply pick another.
It is freeform. You are allowed!
Some Rather Handy Pluses of Freeform Crochet
Uses up leftover yarn. All those little balls finally have a purpose other than taking up space.
Mistakes are optional. If something goes wrong, it was a design decision. Nobody needs to know otherwise.
No counting required. You can count if you really want to, but there is no need to start a spreadsheet.
Gauge? What gauge? Unless you are making something that absolutely must fit a particular size, you can forget about it.
Running out of a colour isn't a disaster. Just introduce another colour and pretend that was the plan all along.
Beginners can have a go. You don't have to be an expert at crochet to experiment with stitches and shapes. If someone questions your unusual creation, tell them it is freeform. What are they going to do, mark you down?
Every piece is unique. Even if you tried to make the same thing twice, chances are you would end up with something different.
And perhaps the best part of all? You don't have to follow the latest trend, make something because everyone else is making it, or worry about whether your work is good enough.
You just make something because you want to.
So, start saving those leftover yarn scraps, grab your hook and give freeform crochet a go.
There is no right or wrong way to do it. No pattern to keep up with and no one standing over your shoulder checking your stitches.
Just you, your yarn and whatever happens next.
And if anyone asks what you are making, you can always tell them you haven't decided yet.
Which, of course, is perfectly true!