The main question begins with “What is Mosaic Crochet?” But maybe what I should say is,
What isn't Mosaic Crochet?
I have spent the last few days googling for information on just this query. And at this time, I can say that there is a lack of proper information on Mosaic Crochet. Or rather, I should say, lack of consistent info. Some people think that tapestry crochet is mosaic crochet. And some people think that maybe what Lily Chin shows in her DVD is mosaic crochet.
Barbara Walker coined the term Mosaic Knitting (also sometimes known as slip-stitch knitting).
And at the time of writing this, according to Google, Lily Chin is the name most associated with the term Mosaic Crochet. However I don’t know who coined the term. And I am not sure that what Lily shows (at least with respect to her DVD below) is even Mosaic Crochet!
After days of trying to get a definitive idea of what exactly is Mosaic Crochet, I finally gave in and bought Lily Chin’s DVD: “Mosaic Crochet with Lily Chin (Crochet Me Workshop)”
The marketing blurb on Interweave (which, as I edit this page in 2024, has closed or changed completely) reads as follows:
What did I expect Mosaic Crochet to be?
For those of you who know Mosaic Knitting, you will also know that one of the most recognisable features is the Mosaic Knitting charts. It is also what makes Mosaic Knitting with colours extremely easy.
Once you know how to read the Mosaic Knitting charts, it jumps to another level of ease. No more trying to follow a string of text and not being able to see where you are going.
Well, THAT is what I expected of Mosaic Crochet:
- that the diagrams can be translated easily to visual charts
- that you can directly use a Mosaic Knitting chart to do Mosaic Crochet (You can as I found out. But more of that later.)
- that you can basically keep to the same attraction and appeal of Mosaic Knitting – viz. being able to work 2 or more colours but not have to change colours mid-row (like you have to in Fair Isle knitting or like in Tapestry Crochet).
So Why do I say that Lily Chin's DVD is not really Mosaic Crochet?
Let me be very clear here. I am not saying that what Lily Chin taught in her DVD was not mosaic crochet. I can’t, for the plain reason that there does not seem to be a clear, consistent explanation of what mosaic crochet is.
However, her DVD was not what I hoped for nor expected.
But before I go further (into hot water?), let me do say that I found her DVD useful. She explains things well and it is easy to follow. Like for instance, I finally understood clearly how to do Foundationless Single Crochet (i.e. beginning a crochet piece without having to make a long row of chains). And the techniques she show are useful. Even without need of any graphs. They are perfect for making coloured afghans.
But what about Mosaic Crochet?
While Lily does use the phrase “Mosaic Crochet”, she never once referred to Barbara Walker (who afterall, coined the term “Mosaic Knitting”). If anything, I would personally call Lily Chin’s crochet in that DVD as “drop stitch crochet” – because that is the core basic technique from which all the variations arise.
I was hoping that Lily would show how to do crochet using one of Barbara Walker’s famous Mosaic Knitting charts. That never happened. So in that sense, the title of her DVD was quite misleading (for me).
So in my next How To Mosaic Crochet, I will attempt to do exactly that: use one of Barbara Walker’s Knitting Mosaic chart and walk you through how to crochet with it. And since there is no consistent explanation to the contrary, I shall just call that Mosaic Crochet!
