6.23.2008

Center Magic

Every now and again, when the mood strikes, I come upon one stitch or one motif that I just can't get enough of. Last year it was the year of the linked stitch, this year its the year of the X-st. That's the fun stitch where you double treble into a st, then ch 5 or so, then double crochet into the middle horizontal bar of the dtr. It makes a sort of backwards P shape, you can add another leg to get an X shape. The X shape I used in a scarf for CT.

Well this weekend, I was playing with some new yarns and thought this would make a really cool center motif. And boy was I right! The motif on the left, is only 2 rounds. Looks like 3 rounds, right? The first is a round of sc, then the second is a round of X-sts. Sure you could make something similar with 3 rounds, but then you don't get to do the fun X-st. I tried it out in cotton and soysilk, as well as this merino. I think they are so interesting at how slightly different they all look. By this time, I was hooked and now I wanted to see how many different motifs I could come up with from one basic center.

I got a beautiful lacy almost doily, when I did a second round of X-sts.

I got a bumpy square when I varied a group of dcs in the ch-sps.

This one reminds me of Gothic windows with the little ch-sp bumpouts.

And lastly, I switched to cotton and make this swirling circle.


And I can't wait for what I stumble on next with these stitches!

5 comments:

Cara said...

Those are awesome!
Can you recommend a good stitchionary? I was content with my very basic repertoire of stitches until I saw that double lattice grid thing you made about a week or so ago, and these take the cake. Suddenly I'm sold on the idea that I have a lot to learn!

Robyn said...

I really like these Japanese Books-
300 stitch patterns- http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-j/section-books/pid-1004108290/

and 300 Motifs- http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-j/section-books/pid-1004494955/

Other wise I like old stitch dictionaries from the 40s, 60s, and 80s. I look in my local library and flee market all the time to find them.

Cara said...

Thanks!
Japanese books--that seems pretty obscure. Is there a story behind how you got them?

SAM said...

I love to find old stitch dictionaries and patterns. What you love doing with motifs I do with fabric. I love to create solid fabric and then manipulate the pattern to achieve the results I want. I love the surprise aspect of playing with yarn and stitches.

Robyn said...

cara- they totally happen by accident one day while I was surfing the net for stitch dictionaries. I am so glad I found them, I just love them!