I’ve been learning about Freeform here and there for a while, and accumulated some scrumbles to put into one big project. I’ve always admired Hannah’s big shawls and there’s no pattern for it yet, but I want a finished project, so I’m putting together a lot of what I’ve learned and figuring things out for myself.

Things I’m learning for future projects:

• I’m not as young as I used to be - the floor is a struggle. If I’m going to be doing much of this on a large-ish scale, I should brainstorm some different solutions.
• The direction I’m moving will determine whether it’s going to look better if I lay out the scrumbles upside down or right side up. Crocheting around them, if I’m going R to L, the “right side” is face down. If I’m going L to R, the “right side” is face-up.
• Consistency in the type of stitches I use might look neater in assembly, but I would like to try throwing in some different stitches. In the current project I’m just attaching and figuring out how to shape, but would like more visual interest in the future.
• Might be helpful in the future to “outline” scrumbles with the assembly color(s) somehow.
• If/when outlining scrumbles, early outside shaping will ripple outward. Making adjustments early will allow for more gradual adjustments later, and create a more even, “put together” appearance overall.
• Scrumbles will likely shift during assembly until I get more accustomed to how the stitches pull.
• It’s best to attach to more than one thread of a piece to create a secure connection and prevent too much distortion from pulling.
• An outline for the final product would help rather than just eyeballing it. At least until I get better at this.
• For this particular project, I wish I had switched the paisley with the one spiral in the upper right corner. I liked it where it was in the preliminary layout, but I should be more conscious of how pieces fit into the overall shape in the future.
• It’s a good idea to keep some of the scrumble colors in reserve for assembly and borders.