Learning Hairpin Crochet at Super+Super HQ

For the last month, I've been spending my Tuesday evenings at cosy Super + Super HQ learning how to hair pin crochet. Miss Amy Phipps has been patiently teaching our class the lacier form of crochet.

I did a bit of research before I went to the first class, and really couldn't figure out how the hell it worked....a bit anxious I had signed up for something a little too tricky. But I was totally wrong! Once Amy had shown us it was all done on a little frame (She'd made us some out of an old coat hanger, so simple yet perfect! Saved me £9 from Amazon!), with a normal crochet hook, the only difference being that you wrap the wool around the frame as you work along the piece!

So here is our class working away making lots of 'strips' of crochet, the first step in making anything!

Many many cups of tea and slices of cake were had, yum yum! And learning a new skill at the same time? Great night out on a school night me thinks :)

The browns and greys above were mine, and below is what Amy was working on while showing us. I fell in love with the metalic gold wool!

I got a bit carried away and kept making more and more of them before learning how to join them all up. I had a vague idea of maybe making another cardi out of them. Hasn't quite worked out to plan, but it was a learning exercise! heh. 

Next step? Learning how to join them all together! We started off being shown how to join two up with no other yarn involved. Here is one I prepared earlier:

You sort of weave one side in and out with the other. Now I understood why Amy kept telling us to work on contrasting colours first; at least then you can tell apart the sides when it starts getting fiddly!

And here is our teacher's example:

Fellow student Sarah's work:

And here was my first attempt at trying to finish off all the edges.

I used the piece I joined up above, and then pinched some of the gold metalic lurex to crochet up the remaining two edges with simple single stitch crochet, bunching up the strands as I worked along.

I'm actually amazed at how quick and simple hair-pin crochet is once you've been shown it. There are actually only 2 types of stitches involved with making up the lacy bits, and then it's all about joining them up in different ways to make any sort of garment.

I think this would, in a second attempt, turn into a really cute collar! A little more practice at getting the amount of stitches right so it lays flat :)

I'm bursting with ideas now! I feel this has opened up so many possibilities, combining this with normal crochet, embroidery and beading, sewing......I think this is going to be the year of crochet for me!

I would thoroughly recommend organising a tea party with the girls at Super + Super, I had one with my Mum for her Birthday a few weeks back and had a brilliant time refreshing my memory on granny squares, with lots of bubbly and cake!

I've already finished off my first project, and planning the next already. The only down side is, I was halfway through crocheting another cardi in a different style, and that has now started collecting dust while I'm distracted by all this new stuff. That can wait for now though :)

Much Love from Brighton,

L.J.

xx