Mindful Stitches Challenge

Unleash your creativity and join us on a magical journey of self-expression through yarn with our Freeform Crochet Along (CAL).

This CAL is based on the 2023 annual freeform challenge by the International Freeform Forum on Ravelry. That was called ‘Game of Chance.’ The way the CGA version works is set out below in the section ‘How the CAL will work’.

Thank you to CGA Members Jenny Whiting and Andrea Clements for their lovely freeform creations displayed on this page.  

Quick links

What is Freeform Crochet?
How the CAL will work
Past clues

NEw to freeform? Not sure where to start? 

What is Freeform Crochet?

If you haven’t tried freeform before, this CAL is a fun way to start. Basically, freeform involves creating pieces without a pattern and incorporating a variety of stitches, colours and textures. It usually develops a somewhat organic look and feel rather than something highly regular or symmetrical. It can be used to create a solid fabric or something lacier. Freeformers often combine knitting, crocheting, weaving, felting, fabric and embellishments into their work. Still, for this FFCAL, we will keep to mainly crochet with the possible addition of bits of felting, fabric and embellishments if you feel the urge.

A common type of freeform is making scrumbles: small, irregular patches with various yarns and stitches. These can then be assembled into larger items such as bags, hats, scarves, and garments (which can be constructed and shaped according to a sewing pattern). The hat above is made by using this technique.

Another option is to add stitches to a piece as you go along, simply building on what has gone before, as seen in the shawl above and the tops and scarf below. You can approach the project however you want – it is freeform after all!

You don’t need to use fancy stitches to do freeform. The green top and the necklace below were made using only the most basic of stitches. We will use a wider range of stitches in this CAL, but as you progress in your freeform, you can explore using lots of stitches or keep it simple.

How the CAL will work

The CAL will run from 24 January to 31 March 2024, and photos of the final pieces will be shared on social media and the creations themselves will be displayed at an exhibition at the next national CGA conference in Melbourne in June 2024. There is no obligation to share your work if you are not entirely happy to do so.

There is dedicated FFCAL Facebook group for CGA Members where clues will first be revealed and where you can watch the recording of the Kick-off Zoom meeting if you missed it or want to watch it again. It is also where you can be part of the supportive CAL community and post your progress and questions. We will also provide the stitch list there. CGA experts and moderators will keep an eye on the page and be there to help.

Setting up your yarn bags. The way this CAL works is that you will have six numbered bags of yarn and embellishments (if you wish), e.g. beads, buttons, and tops. You should choose yarns of different colours, textures and weights that work well together. Leftover odds and ends are very useful for this. You can set up your bags before we post the first clue on 29 January.

Regular posting of clues. Clues will be posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the CAL in the Facebook group. There will be 20 clues in all. You can use the clue immediately or save some up and work through them. If you get to the 20th clue and want more, you can reuse existing clues or set up your system to draw more clues. After the last clue, you will have two weeks to finish your piece and send us photos.

Each ‘clue’ consists of:

• the roll of a dice. The number rolled tells you which bag to pick yarn from. For example, if a ‘4’ is rolled, you will choose one of the yarns from bag ‘4’ for the first lot of stitches.
• the random draw of a lettered tile from a box. This letter tells you which stitches to do. For instance, if the letter ‘F’ is drawn with your yarn from bag ‘4’, you could crochet one (or more) of the stitch options on the list under ‘F’, e.g. frills, flower, front post, filet, fans

You will decide what you make, either at the beginning or at any stage during the process, depending on your freeform process. It can be via scrumbles as a continuous piece or a mixture of both.

We hope you enjoy the CAL, and it opens up new creative avenues for you.

Feedback on the CAL. At the end of the CAL, we will send you a little survey so you can let us know how we did.