I am making a crochet jacket for the autumn in Vanna’s choice (DK) with a 5mm hook. This jacket will fit a 2x size woman (that’s me) and I will post updates as it goes along.
I want to say I did quite a bit of crocheting at my newly discovered Vancouver knitting Meetup group on the past two Thursday evenings. Where I met some lovely and generous knitters and crocheters.
Squares ready for sewing together.
Granny square layout
Here is the diagram for the Granny jacket i’m making with the basic granny square.
As you know I use my journal to capture the ideas as I go. Here is the image of the page in my journal so far.
Granny jacket square layout diagram
You need to make 96 squares and two triangles for the front neck. There is also a border but that is not shown on this diagram. This diagram shows the layout of the squares only.
Start of granny jacket showing neck space.
Make two triangles
I’ll get the info on the two triangles that go at the front neck opening soon.
I typically have at least two crochet projects on the hook at any one time. One big piece, like a blanket or shawl, and a small piece usually in granny squares.
I can keep the big one at home and take the little project with me.
I’ve crocheted in doctors and dentists waiting rooms all around the city, sat in the car waiting for kids to come out of school, and taken a small piece to coffee mornings and craft group meetings.
In one house that we lived in I had a special drawer in the kitchen only for wool and my squares so at night as, I waited for the spaghetti to cook for dinner, I crocheted a few stitches.
I have been known to have wool in my apron pocket as I prep dinner or talk on the phone. Sigh…
Wear the colour you like or choose a colour whose meaning is how you want your day to go.
Pastel, primary, jewel or darks?
Pastels (lemon, lavender, mint green, baby pink and baby blue) are calming, soothing and non-confrontational. Pastels look good on babies and the elderly.
Primaries (red, yellow and blue) all stimulate the brain but in different ways.
Jewel colours (purple, teal, amber and ruby) are grown up and indicate confidence, up beat and positive vibes.
Dark colours suggest control and power. They can imply seriousness and subdued danger.
Red
Red is the colour of challenge, courage and sex. It says “Look at me” and that danger is near.
Red is stimulating and that is why it is the colour favoured in restaurants and good for your dining room because it stimulates conversation.
Orange
Orange is rude. It is a colour that suggests caution and be careful. If you wear orange you are sending the message that you are unpredictable and others should watch out. But that you are fun loving and unique.
Yellow
Yellow is the colour of sunshine and creativity it is a difficult colour to wear near your face as it reflects a yellow glow that is not always flattering.
Yellow’s message is one of inspiration and lateral thinking. Wearing yellow aids creative solutions to problems. It is a good color to wear when you want some fresh ideas to pop into your head.
Green
Green is the colour for peace and tranquility. It should be worn to calm and rejuvenate your psyche.
Mint green is calming but chartreuse suggests some spiky ideas running through your head.
Blue
Blue in its purest sense is what used to be called French blue and it is like a sapphire blue.
This is a strong color and the wearer is confident and fair. The darker the blue the stronger the person.
Pale blue is for young children or men’s formal shirts which are covered by grey or charcoal suits.
Indigo
Indigo is a colour for getting things done it works well for men and women. It is confident and casual at the same time. Think dark denim jeans which are both smart and casual.
Violet
Violet is the colour of originality. If you wear violet you are stating that you are your own man or woman and will do your own thing in life. Violet in home furnishing can be wild flowers and heathery creamy violets work well.
White
White looks good on just about anyone. A sharp white blouse is a wardrobe staple. White next to your face in blouses or shirts is flattering to all complexions.
Black
Black is a serious city color. Most people can wear black and be taken seriously. Black pants are a woman’s wardrobe staple.
Brown
Brown is a color to wear when you are feeling down and want to hide from life. It is a colour for doing nothing in. It indicates you may be forlorn or pining for days gone by. It can be a sign of depression and if you wear brown it will make you feel browned off and life weary.
Grey
Grey is a colour that wants to blend into the background. It is a non confrontational colour and suggests the wearer is passive and will conform to the will of others. It is a colour that wants peace and quiet.
Many years ago my husband and I owned a baby shop called “Bundle of Joy”.
We sold prams, buggies, bottles, cots, baby clothes, blankets and a million other goodies that a baby needs.
As I was a crocheter I started to create baby blankets to sell in the store.
They did well.
I made crochet baby blankies in white, pink and blue. But never pink and blue together in one blanket.
I made granny squared ones and row on row ones. it was a perfect time of running a business and crocheting at the same time.
I then tried baby yellow and baby green blankets. But they never sold. I could only sell pink or blue blankets.
Our shop attracted customers who were grannies, aunts and mothers of new babies. Over time we got to know the clientele and they would pop in to say “hello” when the went for their groceries at the supermarket in the mall.
During our time at the baby store we were lucky enough to welcome our own bundle of joy and our daughter was born.
So we had a real live baby prop in the store and this too attracted customers.
They would come into our shop and ask, “Do you only have pink or blue blankets?”
To which I responded, “How about this lovely baby mint green or pale lemon?”
Everyone then said, “Oh, I’ll take the pink for my new daughter,” or, “I’ll take the blue because my baby is a boy.”
So even though we could offer a selection of colors, the customers only ever bought the two traditional colours of baby pink and baby blue blankets.
Moms want to clearly define the sex of their baby. If anyone sees a pink or blue blanket in a buggy or pram it is immediately clear that the child is a boy or girl.
In the three years we had the shops we never sold a yellow or a green blanket but, by having them as a selection to offer our customers, the awkward colored yellow and green blankets helped us sell the pink and blue ones, by them being offered as a choice to our customers.
She made sweat pants for the six month to two year age group.
She sewed up her samples and took orders from her friends and a small order from local kids clothing shop.
It was small potatoes but she kept going. She enjoyed working with her hands.
Kate was retired and had the time to give to her sewing. She only sat at her machine in the day and only when the light was good. She started sewing at 10am and worked until 3pm each day from Monday to Friday.
At first she sewed in the colour and with the cloth she liked. As time went on she took orders for ten blue and ten red sweat pants. these were the popular colours for the pants.
The sweet spot
By buying the cloth in bulk (and getting a little discount from the draper), and making ten blue and red size small, all in one sitting she reached her sweet spot where she could not be any more efficient.
At this stage she could make 19 pants a week. This was not that many really but more than she made as a hobby.
This was how her production was; cutting out on Monday, sewing the main seams on Tuesday, finishing off the garments on Wednesday, pressing the pants on Thursday and packaging and posting her finished items on Friday.
Week in and week out.
It was a case of no work and no pay.
Full production
Now whilst this is good in the short term (six months) there comes a time when you can’t keep up with the orders.
The kid’s shop that took ten a week had a branch in another city and wanted ten for that shop as well.
What to do?
If Kate got sick she couldn’t sew.
She was turning over $40 and making $160 each week at full tilt.
But 19 was all she could make. She could only make nineteen sweatpants a week. If she took a day off she made less money.
Time and money
The realization eventually came to her that she could never make more money – only make less.
That no matter how hard she tried there was a physical limit to how much she could do each week and it all depended on her doing it.
With no one else to help and no more time she could do no more and earn no more money.
And, the sweat pants kept her so busy she couldn’t do the creative wrk that had drawn her to sewing in the first place.
The challenge
It is a challenge faced by many crafters between earning some money, which is important, and being creative and enjoying what you do.
This is known as piece work when you are paid by the item. If there are no items to sell there is no pay for you.
But piecework is an entry into having an independent micro business and this is what attracts many people every year – freedom.
Piecework has its place and can be sustained indefinitely. It is what I recommend to crafters to get them going. Take the plunge and put you crafts out there.
One morning there was an advert in the local newspaper it read,
“Crocheters wanted, meet me at the Table View Mall café at 12 noon on Saturday, Jenny.”
As a crocheter clearly this ad was for me. Wasn’t it?
I duly arrived at the café on the appointed time to find that I was not the only one who could crochet.
There were twenty-five to thirty women chatting and drinking coffee and waiting for noon.
Jenny arrived all suntanned and long blonde hair. She had a bag of little squiggly items and dropped one in front of each of the crocheters.
Then she passed around a little ball of shirring elastic in a variety of colours and gave everyone ten little beads.
The squiggly thing turned out to be a foot ornament worn on the beach with bare feet. It looped over your big toe and then around your ankle. There was assorted African beads on the top as decoration. It was a fun item for summer.
Jenny said to us all, “Make me a sample just like this one and see me back here next Friday at the same time.”
There was a lot of chatter amongst the crocheters and off they went. I went home clutching the sample, elastic and beads.
The pattern was easy to replicate, but the difficult part was working with the shirring elastic. It stretched and I had to try many different sizes of hooks to get the tension just right.
After several attempts, I made what I thought was a good copy of the sample she gave me. I was ready to show my creation to her. I wondered how the other women had got on.
Friday arrived and I was there early with my coffee in front of me waiting for the rush of crocheters.
No one came.
Jenny arrived at five past twelve she saw me and came over to my table. I showed her my work. She liked it. Another woman arrived with her attempt and that too was good.
We were the only ones to bring a sample of our work and the others did not bother.
Piecework production
So it began, we would be paid $50 for ten pairs of barefoot sandals which Jenny would sell the at her flea market stall at the Green Market Square for $25 each.
I worked every moment I had spare to get my ten pairs done on time. Not that I had much time with a six month old baby, a toddler of two years and two children aged eight and eleven at school.
On top of this we were renovating the house and had the kitchen in disrepair for months. But I pressed on.
Friday came I met her at the café and she gave me the cash and I gave her the now called “barefoot sandals”.
All this kept going week after week, for six months as the summer wore on.
Jenny’s original designs and her sandy feet were featured in Cosmopolitan magazine and here is a photo of the barefoot sandals I made from the magazine.
This easy casual work eventually ended but it was a good summer for me and the piece work crochet.
