Last month I spent a fantastic week teaching freeform classes at the International Organization of Lace’s convention in Durham, NC. It had the same vibe as a fiber Fest, or a knitting/crochet convention, just with lace. It was interesting to be at a convention for something I don’t actually know how to do. During the week, I learned to recognize some of the varieties of traditional lace. There was a lot of it to see… on display in the vendor room, in a pop up lace museum, and on the lace makers themselves in the form of accessories and jewelry.
Most attendees that took my freeform classes come to the convention every year, and many of the teachers are regulars, too. This made for an especially comfortable, friendly atmosphere. Many of the lace makers also have knitting and crochet skills, as well as quilting, sewing, weaving, spinning, etc. Convention planners like to have a few non-lace classes on offer for that reason. They also like to hire local teachers for these classes when they can. That’s how I came to be a freeform crochet teacher at a lace convention (thanks, Prabha!).
My first thought after accepting this teaching gig was to worry about running out of things to teach such long workshops. Class time was broken up into 3 hour chunks, which I’m accustomed to, but the workshops were either 6 hours or 12 hours in total. It sounded like a lot. As convention got closer, though, I started to realize how luxurious it would be to teach a class where students would have time to try out every single thing right then and there, how satisfying it would be to teach beyond the amount of material I’m usually able to cover.
And it was. There was even time to talk about including traditional lace techniques like Bobbin Lace, Sprang, and Tatting into freeform fabrics. One student jumped right in and worked a little piece of Tatting on one of her spirals (way to go, Celeste!). I’m hoping that all of my convention students will let the idea bang around in their heads and try putting their favorite laces into their freeform at home.
Regular 3 hour workshops are going to seem so short from now on! Going forward, I’ll still teach workshops in that time frame, but I’ll try to schedule longer workshops whenever I can. My eyes have been opened.
I started this new Freeform Favorite a month or so ago in anticipation of the class I’d be teaching on that design at the lace convention.
Most of the yarn here is from The Fibre Studio in Charlotte, NC. I’ve collected a mini skein kit and a couple of coordinating large hanks from their pop-up at the last couple of fiber fests in Raleigh.
So far, I’ve completed the plain section of the design and done a small pile of circles and spirals for the freeform part. I’m close enough to the beginning of the project that I’m going to use it as a teaching sample for a Freeform Along (FFAL) in the Study Group, starting date TBD.
note: in a Freeform-along, everyone in the group is making something with freeform or observing those that are making, and sharing the experience together on line.
The Study Group is the paid tier of this newsletter. Members receive a weekly email with ideas and instructions about things to try in freeform. Usually the topic of the email changes every week or every few weeks, but this FFAL will likely last 2 months or more. You can join the Study Group to join in the FFAL, and the monthly membership option makes it easy to be a member for as long or short a time as you like.
If you choose to join, you will not be expected to do things exactly like I do, it’s freeform after all. But you’ll be able to follow along with what I’m doing, ask questions, and use the techniques that I'll include in the weekly emails to launch into your own project and incorporate motifs and stitches that appeal to you. I’m thinking of it as a freeform class in email form, spread out over 8 or more weeks. Check out Study Group details at the very end of this post to see if it works for you. I’ll announce the start date soon.
one more note: if you have purchased the guide for my Freeform Favorite design, that’s great, you can refer to it during the FFAL. If you don’t have it, no problem, no purchase is necessary. You’ll be able to follow the FFAL and make the design from the info in the weekly emails. You’ll also be able to use the content in the emails to freeform something entirely different.
The leaf swatch scrumble is finished, I think. The irregular edges are going to stay irregular, and the only open spaces between the leaves are pretty small, so they’re going to stay, too. In addition to using it in classes occasionally, it should work pretty well in cold weather as a light blanket on the couch. It’s such a fun reminder of the 100 Day leaf project. I love having it.
Sprang is an ancient type of weaving and lace making that originated in the Netherlands, and Carol James is a teacher who has made it her life’s mission to teach the Sprang technique and keep it alive. I met Carol briefly at the lace convention last month, but didn’t have the right place open in my schedule to take a class. So, I bought her book and made plans to try learning some Sprang basics in the coming months.
Over the years, I’ve seen some beautiful samples of freeform Sprang. Once I understand how it works and how it should be done, I’ll break the rules and have some freeform fun with it.
What I’m (re)watching: Mad Men, the limited series. It’s been such a long time, I’ve forgotten lots of the storylines, and it’s almost like new. I’m so easily entertained.
What I’m reading: In addition to the Sprang book, I’m reading about needle lace techniques in Needlelace by Pat Earnshaw. Many of the designs should work nicely in freeform crochet with yarns rather than threads.
What I'm looking forward to: the FFAL in the Study Group. The starting date will be announced soon.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading!
Lisa
The Freeform Yarny Things newsletter is sent once a month, and it’s free to everyone. Thank you for subscribing! For more information about the Study Group paid subscription, visit the Study Group tab on my website: ldoherty.substack.com/p/freeform-crochet-study-group
Copyright 2026 by Lisa Doherty. Please do not share, duplicate, or sell this material without express permission from Lisa Doherty.
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