CROCHET
Materials and Tools:
Yarn: Choose the type and color of yarn you want to work with. The label on the yarn typically provides information on the recommended hook size and care instructions.
Crochet Hook: Select an appropriate crochet hook size based on the yarn you're using. The hook size is usually indicated on the yarn label. Common hook sizes range from 2.0 mm (for fine thread) to 12.0 mm (for bulky yarn).
Basic Crocheting Steps:
Make a Slip Knot:
Start by making a slip knot. To do this, create a loop with the yarn, cross the working end (the end attached to the yarn ball) over the tail end, and then pull the working end through the loop. Tighten the knot around your crochet hook, leaving a small loop for your hook to move freely.
Chain Stitch (ch):
Hold the crochet hook with the slip knot in your dominant hand and the working yarn in your other hand.
Yarn over (wrap the yarn around the hook from back to front).
Pull the yarn through the loop on your hook. This creates a chain stitch.
Repeat this process to create the desired number of chain stitches.
Single Crochet (sc):
Insert your hook into the second chain from the hook (or as specified in your pattern).
Yarn over and pull up a loop. You should have two loops on your hook.
Yarn over again and pull through both loops on the hook. This completes one single crochet stitch.
Continue working single crochet stitches in each chain stitch across the row.
Turning Chains:
At the end of each row, you'll need to turn your work to start the next row.
For single crochet, chain 1 before turning your work. This chain typically counts as the first stitch of the new row.
Continue Stitching:
Repeat the process of single crochet (insert, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through both loops) in each stitch across the row.
Keep turning your work and crocheting rows until you achieve the desired length or follow the pattern instructions.
Finishing Off:
To finish your work, cut the yarn, leaving a tail of a few inches.
Yarn over and pull the tail through the last loop on your hook to secure it.
Weave in the loose ends using a yarn needle to hide them within your work.
Practice and Experiment:
Crocheting takes practice, so don't get discouraged if your first attempts aren't perfect. With time and experience, your stitches will become more even and your projects more polished.
Explore different crochet stitches, patterns, and techniques to expand your crocheting skills.
To become proficient in crocheting, it's helpful to start with simple projects and gradually work your way up to more complex patterns as you become more comfortable with the basic stitches and techniques. There are many crochet tutorials and patterns available online and in books to help you learn and grow as a crocheter.
ARTISTS
A new report released this week by an Australian agency says that the 1,400-mile Great Barrier Reef has undergone its sixth mass bleaching. About 91 percent of the brightly colored marine ecosystems were affected by this most recent catastrophe, which occurs when water temperatures rise. Disasters like this are becoming more frequent as the climate crisis intensifies, prompting artists like Christine and Margaret Wertheim to respond with striking displays of what could be permanently lost.
The Australia-born, California-based sisters began the Crochet Coral Reef project in 2005 to confront the devastations of bleaching, over–fishing, tourism, and agricultural contaminations through sprawling, labor-intensive environments. More than 40,000 of the oceanic works are now on view at the Museum Frieder Burda in Baden-Baden, transforming the gallery into textured ecosystems resting atop pillars and protected in glass cases. The Wertheims explain the project:
Like the organic beings they emulate, these handmade sculptures take time to make—time that is condensed in the millions of stitches on display; time that is running out for earthly creatures, including humans and cnidarians. Time forms a framework for the Reef project, for as CO2 escalates in our atmosphere time is increasingly in short supply, and what we choose to spend time on is a reflection of our values.
Part of the intention for Crochet Coral Reef is to involve local communities, and so far, almost 20,000 people have contributed their own fiber-based forms, with about 5,000 participating in the show in Baden-Baden alone. Since debuting at the 2019 Venice Biennale, the exhibition has traveled to more than 20 spaces from London and Dublin to Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., and will be on view at the Museum Frieder Burda until June 26. A complimentary satellite project is also up at the Tang Teaching Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York, through June 12.
Visit the Crochet Coral Reef site for more information on getting involved in the project and for chances to see the textile organisms in person. You also might enjoy Mulyana’s yarn ecosystems. (via artnet)
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/05/crochet-coral-reef-wertheim/
