Brace yourself: a hefty article is coming your way.

What do I mean? This post is about one of my latest videos, shown below. While the video itself is just shy of eleven minutes,  many topics are covered. Somehow, though, it all makes sense together.

So, let’s break this down a little more. The three main things the video covers are yarn bombing, how yarn bombing applies in real life, and a pattern. Then, the pattern can be broken down even more, because you can make the specific pattern for a specific project or just learn a general pattern for crochet cables.

Like I said, hefty.

Okay, not hefty like the trash bags. Perhaps dense is the word I’m looking for, although that makes the article seem stubborn and boring. Hm, maybe I’ll figure out the right word by time I get to the end of this article.

Let’s talk about yarn bombing. What exactly is it? Besides being absolutely awesome it canbroadly defined as crochet on or around some other existing object. In some places, this is done on a large scale to cover items in public. For example, a city lamppost might get a makeover when someone attaches a crochet or knit project around the pole.

If you can’t quite picture it, do a quick google search on yarn bomb. Look at some pics. I’ll wait. 😉

It’s a somewhat magical phenomena. All the beautiful colors and creative designs can turn a bike rack into a giant worm wriggling across the ground.

Of course, yarn bombing is often done to public property. This spurs a debate on whether yarn bombing is art or vandalism. In my mind? It’s a little of both. Just goes to show you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. That person you know who is always knitting or crocheting? They might actually be a hardened criminal who vandalizes public property by covering it in colorful yarn pieces. You never know.

Because of my station in life (think lacking finances and time), I have never personally yarn bombed a public space on a large scale. Maybe one day I’ll spruce up something in my area; with permission of course. 🙂 Fortunately, that leads us to the next point.

Yarn bombing doesn’t have to be just large scale. Case in point? Check out this lamppost in my bedroom!

In case you were wondering, no, I did not paper clip the flowers back onto the lamppost for the sake of this picture… I don’t know why you would think such a thing. 😛

Maybe I’m a little old for crochet flowers on a lamppost in my bedroom, but hey, you only get to be young once! Besides, the metal pole was boring to start with. 😉

Some yarn bombing around the house can be just for fun. It can also be practical beyond just decoration.

That’s where the rest of the video comes in. Yeesh, that thumbnail alone should let you know a lot gets covered in the video.

See? Crochet is neither outdated nor impractical! I took a piece of modern equipment, fixed a problem, and upgraded the appeal of the item. All at the same time.

But this pattern doesn’t have to stop here. You don’t have to apply this handle cover just to stop paint peels. What other items around the house need a handle? Maybe that metal pot could use a slide on handle so you don’t burn yourself. Or, that cabinet handle the little ones keep walking into could be quickly padded with an attractive crochet piece.

Additionally, this everything-in-one-video introduces a really cool concept: crochet cables. I feel like knit is often credited for fancy cables. We all have that favorite bulky knit cable sweater we love to cuddle in. But cables don’t have to be just knit.

Unfortunately, it was several years before I learned to crochet cables. Then, one glorious day, I discovered this crochet cable headband pattern, and the rest is history. Thanks to Jenni’s pattern, I was able to not only make the headband, but also uncover the key to creating cables in crochet.

So what is the secret? Front post and back post double crochet! This fun stitches allow you to work on top of and behind other parts of your project to get the criss-crossed look of cables.

The handle pattern I show in the video introduces the most basic of crochet cables. With this technique, you can learn the basics of making a cable pattern and use it in other projects.

So, like a I said, a hefty, dense, meaty article. Ah! Let’s go with meaty; this was a meaty post because it gives you a lot to chew on. 🙂

Comment below and tell me what you will yarn bomb!

If you enjoy learning the basic crochet cable, let me know if you want to see videos on more complex cables. I’d be glad to share some of the ones I’ve designed and seen others make.

Happy Crafting!

-Amanda