by Beth Mckinney

Created on: March 07, 2010

Tunisian crochet is almost like knitting with one needle. The crochet hook is long, with a flat circle at one end and a hook at the other. This style of crochet is useful for creating afghans (which is why it is often called afghan crochet). It can also be used for sweaters or other types of warm clothing. The finished project will usually be thick with strong, tight stitches. Tunisian crochet is especially suited for projects based on colorful pictures of flowers, animals or other natural objects.

There are several variations of the basic Tunisian stitch, so almost any stitch pattern can be done using Tunisian crochet. However, the work is not turned at the end of the row, so this may impact some of the stitches at the beginning or end of each row. Therefore, it may be easier to start with patterns specifically designed for Tunisian crochet. Fortunately, they are easy to find.

Internet Searches

Using a search engine to find Tunisian crochet patterns will yield thousands of results. However, few will lead to innovative, stylish or useful crochet patterns. One place to start is with a trusted yarn brand. Lion brand offers a gorgeous afghan pattern including leaves and flowers in rich colors. Bernat offers several patterns of varying difficulty, including a cute red heart pattern.

One great site that is not affiliated with a specific brand of yard but offers a great variety of Tunisian crochet patterns is Chez Crochet. The Study, a large section of the site, is devoted to Tunisian crochet. It contains an overview of Tunisian Crochet as well as tutorials and explanations of the basic stitches as well as more complicated variations, free patterns and links to other sites devoted to Tunisian crochet.

Buy a Book

There are several popular and well-respected books with many Tunisian crochet projects.  One of the most popular is Tunisian Crochet: The Look of Knitting with the Ease of Crocheting by Sharon Hernes Silverman.  This book contains step-by-step instructions with photographs and patterns for clothing, accessories and home décor projects.

Tunisian Around the Home is another book that contains beautiful and innovated patterns for home décor projects.  This book is offered by Annie’s Attic,which also offers several downloadable patterns and an interactive DVD designed to teach Tunisian lace stitches.

Visit a Yarn or Craft Shop

Many shops that sell craft items such as yarn or hooks are owned and staffed by people who love to crochet.  Some may be familiar with Tunisian crochet and may be happy to share their favorite patterns or put you in touch with other customers who have Tunisian crochet patterns.

Even if none of the available staff is familiar with Tunisian crochet, most stores will carry patterns and books. Michaels, for example, offers a cute earth bag using Tunisian crochet techniques. Other stores may offer different patterns, depending on their yarn inventory.

Tunisian crochet is a wonderful technique for creating afghans, warm clothing or home décor projects. Though patterns may be less common than for more traditional projects, they can easily be found on the Internet, in books and in craft stores.

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