Category: Free Inquiry

This week I decided to try to use up some yarn I had from an old project when I just started to learn to crochet in 2021. It’s a really nice thick and soft yarn in a dark blue colour. I decided it would be perfect for a toque!

I found this tutorial on youtube that I felt confident I could follow.

It went fairly well. I am happy with how my stitches turned out because in the past I have had a trouble with getting the right tension. I often pull too tight or not tight enough making the stitches look uneven. Put this time they look fairly uniform, perhaps a bit on the tighter side.

This project didn’t take me too long. Maybe 3-4 hours overall. Although it did not not turn out exactly as I had hoped. I am not sure if I made an error somewhere along the line or if maybe my yarn is not thick enough for the pattern I was following in the video. I had measured my partners head so it would fit him and does it just came out too short.

It’s unfortunate because I had thought well if it’s too short from adults maybe it could fit a child but the width of it will be too large for children.

I’m not sure what to do with this piece now, maybe unravel it and try to use it for something else. I would like to try this pattern again because it was relatively easy to follow, I think I must have made an error with the measurements. Once I try again it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out exactly where I went wrong.

Overall I think my inquiry went really well. My original plan was just to continue learning crochet which I already had some experience with but when I started my first project of creating a Squishmallow cover for my friend I realized crocheting using such large yarn was actually really difficult. This lead me to learning how to finger-knit. I never expected to learn finger-knitting in this inquiry project but I am glad I did! It was a bit of a learning process initially, because there are no patterns or videos online for how to make a squishmallow cover I had to use a video tutorial for just a circular pillow. I was kind of making it up as I went, loosely following the video and going through the process of trial and error to figure it out.

It took a few tries but eventually I figured it out and I was really happy with how it turned out. My friend loved the gift and I even had some of her friends ask me to make them one!

Furthermore, I was able to take this new skill into my work. I run a crochet after school activity at the school I work at and I was able to teach my students this new skill. It was great for the students who were struggling with crochet and becoming disengaged. I plan to use finger knitting again to make my mom a blanket for mother’s day.

After I completed my squishmallow project I moved back to doing crochet. I tried to pick up a pillow case project I had started in December. The yarn I was suing wasn’t the easiest to work with and as a square pillow case I was just making a big square which got a bit boring so I abandoned that project to try something new. I talk about this project in a bit more detail here:

https://taelorbinquiry.opened.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=199&action=edit

I was trying to decide what my new project would be when our Science instructor Erika Germanos announced that we would be hosting an Indigneous elder in the class. We all agreed to make something or bring something local for a gift basket for this elder. So I decided then to make a market bag to put in the gift basket. I had never made a bag before so I was a little nervous it would not turn out well but I found a really good tutorial on youtube and it ended up being pretty easy!

The first step of creating the circular bottom of the bag was probably the most challenging as it required a lot of increases in the number of stitches each round which I was not very familiar with. I really enjoyed this project and have started making another already! They are great gifts!

This opportunity to focus on crochet through a course was really great and lead me to learning new skills I would not have otherwise! Thanks Rich!

In my last post I explained that I was created a pillow case using a new stitch I had learned. Making a pillow case gets a little monotonous because its just the same thing back and forth for rows on rows. So I got bored of it.

However, Over reading break I took on a new project! In our science course this semester we are having an indigenous elder come to speak to us about incorproating indigenous principles of learning in science education. As a class we agreed to but together a gift for him out of things we have made ourselves. I decided to crochet a market bag.

Using yarn I already had on hand and this video I finished the market bag in only a few days!

Unfortunately I forgot to take progress pictures throughout but this is the final product!

I am really happy with how it turned out and it was honestly not hard at all. I will definitely be making another one for myself!

This week I restarted a crochet project that I began in December. I am making a square pillow case using a new stitch a friend taught me. This stitch creates a kind of waffle pattern that I think will make for a nice texture on a pillow. I am using some fluffy pink, purple and white yarn with a 9mm crochet hook.

I got bored with this project a while ago and just haven’t had the desire to pick it back up again but I would like to complete it. Unfortunately I have realized that at some point I missed a final stitch on one row and now my shape as been getting progressively smaller as I go and is no longer an even square. I also noticed that my stitches have gotten progressively tighter which changes the look of the pattern so as I restart I want to make sure I try to keep the tension even throughout.

Unfortunately I only have enough of this colour yarn to complete one side of the pillow case. I do have a ball of yarn that is the exact same weight and texture, it’s just white. I think that will look fine because there is white in the yarn I started with. Hopefully by next week I will have finished redoing this side of the pillow case and can begin the other side!

This week I completed the pillow case except I wasn’t happy with the way it turned out. I think it is too small so it stretches out and leaves fairly substantial gaps that leave the original pillow showing through.

So I took it apart and restarted to make it bigger. In the first attempt I made a chain of 20 as my base to build on. The second time I chained 30 and that worked much better. It took longer and I had to stop for a day because I ran out of yarn. In the end I used 3 balls of yarn to make this pillow.

This is the pillow about 3/4 of the way done I had to check the how the pillow would fit inside because I was really just guessing how many rows of stitches I would need.

As you can see it looks a lot tighter. After a little more work I was able to finish the pillow and I am very happy with how it turned out!

I enjoyed learning this new technique and I think I may continue with it. First I would like to finish a crochet pillow case that I have started but then I think I will use this finger knitting technique to make my mom a big cozy blanket of mother’s day! In my next post I will explain the crochet pillow case I am making and do some research on finger knit blankets.

This week I went to Michael’s and picked out some yarn for my project. My friend sent me the colour pallet she is using for her place so I was able to work with that to pick the colour.

I am using the Bernat Blanket Big yarn in the colour burnt mustard. Although that name doesn’t sound very appealing it is a nice colour.

I also purchased a 25mm crochet hook as is recommended on the package of this yarn. This is by far the largest hook I have ever used. For reference, this is the 25mm hook next a 5.5mm hook which is the size I have the most experience with.

I attempted to start the pillow cover using this crochet hook but as it turns out, the larger hook is difficult to work with and it was taking a long time just to make one stitch. So I have decided to try finger knitting, which is commonly done with this size and even larger sizes of yarn.

I am following the youtube tutorial below however, the tutorial is for a smaller pillow so I am doing some guess work with the sizing and we will see how it turns out!

So far I have the first 5 rows finished and I think it’s looking good!

I have chosen to do crochet for my free inquiry. I have some experience with crochet but I’m excited to use this opportunity to start (and hopefully finish) some new projects!

For my first project I will be repurposing an old jumbo Squishmallow as a house warming gift for a friend. Squishmallows are like big pillows that look like cute animals. My friend loves how soft and cozy they are but doesn’t love the aesthetic of them, they don’t really match the decor style she is going for in her new place.

So I am going to crochet a cover for a Squishmallow so she can still enjoy how cozy they are and it will match her room! I am planning to try using some super chunky yarn. I haven’t used any really thick yarn before but I think it will look nice as a pillow and it will build fast so the project shouldn’t take me too long! As this isn’t a typical project, I couldn’t find any patterns online so I will kind of be figuring it out as I go.

My tasks this week are to find the yarn, take measurements of the Squishmallow and figure out what type of stitch I want to use. The stitch is important because I don’t want any of the squishmallow to show through any little holes in the crochet.

This looks like a regular single crochet stitch but as you can see there are some gaps. I think I will just need to experiment with the yarn when I get it, test out different stitches and see what works!