Dreaming in Plaid

I love that we live in a world where so much sharing of ideas is encouraged and the availability of patterns and designs is so varied and abundant! Isn’t it amazing that you can type in what you’re looking for and so many ideas are right at your fingertips? I remember growing up and as I was learning to crochet I was given a few Leisure Arts leaflets where I would actually make every pattern in the book to try to learn and get as much practice as I could. I don’t think I would have believed it back then if someone would have told me how much would be available in the future for crochet artists of all levels. Some people view fiber arts including Crochet and knitting to be disappearing arts because of the conveniences of our modern world but all I see are the many directions new artists take the craft with a friendly nod to the OG Grandmas who taught them the foundations and first stitches of what they know. People all over the world create and share their ideas using crochet and it makes me so excited for its artistic future.

I always find that I learn so much when I take the time to explore the patterns of other crochet artists. Occasionally I’d like to share what I’ve learned from others and share the links to their tutorials that may be helpful to you too. One project I’ve been working on for the last couple of weeks is the Plaid stitch, which is not, by itself, a stitch, but it’s more of a practice in color work where we carry the unused color of yarn through the work, hidden inside of the stitches to be ready for use for a few stitches at a time without the necessity of clipping and securing loose ends at every color change. I wanted to get better at this technique to be able to use it in some upcoming projects and found the perfect person to help. The Queen of plaid stitch in my opinion is Bethany Dearden of Whistle and Ivy who is so adept with it that she has numerous projects and patterns to help us create with Plaid. She even dedicates a Plaid week on her blog with fun projects and ideas for practice. Furthermore, she’s also a friend of mine and I agree with something she said on her blog that “once you start Plaid stitch, it’s hard to stop.” I agree, it’s so much fun that I’ll be dreaming in Plaid for quite a while now.
To practice the plaid stitch I used this Whistle and Ivy pattern and a couple of very helpful tutorials and methods on her site to teach me how to design different types, sizes, and color patterns of plaid and how to use plaid in a project that I wasn’t sure how to incorporate it into which will be coming soon. If you’ve looked at some of the unique plaid crochet patterns out there and felt overwhelmed or thought that it might be too difficult, definitely click over to Whistle and Ivy. She makes it look and feel very easy and I know you can do it.

Whistle And Ivy Plaid Hat Pattern

I really enjoyed making this pattern and it gave me a lot of practice in colorwork and using the plaid stitch. Definitely give it a try and make a hat using your own unique color choices. Once I got the hang of it, this pattern worked up very quickly:) I’m looking forward to making more with different color combos.

Do you have a favorite pattern that has taught you something new? Share it with me in the comments! I’d love to see what you’re learning and working on and maybe give it a try too!