Ten years ago I fell in love. Tunisian knit stitches, Tunisian purl stitches, Tunisian cables and more. I am in love with the possibilities of Tunisian crochet. We have moved so far beyond the crochet afghans that Tunisian was so frequently used to create. Now there are an amazing number of Tunisian crochet cowl, hat, sweater, and scarf patterns available!
Tunisian Crochet Patterns
The Winter 2020 issue of Interweave Crochet includes several new Tunisian crochet patterns to choose from. The Bergschrund Shrug is cleverly constructed from a Tunisian crochet rectangle. And check out the chunky Audrey Super Cowl–fashion and amazing warmth in one striking package. A Wee Bandana is the perfect way to explore short row shaping in Tunisian crochet. Play with color combinations and texture with the Carmine Wrap. And the Rimaye Cowl is an elegant example of the warmth and elegant texture possible with Tunisian crochet. You’ll even learn how to graft Tunisian crochet stitches!
The Rimaye Cowl is jumping to the top of my crochet queue. Get your copy of Winter 2020 and make your own with me! But before we begin. Let’s review the basic Tunisian crochet stitches as well as the back post Tunisian crochet used to create the Rimaye Cowl’s beautiful texture.
The two most common Tunisian crochet stitches are the Tunisian knit stitch and the Tunisian purl stitch.
Tunisian Knit Stitch
To work the Tunisian knit stitch (tks), with yarn in back of work, insert the hook between next 2 vertical bars under horizontal strands. Yarn over, pull up a loop, and leave the loop on the hook until you have worked all of the stitches across the row. To work the return pass, yarn over and draw through one loop on hook, *yarn over and draw through two loops on hook. Repeat from * until you have worked all but one loop off the hook.
Tunisian Purl Stitch
To work the Tunisian purl stitch (tps), with yarn in front of work, insert hook from right to left behind front vertical bar. Yarn over and pull up lp. Leave the loop on the hook until you have worked all of the stitches across the row. To work the return pass, yarn over and draw through one loop on hook, *yarn over and draw through two loops on hook. Repeat from * until you have worked all but one loop off the hook.
Tunisian Combo Stitch
The back post Tunisian stitch creates the faux cable design in Rimaye Cowl’s fabric by pulling down and anchoring stitches to stitches several rows below. Insert your hook in the next stitch as if to Tunisian knit stitch. Then work the back post Tunisian stitch (BPts) by inserting your hook from back to front to back around specified stitch several rows below. Yarn over and pull up a loop, and leave the loop on the hook.
Now you are ready to start your own Rimay Cowl or one of the other amazing Tunisian crochet patterns in the Interweave Crochet Winter 2020 issue. Download or order your copy today and let us know in the comments which pattern you will be crocheting first!
Happy crocheting,
Toni
