Crocheting I-Cord for Borders and Embellishment

The great thing about I-cord in crochet is that there are several ways to make them and there are so many great uses for these embellishments. Shannon mentions that these cords can be used as a trim on garments or accessories, drawstrings, or even as curtain tiebacks. No matter how you use them, these cords can be made separately or even attached as-you-go right onto your crochet piece.

To begin, Shannon works a Romanian lace cord and notes that this technique comes from the Romanian Point Lace and is commonly created using three stitches or four stitches to make the cord. Shannon demonstrates how to make both versions of this kind of I-cord and uses single crochet stitches for the embellishment. The result is a tight tube of stitches. As Shannon mentions in the lesson, it’s possible to make these cords using five or six stitches, but the tube starts to get bigger, and may be too bulky for some projects.

Shannon then looks at “off the hook” I-cord. This particular cord has a look similar to the knitted I-cord. Shannon demonstrates how to create this cord, which involves taking live loops off the hook to work chains into the individual loops. Shannon demonstrates holding the stitches by pinching them and by slipping them onto a cable needle.

Now that Shannon has explained and demonstrated how to make the cords, Shannon starts working new cords and attaching them to a swatch of crochet fabric in the process. Attaching the cord as you go can be done not only along a straight edge of a piece, but it can also go around a corner. Shannon explores different configurations for working the cord around the corners.