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HOOKY TREASURE
A modernIrishfreeformpulloverinspired
Gwen McGannon to make her dress
M
y loveaffairwithcrochetbeganover 20
yearsago,andhasneverstopped.I still
crocheteveryday– I lovetheartofit and
reallyenjoylearningnewtechniques
wheneverorhoweverI can.Tofeedmy
obsessionforhookyprogression,overtheyearsI’ve
sigenduptoa wholehostofonlineclasseswith
Blueprint(formerlyCraftsy).Oneofmyabsolute
favouritesis modernIrishfreeformwithMyra
Wood.AsI followedalongwiththisclass,I madea
lacesleevelesspullover.I absolutelylovedit and
evenasI wasfinishingit,I knewI wouldmake
another.Interestingly,laterdownthelineI woremy
craftedpulloverwhenattendingmyfirstCGOA
(CrochetGuildofAmerica)ChainLinkconference in
Chicagoandwasdelightedtohavea chance
meetingwithMyra,theclasscreator!
It wasatmysecondChainLinkconferencein
PortlandthatI hadtheideatocrocheta dressinthe
modernIrishtechnique.It startedwithcrochetinga
collectionofmotifs,intotalabout 300 flowers.The
sizeoftheflowermotifsrangedinsizefromvery
smalltofairlylarge.ForthenecklineI createda
Bruges lace band that included the neckline andarmholes.I cutouta gridlinetemplateforthe
finishedshape,thenarrangedthemotifs.ThenI
startedconnectingthemwitha crochetnetting,
occasionallypausingtotryit ontomakesureit
wouldfit.Theprocessofconnectingallthemotifs
tookaboutthreeweekstofinish.Myfamilywas
delightedwhenI wasfinallyfinishedaswhileI was
workingonit they’dhadpitchinandhelpoutwith
cookingdinners!Tofinishthedress,I crocheted a
bandofBrugeslaceforthebottomhem.
I completedthedressintimetosubmitit tothe
CGOAdesigncompetition,andthefashionshow for
theChainLinkconferenceearlierthisyearin
Manchester,NewHampshire.Forme,thebestbitof
theconferencewastakingpartinthefashionshow,
showingoffthegorgeousdress that I had created
withtheartformthatI love.
Nowthathavemadeonedress,maybeI willmake
another.Andhopefully,myworkwillinspireothers
tolearnthistechniqueandcreatebeautiful
freeformcrochetpiecesoftheirown!
CheckoutGwenMcGannon’sprettyclasppurse,part
ofourquick-hookChristmasgiftscollectionfrom
page 14. Find her online at http://www.gwengoods.comHeavy petal