Dear Joan and all,
it has been so very long since i have posted here to Orchid that
perhaps i should introduce myself anew. as many of you, i try to fit
my work into the framework of family and household responsibilities;
sometimes more successfully than others. i work exclusively in the
design and execution of knitted lace/lace knitted wiRe: mostly
tiaras, headpieces, and neckpieces, but other forms upon occasion.
i am fortunate enough to travel and teach on knitting wire to
various knitting groups as our home schedule allows. i’ve certainly
enjoyed the recent thread of “got a life?” sometimes i still feel
as if i should be able to “do it all” and that particular thread is
so relevant right now, it is not even funny:) the media and technique
are just so gorgeous to me that it is a real joy to share it with
others, so Joan, i can completely understand your enthusiasm! my
formatting on this program isn’t cooperating today, so please
forgive my cumbersome method of replying to specific points in your
post, Joan.
Joan, you wrote:
I just returned from teaching a class at Metalwerx.. WHAT A
WONDERFUL FACILITY!!!! While there Karen and I had dinner, I was
telling her how the title "Crocheting with Wire" is getting
confusing for people and it has been suggested to me that I come
up with a new name for the technique and class. She told me to put
it out to Orchid.
i remember reading the posting on Orchid about the upcoming class,
and i must admit, i was a little confused as well as to the actual
content of the class. i agree that perhaps a different name would
be apt (my suggestions, for what they are worth, follow later in the
body)
then, you wrote:
I sent the work and a week after the show opened I got a call from
someone in the organization stating that I was not doing a crochet
stitch and that she needed to talk to me. Now, I know that what I
do is different, and that while at Haystack one summer the fiber
people watched me for over two hours trying to decide exactly what
I was doing. They told me to tell people that I am doing a knitting
stitch with a crochet hook. Which I do. I returned the call and was
told that they were afraid that when this show traveled that people
would think that they didn't know their crochet stitches and that
they were sending back my work as ineligible. I guess there is
suppose to be some kind of twisting in each stitch but this too has
been challenged
Joan, are you familiar with Bishop Richard Rutt’s “A History of Hand
Knitting?” it was long OOP, but recently re-issued by Interweave
Press. i do not own it myself, so cannot give you specific pages,
but i do remember that he addresses this exact issue. he goes into
the specific structural differences between knit and crochet fabric,
as well as forms that appear as knit fabric, yet are not truly knit
fabric: for example, tablet weaving, nalbinding, and some forms of
crochet (such as Tunisian) to name a few. i believe Lis Paladin’s
“History of Crochet” also covers this issue in some depth.
the truth of the matter is that a true “knit” fabric may be
accomplished by any number of means and tools: on pegs; on a
knitting rake/frame/loom; on needles, both straight or hooked; even
upon the fingers. ( in “Mary Thomas’ Knitting Book,” by Mary Thomas,
she describes the historical usage of knitting needles with hooked
ends in certain geographical areas). add the fact that wire has no
memory as does fiber, and the boundaries really do become blurred in
terms of method, so it is my opinion, and my opinion only, that it
is best to not define what we do by the tools with which we
accomplish what we do. Margaret Stove, one of the world’s most
revered knitters, has a good explanation of relaying what makes a
knit fabric a knit fabric. In “Creating Original Hand-Knitted
Lace,” page 18, she identifies a knit structure as one “where a
continuous thread makes four changes of direction and is
accomplished with two needles, even though there may be more than
two needles holding a supply of the stitches.” please forgive the
crudeness of the following diagram, where the small bars denote the
thread and its direction:
_3
4\ /2_1<
what this results in, essentially, is a fabric where the “loops”
which form the stitches are locked vertically; one can see this
easily when examining a sweater. this is what causes a “ladder”
when a stitch becomes dropped or torn: all the stitches locked to
that stitch will unlock, or unravel if you will, and cause the
ladder. this property of vertically-locking stitches is one of the
things which gives a knit fabric its elasticity and drape.
in a crochet fabric, one most often also uses a continuous thread,
but this thread goes through many more directional changes, as the
loop caught on the hook in the formation of a new stitch is twisted
upon itself. the crochet stitches are locked not only vertically,
but horizontally as well. this results in a fabric with more bulk
and less elasticity than a knit fabric.
and then, you wrote:
But I still don't have a GOOD name for what I do ... People have
suggested knocheting, criting, dulla crocheting, ducheting ( which
for obvious reason, I won't use ;>) ) Anyone have any great
suggestions on how to handle this? I only use wire, a crochet hook
and patience to do this. The stitch looks similar to the diagram in
"The Theory and Practice of Goldsmith" page 231 and they call it
crocheting, but they are metal smiths too ,and don't know about
stringent fiber terms.
i haven’t seen this example, so i cannot address it. i know also
that many of the basic loop-in-loop chains presented by Jean Stark
in her “Classical Loop in Loop Chains and Their Derivatives” also
resemble knitted wire in the round, or “French knitting” as it is
also referred to. the key again, i believe, is identifying the
nature of the structure. i would suggest as a name something that
identifies the structure, yet makes it clear that the students need
not know how to do what is commonly thought of as knitting: the two
long, pointed needle variety, such as, perhaps, “wire knitting off
the needles,” or “free-hand wire knitting,” making the fact that one
can knit without the traditional knitting needles or prior knitting
knowledge a point of interest and excitement for prospective
students. my own class is titled simply, “metal knits.” we knit on
two straight needles, on a loom, and with a crochet hook, in flat
and round forms. i mention this because many of the people i have
had experience with have had no knowledge of or experience in
crochet—and some really do not want to, believe it or not!—yet
they surprise themselves with their ease in using the hook in their
working.
so, for what they are worth, my rather simple, yet ironically
long-winded replies to your questions.
great day to you all, melissa formerly of Iowa, now back home in
Central PA
