I made these pieces ages ago, probably in the 80s, but I wanted to provide examples of modular crochet, popularized in the book Modular Crochet by Judith Copeland.

Everyone probably knows that this fantastic book is unfortunately out of print. I was lucky to have been able to purchase a copy back in the 70s when I was a member of a crochet book club.

What makes modular crochet unique is that you crochet vertically, inserting the hook in one loop only instead of two. You create the front and back sections in two parts, crocheting one half first, and then attaching the yarn to it to create the other half of the front and back. Then you connect the front and back pieces at the neck and add the sleeves.

Once you understand the principle, the sky’s the limit in designing your own garments. The book does not include pattern instructions per se, only guidelines on how to create sweaters, dresses, vests, and tank tops for men and women, young and old alike (well … men probably wouldn’t wear the dresses or tank tops ). The book includes schematics for different shapes (called silhouettes in the book) and necklines (e.g., square, round, boat neck, v-neck).

Simple stitches such as single, half double and double crochet are used to create most of the garments.

I used acrylic worsted weight yarns, as well as cotton and linen for these projects. Those are all the details I remember about the yarn. For the humongous green sweater, I used Lion Brand Homespun. I also changed the cuffs and the bottom welt, using a front post double crochet stitch. Normally, you would use a single crochet stitch for these sections of the sweater, which contrasts with the half double or double crochet used in the body.

I think Crochet magazine did an article on modular crochet a while back. I’ll have to look through my stack to see if I can find it. When I do, I’ll post the information here.

I have been thinking about doing a series of articles on my blog about modular crochet (don’t hold your breath waiting; it may take me a while); something to add to my queue.