Crochet Painting - A New Artwork Using Old Techniques and Crafts

Hello my friend, I would like to introduce you to a new artwork I am working on creating Crochet Painting. In many ways it is similar to mixed media artwork but uses crochet as a base. I’m excited to share this with you and show you more about my artists journey. :).

Below, I have done the who, what, where, when, why, how of Crochet Painting and would love to hear any questions you have about it. I’ve also included several pictures of one of my works in progress.

what is Crochet Painting:

What is it:

Blank crochet canvas

Crochet Painting is two words I put together to describe what I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time and is using crochet as a base to “paint” a picture.  It uses crochet to create first the “canvas” upon which is then mounted on a frame to allow you to create a picture upon it, using any number of other crafts (more on this in the how below)

Who can do it:

Anyone and everyone

Where can it be done:

Anywhere you are able to set up an Easel or can crochet or embroider

When can it be done: 

Anytime and anywhere

Why would it be done:

Because it is a way for those which a love of crochet and fiber as well as a love of learning all things arts and crafts to create a unique picture.  Sometimes this can be done to explore a color scheme and see what would look good together, sometimes this would be done to see what different arts and crafts could be combined to create the picture following the artist’s vision. Mostly done to create a unique artwork and to allow an artist to express a thought, emotion, or more.

How would it be done:

So many ways but here is how I have found works for me.  I start out with a bulky yarn of my choice of any color or combination of colors.  Sometimes the colorway simply pulls me to work with it and see what it can be or when I see a specific color, a picture starts forming in my head. 

After trying both bulky (5) and worsted (4) to create my base canvases, I have realized that using bulky is best for what I like to do. It allows me to use all types of items on my canvas to include light weight and heavier as well as felting onto the canvas and is just overall easier to work with as it still retains the shape of the canvas without sagging or warping.  As such I have had to make sure my frames are either metal (I love Unfettered Co’s metal weaving frames – built to handle tons of weight from weaving without warping and they work with you for the size and color you need - you can find out more about them in Unfettered Co's interview with us) or strong wood. 

Starting out I didn’t know what I wanted or needed but found and reached out to Kiss Looms (you can find out more about their shop and what they do in their interview with us) about their easel and looms. After talking with Kelly, the owner, I started using her easel which is amazing and strong, perfect for what I’m wanting to do. She will help you and work with you to find an easel and a wood weaving frame to meet your size needs. 

Once I got the easel and custom loom, I started working, first to create several crochet canvases then to start putting together different ideas for each canvas.  The first main one I did was a logo for a yarn shop.  I had asked them for their permission to create a fiber logo (described what Crochet Painting was) and after they said yes, I started working on it.

I will admit, it took me a couple of days even a week or two of staring at the blank canvas to realize…I just had to dive in and start somewhere so….I did. Starting out, I thought through the logo and realized that I could start doing the lettering and the main design then pin them on the canvas using stitch markers till I was satisfied with the design.  That way it wasn’t permanent yet and I could move things around as I needed too.

While it may have had some mistakes in it, I was proud of the first project and more so, of trusting myself and letting myself create and start my artist journey. Then I started on my second piece which is what I am working on now (as of 18 January 2023). 

First, I put the canvas on the weaving loom same as I did the first project but realized due to using different materials and heavier items for this Crochet Painting, it would be harder to take off and put onto a frame without ruining or potentially changing how everything looked.  So once again I changed how I thought of what I would do and decided to utilize the weaving loom as the frame itself. As the painting gets finished I’ll bend the nails now and staple the overlap of the canvas to the back or side of the frame.  I’ll treat the nails as part of the framing of the piece.

Crochet leaves made with Plum Crazy and filigree metal leaf

This piece doesn’t have a name yet but shows a night scene on an ice planet far away. 😊. I love to look at the planets with family and think about what type of life could be on it if we were able to explore it like in Star Trek 😊. So this first crochet painting shows this night scene on an ice planet with the two moons shining down on a trees with mostly silver leaves.  Spread throughout the leaves are several crochet leaves created from Cashmere and Coconut’s stunning Plum Crazy colorway.  You can find her interview with us and more of her gorgeous yarn here.

While this piece will be done this month (I’ll update this when it is done so you can see the final project).  I’ve realized several things having started down this artist journey:

-       It’s ok to make mistakes and especially when starting out, give yourself grace to fail, get back up and try again.

-       It’s ok to change your plans and you probably will multiple times.  😊 This one was a huge one for me because I wasn’t sure if I would start out with tracing onto the crochet canvas  when doing the logo (not even tried because it turned out too complicated when I actually went to do it) or if I would try to adjust the crochet as I made it.  Turns out some of my favorite letters were done without a pattern.  I just created a long chain which I then did single crochet on and as I put it together on the canvas I marked out the letter, connecting it to the canvas with stitch markers.

-       Sometimes as things come together (thinking of the trees on this current picture) some things may need to be shifted.  I had to move the trees cords to look better and more of what I had in mind. 

-       Don’t be afraid to try something new and learn something new.  I’ve realized as I continue to work through putting my vision onto the canvas, there are some skills (like embroidery and felting) that I need to grow and learn more.  So I’ll be taking classes and learning more of how to do what I envision in order to make the picture in my head come to life. 😊

I’m sure there will be many more that I’ll be able to add as I continue my artist journey and am excited to see where this takes me as well as what I learn. 

As I continue to learn new skills and also develop ones I have now (crochet and Tunisian crochet), I’ll post different articles here on this website and be able to share the resources I find. 😊

Thank you for joining me on this journey my friend.  The adventure awaits and I’m excited to see where we go.  Have a great day my friend and let me know what you are doing with your own artist journey, tag us on social media and I’ll gladly share 😊