1970s Crochet Designer Mark Dittrick: All About His Work

I’ve mentioned Mark Dittrick before because he’s the author of a vintage crochet book I adore, Hard Crochet. I thought it would be fun to explore a little bit more about this designer.

Mark Dittrick was a leading crochet designer in the 1970s, bringing new types of crochet to the scene. There have been a lot of advances and changes in crochet since the 1970s, and now tapestry crochet, or “hard crochet,” as he called it, is a more common technique. At the time, though, Dittrick’s techniques for creating stiff crocheted fabric opened up a whole new world of crocheted items.

Below you can see a couple of items that can be made using the patterns and techniques in Hard Crochet.

Dittrick’s work was featured in the books of others and he authored and edited books as well. He met and married another crochet artist, Diane Kender. Together, they went on to author non-crochet books and then moved into the world of environmental science. How’s that for an exciting and well-rounded life?

Below, you can see some of the books that Dittrick authored or edited. While crochet patterns are easy to access online today, these books can still be such a great resource for learning about the craft, especially if you love vintage fashion!

1970s Crochet Designer Mark Dittrick

Kelsey
Kelsey Mlnarik

Kelsey has been a crafter since childhood and enjoys crochet, sewing, and any craft she can make with her children. She loves learning new techniques and sharing what she learns along the way. Kelsey someday hopes to be someone's crafty grandmother, crocheting afghans and drinking entire pots of coffee.

10 thoughts on “1970s Crochet Designer Mark Dittrick: All About His Work”

  1. Hi,

    a very interesting and detailed post about Mark Dittrick and his work. But I have a question: now that I own a copy of “Hard Crochet”, I´m looking for the right yarn. Do you have an idea, which type of yarn will beable to be super-blocked? Would be great to get some help. Thanks!

  2. Hi Kathryn, I sould have gotten in touch way before now. I hope you re still doing this. I really appreciate your enthusiasm. Who would have thunk that a somewhat crazy–and definitely strange–book that’s probably older than you are would still be getting noticed and talked and written about. Do get in touch.

    Mark Dittrick

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