Théière au crochet (Crocheted Tiny Teapots)

I started doing translation of knitting and crocheting patterns awhile back when the Internet was more of a Wild West and resources like Babelfish and Google Translate weren't available. That way I could share fiber arts fever with the rest of the world, or at least to my non-English speaking neighbors.

Once in awhile, an opportunity develops to help out once again. Yes, you can translate patterns with Google Translate, but you end up with a text that sounds like its talking about swords, mesh, and air stitches. Its just not set up to do the specialized language of translating knitting and crocheting language. Tsitsa Tsitsa on Ravelry has a wonderful blog called Bulle de tut'Oz where she shares patterns with the French speaking world. Seriously, check out her adorable dog crown! A Ravelry user asked her permission to get one of her patterns translated, and so I am posting the translation here.

Never used a translation before? Here's what to do. Load up the original pattern in one window. Put that on the side of your monitor. You'll need it to see the copyrighted illustrations and photos from the original. On the other side of the window, keep this screen open. You'll then be able to follow both, side by side.

Please go see her adorable teapots when you get a chance. They are so tiny and lovely! I have intentions to get to them after my class is over - my mother would love a teapot chain decoration like them. If you like them and intend to do a project, go to her page on Ravelry and enter the project.

All terms are translated into American crochet terminology.

The Micro-Teapot by Tsitsa Tsitsa

Abbreviations:
sc = single crochet
sc2tog = single crochet two together (decrease)
sl st = slip stitch
ch = chain
sts = stitches


The body of the teapot (to start at the top of the pot)
Row 1: Chain 3 stitches and close round with 1 sl st.
Row 2: Ch 1, 6 sc, with 1 sl st.
Row 3: Ch 1, 2 sc in each sc from previous row, close with 1 sl st (= 12 sc).
Row 4: ch 1, * sc in 2 sc from previous row, 1 sc *, repeat from * to * until end of row and end with 1 sl st (= 18 sc).
Rows 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Ch 1, 18 sc, with 1 sl st.
Row 10: ch 1, * sc2tog, 1 sc *, repeat from * to end of row and end with 1 sl st (= 12 sc). Put the stuffing in.
Row 11: Ch 1, sc2tog until the end of the row and then close with 1 sl st (= 6 sc). Cut the thread and pull to tighten in the stitches at the base of the teapot.

The lid
Make a chain of 3, close with 1 sl st.
Crochet in the circle 4 sc, with 1 sl st at the end of the round.
Sew the small lid on top of the teapot.

The handle
Make a chain of 12 sts + 1 ch to turn the work and crochet back to 12 sc

The spout
Row 1: Chain 4 stitches + 1 turning ch
Rank 2: 4 sc, ch 1
Rank 3: 4 sc, ch 1

Assembly and decoration
Assemble the various small parts, bringing the ends to the base of the teapot.
Tie them together and then bring down the ends in the body of the teapot, and pull them a little flush before cutting so they are hidden in the teapot.

Photo caption
Insert the needle from side to side to make decorative French knots. Finish by directing your ends to the base of the teapot.

Saucer
Row 1: Chain 3 sts, end with 1 sl st
Row 2: Ch 1, 6 sc in ring base with 1 sl st
Row 3: Ch 1, 2 sc in each sc from previous row (= 12 sc)
Row 4: ch 1, * 2 sc in the previous row, 1 sc *, repeat from * to end of row and end with 1 sl st (= 18 sc)
Row 5: ch 1, * 2 sc in the previous row, 2 sc *, repeat from * to * until end of row and end with 1 sl st (= 24 sc)
Sew the saucer at the base

To turn the teapot into a ring, as seen in the photos at her blog:
Chain 3 stitches + 1 ch to turn and crochet go to the desired size. Sew the two ends discreetly in the saucer.

If you want to do the even smaller teapot, here's the directions for it as well:


The Mini-Micro Teapot

The body of the teapot (to start at the top of the pot)
Rows 1-4: Proceed in the same way as for the micro-teapot
Row 5: ch 1, * 2 sc in the previous row, 2 sc *, repeat from * to * until end of row and end with 1 sl st (= 24 sc).
Rows 6-11: Ch 1, 24 sc, with 1 sl st.
Row 12: ch 1, * sc2tog, 1 sc *, repeat from * to end of row and end with sc2tog with 1 sl st. Put the stuffing in.
Row 13: Ch 1, * sc2tog, 1 sc *, repeat from * to * until end of row and end with sc2tog with 1 sl st.
Row 14: Ch 1, sc2tog until the end of row with 1 sl st.
Cut the thread and pull in to tighten in the stitches and bring down through base of the teapot

The lid
Chain 3 with 1 sl st.
Crochet 6 sc in ring with 1 sl st and sew the lid on the top of the pot (see explanations from micro-teapot above)

The handle
Proceed in the same way as for the micro-teapot on a chain of 14 stitches

The spout
Proceed in the same way as for the micro-teapot. Assembly and decoration: see explanation in pictures micro-teapot

Saucer
Rows 1-5: The same procedure as for the micro-teapot
Row 6: ch 1, * 2 sc in the previous row (for 1 increase), 3 sc *, repeat from * to * until end of row and end with 1 sl st (= 30 sc)
Sew the saucer at the base.

Pinterest: Image and the Crafting Pattern

This gorgeous flower is from the cotinis stream on Flickr.
The original, along with his other gorgeous photos, can be found here. 

I've been doing a lot of reading lately of the business journals and it has me thinking about the power of the image. There's a lot of talk on the Internet now about Pinterest, and I've been following the phenomenon with some interest, as its changing the design community. Patterns that used to be sold in a book with no picture are now full of splashy photography in order to make the sale.

Take easy knit baby hats, for example. Most are the same instructions - cast on a certain number of stitches, knit for 5-7 inches, then start a set system of decreases until the hat is bound off, or from the other direction, cast on just a couple stitches, increase until a set size, and then knit until long enough. Most designers now are adding a few more flourishes, such as lace, animal ears, colorwork, etc.

Pretty easy instructions, right? It can be on a handout, a notepad, anything. Back in the day, we were happy to get some photos at all, and it was hoped that they showed key details. I did a search on Ravelry for paid knit baby hats with most projects and least projects.

Least

Most

Look at the difference between the two. Both have action and flat shots, and both look like they would make serviceable hat patterns that would be well loved by their recipients. Yet the teddy bear hat has 190 projects, and the other has 1. The difference: look at the quality. The teddy bear hat has professional looking prhotography, lots of of photos with variety, including detail shots. The other hat has worse lighting, less detail in the shots, and overall, looks like a amateur photo. The ideal search item via image, rather than via pattern instruction.

Would this have made a difference ten years ago? Not really. The designer of the teddy bear hat might have garnered some attention via her blog, but the other hat could have easily been posted on craftster or other craft forums and had tons of projects.

Pinterest really brings this issue home. Check out the results of a search there. You'd think there were only a few producers because of the amount of repins of certain images. Yet in reality, there are thousands of patterns out there for a baby hat. But the ones with the best images rise to the top.

We are at the forefront of the digital catalog taking photography to the forefront of crafting businesses. Are you getting ready for it?