In the afternoon on the first day of Rita's workshop we learned Tunisian crochet.
Tunisian stitches are characterized by a right-to-left ("forward") pass creating loops, then a left-to-right ("backward") pass crocheting them off. You don't turn the work; the public side is always facing you. When you are at the right-hand edge of a piece of Tunisian crochet it looks like you are crocheting — there is a single loop on a crochet hook. But when you are at the left-hand edge, there is a strange hybrid of a crochet hook with lots of live loops on it as if it were in costume pretending to be a knitting needle. If you think of Tunisian stitches as a grid, you can think of the forward loop-creating pass as making vertical posts and the backward binding-off pass as making horizontal lintels.
For class we were able to work swatches on regular crochet hooks. Please note, this technique is best executed on crochet hooks that don't have large handles and don't have big thumb rests. You need cable or a slender stick to hold the live loops, just as you would in knitting. If you decided to pursue Tunisian crochet, then a set of Denise crochet hooks would be your first stop.
Rita has instructions for Tunisian crochet in both her books, but I think the instructional pictures are better in Crochet for Knitters: A Marriage of Hook and Needles, especially pages 52-56, where she describes four basic patterns.
Tunisian simple stitch:
In this case, the forward pass is knitting up loops by inserting the hook right to left through the top of the vertical post, then binding the loops off on the backward pass. It forms a very firm square grid with an obvious right-side and wrong-side. This fabric is not stretching and possibly not draping, either. Choose wisely when to use this. It would make good fabric for jackets, upholstery, or bags. I've seen blanket patterns where you make an entire afghan this way, then go back and work a counted cross-stitch design on top of it. That's commitment!
Tunisian double crochet:
This is worked the same as Tunisian simple, except the vertical posts are now almost-finished double crochet stitches. This means you could experiment with Tunisian treble and taller stitches. Because this pattern is more open, it has a little stretch and a little drape compared to Tunisian simple. It has a right-side and a wrong-side, but the wrong-side of the work isn't too bad.
Tunisian cross stitch:
This pattern produces pretty star-like crosses at the intersections of the grid. It is worked the same as Tunisian double, except the stitches are worked out of order, just like cabling in knitting. Skip the next stitch, work the one after it, then back up and work the stitch just skipped. The backward bind-off pass is the same as other Tunisian stitches. While the fabric is attractive on the right side, the wrong side is a chaotic field of bumps.
Tunisian knit stitch:
This fabric looks very much like regular stockinette, but is thicker and firmer. If you want the look of stockinette but with no stretch, this is it. Unlike the previous three patterns, the vertical posts are picked up front to back, as if knitting. Backward pass is the same as the other stitches. The wrong side of the fabric resembles reverse stockinette, but with pronounced horizontal ridges.
Tunisian lace stitch:
This pattern is an outlier, in that it involves action on both the forward and backward passes. Also, Rita does not include it in Crochet for Knitters but instead has it on page 32 of Heritage Crochet in a New Light: Enriching Your Designs with Antique Lace Techniques. The backward pass involves creating alternating chains and clusters by chaining several stitches, then drawing through multiple loops on the hook all at once. The forward pass creates stitches in the chains. The result is a series of stacked clusters. Like the other Tunisian stitches, this fabric is firm and stretches only because it is open. The wrong side is different from the right side, but only noticeably so at close range.
I've written previously about Tunisian knit (rather than crochet) stitches in this post from February 2017.
Tunisian stitches are characterized by a right-to-left ("forward") pass creating loops, then a left-to-right ("backward") pass crocheting them off. You don't turn the work; the public side is always facing you. When you are at the right-hand edge of a piece of Tunisian crochet it looks like you are crocheting — there is a single loop on a crochet hook. But when you are at the left-hand edge, there is a strange hybrid of a crochet hook with lots of live loops on it as if it were in costume pretending to be a knitting needle. If you think of Tunisian stitches as a grid, you can think of the forward loop-creating pass as making vertical posts and the backward binding-off pass as making horizontal lintels.
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For class we were able to work swatches on regular crochet hooks. Please note, this technique is best executed on crochet hooks that don't have large handles and don't have big thumb rests. You need cable or a slender stick to hold the live loops, just as you would in knitting. If you decided to pursue Tunisian crochet, then a set of Denise crochet hooks would be your first stop.
Rita has instructions for Tunisian crochet in both her books, but I think the instructional pictures are better in Crochet for Knitters: A Marriage of Hook and Needles, especially pages 52-56, where she describes four basic patterns.
Tunisian simple stitch:
Tunisian double crochet:
Tunisian cross stitch:
Tunisian knit stitch:
Tunisian lace stitch:
I've written previously about Tunisian knit (rather than crochet) stitches in this post from February 2017.
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