Crocheters, do you wish there was a place where you could connect with other crocheters, learn new stitches, see some *amazing* crochet designs, buy yarn, and be inspired by the art of crochet? There is!
Chain Link Conference
The Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) sponsors the Chain Link Conference each year. In 2017 it will be all crochet. Come to Chicago July 26-29, to learn from professional crochet teachers, shop the market, attend fun crochet parties, and “ooh” and “ahh” over the incredible designs you’ll see.
The event will be held at the Westin Chicago Northwest in Itasca, Illinois.
The weekend kicks off on Wednesday with the CGOA Masters’ Day Program, for those enrolled in the Masters of Stitches Program. Crochet Professionals (or wanna-be professionals) will benefit from Professional Development Day, where you’ll hear from professionals in the industry, network, and attend breakout sessions targeted to growing your business.
Plan to attend classes on Thursday, then attend the Market preview on Thursday evening. It’s open exclusively to conference registrants. Classes and shopping continue on Friday and Saturday, with an awards banquet Friday night. One of the most popular events is the Designer Meet & Greet, where you can meet one-on-one with editorial staff from various publications, show off your designs, and perhaps arrange to get published!
The weekend ends with the Grand Finale Fashion Show and Banquet on Saturday night, leaving you plenty of time to return home and rest on Sunday before heading back to work on Monday. I’ll be teaching five classes, which are described below. Won’t you join me? Register here.
Crochet Critique Pattern Writing Workshop
Designers, make yourself understood! Crocheters, decipher those cryptic patterns! Do you struggle with the wording of patterns? Do you spend lots of time answering (or asking) questions? Is it possible to have too many words in a crochet pattern, or too few? How do tech editors and test stitchers help clarify pattern language? What happens when designers don’t really know how to make themselves understood? We will look at specific pattern examples and examine what works best in various situations. Students will have the opportunity to have their own patterns reviewed anonymously, and will receive suggestions on ways to improve their pattern-writing skills. The benefit of having an entire class working together is that we get a variety of viewpoints!
Yes, You Can! (Read a Crochet Pattern)
Inexperience in deciphering a crochet pattern can keep you from enjoying crochet to the fullest. Crochet symbols can foul your mood unless you understand how helpful they can be. In this hands-on class, we’ll work step-by-step through some typical crochet patterns and see what each abbreviation, punctuation mark and symbol means. We’ll look at different types of pattern writing, and see how the same thing can be said in many many different ways.
Crochet Stitch Workshop
Crochet is more than ripple stitch! See how crochet uses cables, lace, texture and openwork to create beautiful fabric. Try your hand at a variety of stitch families. Play with color and texture while learning to read crochet text and charts.
Go Bi-Textural: Combine Knitting & Crochet
Break out of your knitting rut by blending techniques. We’ll combine the best properties of knitting with the best properties of crochet to get designs that wow and knits that fit! See how to use crochet techniques to make your knits fit better, create the perfect buttonhole, insert a crocheted motif into a knitted fabric, and other tips.
Understanding Symbol Crochet
More and more crochet patterns are using international crochet symbols. With symbol crochet, you can see what your stitch pattern is supposed to look like and see the relationship of stitches to one another. Many crocheters find this way of presenting patterns easier to follow than written-out instructions, allowing them to avoid mistakes before they happen! Learn the fundamentals of symbol crochet and see how this universal crochet “language” makes it easy to read patterns from any country. We’ll also talk about and see a demonstration of ways to create your own crochet diagrams.
