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Colorwork afghans in Crochet [1]

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Date: 2023-01-22  

My very close friend Mary is now in a nursing home, which is a bit concerning as she’s only 5 years older than I am. This picture was taken when she was involved in one of her (many!) charity projects, working with Uplift, a Kansas City based organization that takes hot meals and other necessities to the homeless in and around the city. She also worked with fundraising for Saint Mary’s University in Lansing, Kansas, and every year she asked for donations to HUGS, for warm clothing for those in need.

One of Mary’s main interests was heading a prayer shawl ministry. For many years, as she watched TV, she also knitted endless numbers of shawls. But Mary used only one stitch: basket weave. And Barbara, another of our friends, knew only the most basic stitch, garter stitch. So that’s where they turned to me.

Yes, they know I’m not Catholic; I’m not Christian; in fact, I’m no religion at all. But I’ve found that, if your needlework is good enough, suddenly all those church-based prayer shawl groups don’t mind.

Occasionally I contribute an item or two. In fact, I’ve had four churches ask for shawls from me, and I’ve made several for three of them. I supply the knitting and crocheting; I just count on the groups to add the prayers. I especially like to make things for people who may get overlooked. A lacy or pink shawl for a woman is a given with the group, but I often make shawls that are in different colors and more solid styles. I’ve also made a couple for babies. Mary was telling me of a special shawl made for a young girl who had cancer. It was in colors to look like Neapolitan ice cream, with a pink ice cream cone applique applied to a corner. My first reaction was to think of what might be appropriate for another child. Not all children are in the pink ice cream mode.

I found the “Big Wheels” pattern in a book. It looked just right for a youngster. It had a couple of things going for it—the unusual design was eye catching, and the colors looked like they came from that little-kid box of fat, 8-color crayons. I usually dislike granny squares, but this one was a little different in its makeup. BUT (and this is a big one for me) it also was tedious. It took well over 300 squares, which is a lot for a single technique. I like variety. It looks about the same on each side, except for the wheels, which are done in the round and are three dimensional. I found myself humming “The wheels on the bus go round and round. . .” while making each one. And then there was the joining—ugh! I left a very long tail on each square to use to sew it to the next one, so that helped a lot. But the sewing and then the roads around the sections took a lot of time, too. Overall, working every day, this takes me three and a half weeks.

I hung this one on my clothesline so all parts would show, but that makes it look a little uneven as it is pinched up and then droops. I actually did the roads sitting at a table, so I could lay it out and keep it smooth as I went.

I made two of these, the second by request. I included a few matching Match Box cars so the kids could drive them around on the roads. I promise you will want to price these before you commit to making one. It uses a lot of yarn, especially the white and black, and you have to buy a lot of colors. And you will want to make sure the gauge of the yarn is the same for all colors. I used only one line of yarn colors for this reason; different lines even from the same manufacturer can make up at a different gauge.

The afghan in this picture is a Fair Isle technique for crochet. It has to be the same on both sides, since both are visible. I used a pattern from a book, but you can use anything once you have a graph. The color not in use is laid over the top of the row below and hidden as you make a stitch. A little tug once in a while will keep it hidden. The important thing is, just as in knitting, to use only two colors per row or the work can get lumpy and unwieldy. You change colors with all parts of a stitch in the old color except the last loop, which is in the new color. This one is worked one row at a time, from the same side, and the ends make a self fringe as you go. Just break the yarn at the end and go back to the beginning, always keeping the same side towards you. That makes a very neat surface. And when you’re done with the crochet, you’re almost done! The only finishing is tying the fringe. I also do that as I go, because it makes me feel finished when I’m through with the crochet, instead of having a lot to do at the end, although the one-row-then-break is not necessary for this technique. This is a little smaller than the truck afghan, and it goes much, much faster.

It might be tempting to use cotton, so no matter how your first attempt turns out it could be a dishcloth. But don’t. 100% cotton is hard to use in this technique. It’s just not as giving as wool or acrylic. You may be discouraged unnecessarily. And you can do this. After all, I could.

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