In the World of Crochet
In a previous In the World of Crochet article, I said that one of the many advantages of attending yarn shows such as Chain Link or sheep and wool festivals is meeting the dynamic people of yarn companies.
Let me broaden that remark to include the great designers who create the patterns you love to make. I’m fortunate to have met one of the most vibrant designers at these shows, Australia’s Jenny King. A true standout in the world of crochet, Jenny is a designer, teacher, pattern writer, wardrobe and color consultant, and sewist. In her decades-long career, she has devoted herself to crochet design, creating countless pieces of apparel, hats, shawls, afghans, children’s wear, bikinis, toys, totes and even a wedding dress featured in the Spring 2017 issue of
Crochet! magazine. Her patterns are available at https://www.jennykingdesigns.com and on Ravelry. Jenny has taken the art of crochet a giant step forward. Annie’s Catalog proudly offers her “Get Squared™ by Jenny King” video class. Crocheters of any skill level will discover the secret to easily crocheting garments that fit and flatter without a pattern. Sounds too good to be true, but I took the class and it works!
There are lots of reasons to purchase this nearly 1-hour program. Jenny is an excellent video teacher who speaks at a reasonable pace and shows every step clearly. Her warm and friendly personality come through well. As an Australian, she works with British crochet terminology and phrases (i.e, U.K. treble crochet = U.S. double crochet) but is quick to remind viewers of the American terms. Jenny’s visual and audio instructions are clear, concise and easy to follow. Of course, as with any video, you can stop, rewind and review as many times as you need to master this technique. Hearingimpaired crocheters can follow along with closed captioning.
If your pattern reading skills are poor or nonexistent, this is the class for you! No pattern-reading skills are required and the PDF has pattern shortcuts.
Another great reason to take this class is that there are no lengthy or difficult
calculations to make a sweater fit an in-between size or to enlarge a smaller size to fit a larger woman. This is a wonderful advantange for plussize women who want stylish, flattering sweaters when few are available to fit them.
The class comes with a downloadable PDF of five sweater patterns. The basis for each is the same:
All use a J/10 hook and only basic stitches are required. If you know how to make granny square stitches and can work in back and front loops, then you’re ready to create your personalized garment. Jenny shows another easy stitch pattern that will create a lacier appearance in your sweater. It’s adaptable to any of the five designs. You’ll learn to make a basic sweater, a cardigan, another with extended fronts, a V-neck cardigan and a shrug. The designs will work with any yarn weight. Jenny’s sample yarns varied from laceweight to worsted-weight. The results with a DK-weight ladder yarn were beautiful, which illustrates it’s not just smooth yarns that will work well! A big “plus” of this technique is that all garments are made from the top down without seams so the correct fit and length are guaranteed. Follow Jenny’s guidelines and you’ll never be frustrated with poor fit again.
So you ask, “What’s the secret to success with these designs?” Jenny has devised a clever “Magic Number” chart to determine a personalized fit.
All you need to measure are your bust around its fullest point and your arm at its widest section.
Write these numbers on the printable chart and go from there! Jenny clearly demonstrates how to take your measurements and transform them into the sweater that will fit you perfectly! Watch Jenny’s YouTube videos, Get
Squared™ Introduction and Jenny King Designs Get Squared™ Crochet How To
Promotional Video and your fingers will fly on your keyboard to buy this class! The video and PDF set are available at Annie’s Catalog for $26. Go to https://www. anniescatalog.com and type Get Squared Video Class in the search box. As soon as your download is complete, you’ll be on your way to making one-of-a-kind garments!
Here’s the icing on the crochet cake to owning this class: You’ll have the ability to contact Jenny with questions or comments. She welcomes emails from viewers and provides her contact information at the end of the class.
After you’ve made your beautiful sweater, show us your work! Send a photo with your name and we’ll feature it on Annie’s Facebook page!