Sunday, May 23, 2010

Aran Crochet done the Joyce D Jones way

This blog is going to be dedicated to Aran Crochet.
Over 40 years ago I was already a crochet addict but so loved the knitted Aran cardigans and jumpers and as I did not like knitting I devised a method of reproducing Aran Crochet that actually looked like knitting.  Over the next few years I made garments for family and friends and after I got married I made them for my children too.  Around about 1969 a friend told me of a competition in the Woman magazine named All Your Own Work, and insisted that I send off some of my Aran Crochet.  I sent off a sample and within a short time the Woman knitting editor sent me a letter requesting that I make a copy of one of their knitted jumpers which I did and to cut a long story a bit shorter they were thrilled with the result and informed me that my crochet copy was being put in their museum.  After much correspondence and tons of yarn provided I learned that they were taking me out of their competition and creating a large centre spread with all of the designs that I had created for them.  Through my father-in-laws insistence and his solicitor I managed to assertain that they had not purchased my techniques, only the patterns so that is why I can publish it here with different patterns of course. My biggest disappointment was that when it was finally published I did not even get a mention, just the big headline that "our staff have come up with a completely new way to crochet"

This is not the wrapping around the stem type of cables but cables that actually look like the real thing.  It will take me some time to get it all up so be patient.  I'm going to start with how I make the ribs for the main body then I will show you how the body is constructed with my techniques on increases and decreases for this Aran crochet.  Then I will show you how to make different types of cables and the use of graphs that speed up the process.  This is not really for the beginner but what the heck we all have to start somewhere and why not go in like Flynn. 
I will use my own terminology to avoid having to repeat instructions in American terms, (I learned crochet using the British terminology which is different from the American)  Wherever possible I will provide the metric and the American sizes of hooks.
Here is a close-up picture of a babies Aran cardigan that I am working on in order to make a pattern that I can reproduce here.  I have to do another one so that I can 'prove' my working out of the pattern so that will take time.  It shows my rib pattern and a couple of Aran cables out of the many that can be reproduced using my method.

Here are a couple of close ups of the crochet ribs I devised for this type of crochet.


This is my version of knitted double rib in crochet. 
Here at long last are the pdf links for my method of making a Single rib crochet band, Double rib crochet band and the 25 pages of Aran Crochet Joyce D Jones Style.  They are free and the only thing I would request of you is that if you use any of them for competitions or sale that you find it in your heart to mention where you first learned these techniques which I devised.  Hugs Joyce
Below are the updated links to my crochet ribs. Fingers crossed that they work

Single Rib Crochet JJ Style.PDF
https://acrobat.com/#il=1&d=wpBV9urNMMOf8F4fV88*8Q


Double Rib Crochet JJ Style.PDF
https://acrobat.com/#d=QmC-*WSlCTVYMj163xsJYA


Aran Crochet JJ Style
https://acrobat.com/?d=XZH6WbnFcqnZ*W7griQ-MA


Another link to Aran crochet JJ style
https://acrobat.com/?d=ny8xbM2MUV9g8WeKg53kMw


Aran Crochet Joyce Dunsire Jones Style
I do hope this works