BoxSet:TheCompleteGuideonLearningHowtoCrochetfromBeginnertoExpert

Book1CrochetforBeginners

TheCompleteGuideontheBasicsofCrochet

Helloandthankyouforpurchasingthisbookonbeginningcrochet.Togetherwewilllearnthebasicstitchesandtechniquesusedintheartofcrochet.We’llalsolearnaboutthehooksandequipmentyouneedtostartoutandallaboutyarnanditsvarioususes.Nextwe’llpickuphookandyarnandgetstartedonsomebasicprojects.Mygoalforthisbookistosparkaloveofcrochetinyouandhelpyougetstartedonthispopularandtimelessfiberart.Evenifyou’venevercrochetedbefore,onceyou’vecompletedtheprojectsinthisbookyou’llbeabletoreadandworkbasicandbeginningpatterns.Iwillalsosharesomegreatcrochetresourcestohelpyouexpandyournewfoundskills.Soareyoureadytogetstarted?Wellthen,let’sbegin!

Contents

ChapterOne–TheRightEquipmentChapterTwo–KnowYourYarnChapterThree–BasicTerminologyChapterFour–ReadingPatternsChapterFive–BasicCrochetStitchesChapterSix–BasicCrochetTechniquesCrochetResourcesVideoLinksPatternLinksImageAttributions

ChapterOne–TheRightEquipment

Beforewebeginyou’llneedsomebasicequipment.Thisincludescrochethooks,shears,stitchmarkers,arowcounter,andabagortotetostoreyouryarn,worksinprogress,andequipment.Youdon’tneedtospendafortuneongoodqualityequipment.Anicesetofaluminumcrochethooks,agoodpairofshears,andsomesimplestitchmarkersareallyoureallyneedtogetstarted.Inthischapterwe’llcoverthebasicequipmentyou’llneedandtheproperwaytouseit.

CrochetHooks

Crochethookscomeinvarioussizesfromverysmallalmostneedlelikehooksusedwiththreadtohugehooksusedtocreaterugs.ForthebeginnerIrecommendpurchasingagoodqualityhooksetwithsizedfromUSEtoUSK.Thesewillbethesizesusedformostpatternsforallskilllevels.Youcanfindhookswithcomfortgripsifyouhaveproblemswitharthritisorholdingahook.Youcanalsomakeyourowngripswithclay.Someoftheothermaterialsusedforhooksincludesteel,bamboo,variouswoods,andplastic.Agoodqualitysetofaluminumhooksareperfectforthebeginner,andwillserveyouformanyyears.

Acrochethookisprettystraightforward.Mosthookshaveanindentationinthehandlecalledthegriporpadthatyouusetogripthehook.Therearetwobasictypesoflipsandthreadguides.BoyehookshaveamoreroundedthreadguidewhileBateshooksaremoreangular.Whichtypeofhookyouuseispurelypersonalpreference.I’veusedbothtypesandreallycan’ttellmuchdifferenceinthem.Butsomediehardfansswearbytheirfavoritebrand,socheckthemoutandseewhichonesyouprefer.

AsyouadvanceinyourskillsyoumaywanttotryoutTunisiancrochet.Thistypeofcrochetusesalonghooktoholdthestitches.Itlooksverysimilartoalongknittingneedlewithacrochethookononeend.YoucanalsofindTunisiancrochethookswithalongpieceofplasticormetalusedtoholdmanystitches.Theselooksimilartocircularknittingneedleswithahookononeend.CircularTunisiancrochethooksareusedforverylargeprojectssuchasakindsizeafghan.Youcanalsofinddoubleendedcrochethooks.TheseareusedformoreadvancetechniquessimilartoTunisiancrochet.

CrochetHookSizes

Crochethookscomeinmanysizes.AsImentionedbeforesteelhookswithverysmallhooksizesareusedfordelicatethreadandlacework.Steelhooksaresizeddifferentlythanotherhooks.Whenusingsteelhooksyoumustrememberthatthehigherthenumberthesmallerthehook,forexamplethelargesthooksizeis00whilethesmallestissize14.

MostpatternsusecrochethooksizesfromUSE/4(3.5mm)toUSK/10.5(6.5mm).Patternsuseboththelettersizeandthemillimetersize.UsethishandychartfromtheCraftYarnCounciltorefertothevarioushooksizes.ThischartisalsoahandyreferenceifyoufindpatternsnotwritteninUSterminology.

HowtoHoldaCrochetHook

Therearetwocampsofthoughtwhenitcomestoholdingacrochethook.Oneisthepencilholdandoneistheknifehold.Asthenamesimplyifyouuseapencilholdyou’llholdyourhooklikeapencil.Ifyouuseaknifeholdyouwillholdyourhooklikeyouwouldatableknife.Bothtechniquesarecorrect,andbothtechniquesproducetheexactsamestitches.Whichholdyouuseisuptoyou.Trythembothoutandseewhichonefeelsbesttoyou.PersonallyI’vealwaysheldmyhooklikeapencil.Thatishow

mymotherandgrandmothertaughtme.ButMikeyfromTheCrochetCrowdusestheknifeholdinallofhisvideotutorials,butwebothendupwiththesamefinishedproduct.Sodon’tletanyonetellyouthatyouholdyourhookwrong.Eitherwayisfine;justdowhatfeelsnaturaltoyou.

Inthisimageyoucanseethehookisheldlikeaknife.

Thisimageshowsthehookheldlikeapencil.

StitchMarkers

Stitchmarkersareusedtomarkthebeginningofapatternrepeat,thebeginningofaroundwhencrochetingintheround,andcolorchanges.Therearemanydifferenttypesandstylesofstitchmarkersyoucanfindfromsimpleplasticclipononestoornatebeadedones.Youmightevenwanttotryyourhandatmakingyourownstitchmarkerswithsafetypinsandbeads.I’veevenusedabobbypininapinch,oracontrastingpieceofyarnasastitchmarker.Justbesuretousestitchmarkersthatareremovablesothatyoudon’tcrochetthemintoyourwork.

OtherEquipmentforBeginners

Youwillneedapairofscissor(shears)whichyouonlyuseforcuttingyarn,thread,andfabric.Leteveryoneinyourfamilyknowtheseshearsarehands-offandonlyforyourcrochetwork.Thiskeepsthemniceandsharp.Cuttingpaperwilldullshearsandwhenyougotousethemyou’llnoticeabigdifferenceinhowtheycut.

Arowcounterisanotherhandylittletooltohave.Youuseittokeeptrackofwhichrowyouareoninyourpattern.Manypatternshaverowrepeatstoachievetheproperlook.Youcanfindrowcountersinmanydifferentstyles.Youcanevenuseapieceofpaperandapenciltokeeptrackofyourrowsbywritingdowntherownumbersorusinghashmarks.

Youwillalsowanttopurchaseabagortotetostoreyourcrochetsupplies.Thiswillkeepyourprojectsawayfromcuriouslittlehandsorpaws.IhavecatsandIhavetokeepmyyarn,supplies,andworksinprogressinacoveredtote.MycatslovetoexploreboxesandbagssoIneededsomethingwithalockingtoptokeepthemoutofeverything.Asyouexpandyouryarnstashandskillsyoumaywanttogetsomesturdyshelvingtoorganizeyourcrochetsupplies.IdreamofturningmyguestroomintoacraftroomandI’malwaysonPinterestlookingatthemanyideas.Agirlcandreamright?

Thisisahandyidea!

ChapterTwo–KnowYourYarn

Ihaveaconfession:Iloveyarn.YesthereIsaidit!Onceyoudiscoverallofthedifferenttextures,materials,andcolorsoutthereintheworldofyarnI’msureyou’llbeayarnaddict,too.Whenyouarestartingoutinvestingoodqualityyarn,butdon’tbreakthebank.Whilehandspun,handdyedartisanyarnisatreasureandadreamtoworkwith,savethistypeofyarnforlaterwhenyou’remoreconfidentinyourskills.There’splentyofgoodqualitymediumpricedyarntobehadinawidevarietyofcolorsandtextures.

Inthischapterwe’llgooverthedifferenttypesoffiberusedtomakeyarnandhowtoreadayarnlabel.

YarnFibers

Yarnismadefromthreebasictypesoffibers;animal,plant,andsynthetic.Eachonehasitsbestuseandeachonehasitsownpropertiesforcaringandworkingwithit.Mostyarnfiberarrivestothefactoryinbales.Thesebalesarecombedandwashedandthenspunintoyarnthroughvariousmethods.Mostyarnfibersarriveattheyarnmanufacturingfacilityalreadydyed.Handdyedyarnisexpensive,butitisuniqueandnottwoballsareexactlyalike.

AnimalFibers

Alpacasusedforyarnfibers

Wool,mohair,alpaca,mohair,angora,andsilkareexamplesofthevariousanimalfiberstoproduceyarn.Woolisaverypopularchoiceandcreatesasoftfabricwhichhasalotofwarmthandhasalotofgive.Woolcomesfromsheepandisfoundinmanydifferentcolorsandweights.

Alpacayarnisfromtheanimalofthesamenameandhasabitofsheentoit.Itisalsoverywarmandsofttothetouch.Alpacayarnisanicealternativetowoolandthefabrichasanicedrapetoit.

Goatsproducethefibersusedformohairyarn.Softmohairyarnisfromyounggoatswhilecoarsermohaircomesfromoldergoats.Mohairyarncanbedyedwithveryvividcolorsandholdsthesecolorsverywell.

Cashmereyarnisproducedfromthefurfromtheunderbellyofaspecificbreedofgoat.AngorayarncomesfromtheAngorarabbit.Bothtypesofyarnareveryluxuriousandsoft.Bothtypesofyarnalsohaveabeautifuldrape.Theseyarnsarequiteexpensiveandarealtreattouse.

Silkfiberscomefromthesilkwormandarenormallyblendedwithotherfiberstogivetheyarnstrength,shine,andtexture.Silkisaveryprettyadditiontoyarnandyoucanfindsomeverybeautiful

PlantFibers

Yarnmadewithplantfibersisverystrongandholdscolorwell.Plantfiberyarnscanbeabitstifftoworkwithuntilyougetusedtothem,buttheyareperfectformakingkitchenandbathitemsaswellassummergarments.

Flaxfield

Cottonfibersareusedtocreateaverydurableandsturdymaterial.Itcomesinmanydifferentweightsandcanbeusedfordelicatecottonthreadusedinlaceworkanddoiliestobulkyweightyarnusedformatsandrugs.

Bambooisalsousedtomakeaverysturdyyarnwhichhasmoresheenthancotton.Fabriccrochetedwithbamboothreadhasaveryprettystitchdefinitionandanicedrape.

Flaxfibersareusedtocreatelinenyarn.Linenisanexcellentchoiceforsummergarmentsbecauseitwicksawaymoistureandthefabricbreathes.Itisverydurableandcomesinmanyshades.

Hempfibersareusedtocreateanothersturdyplantbasedyarn.Hempyarncanbeusedinanyprojectwhichcallsforcottonorbamboo.Itcomesinawidevarietyofcolorsandtextures.

SyntheticFibers

Oneofthemostpopulartypesofyarnisacrylic.Acrylicyarnisproducedfromsyntheticpetroleumbasedfibers.Itcanbedyedintomanydifferentcolors,isdurable,andveryeasytoworkwith.Therearemanydifferenttypesofacrylicyarnrangingfromthinfingerlingyarntobigchunkybulkyyarn.Acrylicyarnalsocomesinmanytextures.Itiseasytoworkwithandhassomegive,makingittheperfectchoiceforthebeginner.

Youcanfindacrylicyarnwithsequins,beads,andothertypesofembellishments.Eyelashyarnisafunacrylictoworkwith.Ithaslittlefiberswhichresembleeyelashesandisusedwithothertypesofyarntocreateveryprettyembellishmentsonmanyprojects.Funfurisanotherfunacrylicyarn.Youcancreate

fauxfurpieceseasilywiththistypeofsyntheticyarn.

VariegatedAcrylicYarn

Othertypesofsyntheticyarnincludenylon,polyester,andmicrofiber.Thesefibersarenormallyblendedwithothertypesofyarntoaddelasticity,sheen,andtexture.

YarnWeights

Yarncomesindifferentweightsfromfingerlingusedforlaceworkandbabyitemstosuperbulky.Yarnmanufacturersuseastandardizedsystemforyarnweight.TheCraftYarnCouncilhasahandychartwhichshowsthedifferentyarnweightsandwhattheyareusedfor.YoucangotothesiteanddownloadaPDFfilesoyoucanprintitoutanduseitasareferencewhenyoushopforyarn.

StandardYarnWeightSystemCategoriesofyarn,gaugeranges,andrecommendedneedleandhooksizes

YarnLabelInformation

Theyarnlabelistheplacetofindalloftheinformationyouneedtoselectthecorrectyarnforyourprojects.Onayarnlabelyouwillfindthefibercontent,weight,dyelotnumber(mostyarnsdonothavedyelots,butsomestillusethem),care,gauge,andrecommendedhooksize.Understandingtheinformationonayarnlabelisessentialforabeginner.Inthischapterwe’llcovertheinformationfoundonyarnlabelssothatyoucanmakethebestchoicewhenshoppingforyarn.

Mostmajoryarnmanufacturersuseasetofstandardizedyarncaresymbols.Artisanandprivatelabelyarnsmaynotusethesesymbols,butmostbrandssuchasRedHeart,LionBrand,Caron,Paton,andILoveThisYarnusethesestandardizedsymbols.YoucanfindthecompletelistontheLionBrandsitewhereyoucanprintthemoutforeasyreference.

Inthefollowingexamplewecanseethatthisyarncanbemachinewashedinwaternohotterthan104degree,anditcanbemachinedried.TheyarnisamediumweightyarnandthemanufacturerrecommendsusingaUSI/9crochethooktoobtainagaugeof14stitchesand16rowsinafourbyfoursquareoffabric.

Oneofthemostimportantpiecesofinformationyoucanfindonayarnlabelisthegauge.Gaugereferstotheamountofstitchesacrossarowandhowmanyrowsittakestocreateafourbyfourinchswatch.Almosteverypatternyoucomeacrossstatesthegauge.Beforeyoustartapatternyoushouldusetherecommendedhooksizeandcrochetupafourbyfourinchsquareandcomparetheamountofstitchesinarowandhowmanyrowsyouendupwithtothestatedgaugeforthepattern.Ifyourgaugeislargeryouwilleitherhavetotightenupyourtensionoruseasmallerhook.Ontheotherhandifyourgaugeislessthanthepatterneitherloosenupyourtensionorusealargerhook.

Don’tskipmakingagaugeswatchwhenyou’restartingout.AsanexperiencedcrocheterIstillmakegaugeswatches.Believemetheywillsaveyoutimeandheadaches,somakeitahabitofusingthem.

Skeins,Balls,andHanks

Mostoftheyarnyouwillfindinretailstorescomesinskeins.Skeinsareeasytouseandyounormallydon’tneedtorolltheyarnupinballs.Makesureyoupulltheyarnfromthecentertokeeptheyarnfromtangling.

Iftheyarncomesinaballyoucanuseitjustasitiswithoutrerollingit.Placetheyarnballinasmallbowltokeepiffromrollingawaywhileyou’reworkingwithit.

Manyanimalfiberyarnsandhandspunyarnscomeinhanks.Youcannotworkfromahank,don’teventry!Whatyou’llendupwithisatangledmess.Hanksmustberolledintoballsorcakes.Youcanfindmanualandelectricyarnwinderswhichwillsaveyoutimeandheadaches.Swiftsarealsousedwithwinderstoholdtheyarnwhileitisbeingwound.Expandtheswifttoholdthehankofyarn,threadthewinderandthenslowlywindtheyarnintoaballorcake.

YarnTips

Nowthatwe’vecoveredthebasicinformationyouneedtoknowaboutyarn,IwanttosharesometipswithyouthatI’velearnedovertheyears.

Readtheyarnlabelandunderstandtheinformationcontainedonit.Ayarnlabelisyourbestsourceforknowingtheweight,fibercontent,recommendedhook,careinstructions,andgauge.

Iftheyarnyouchoosehasadyelotnumberpurchasemoreofthesamedyelotthanyouneed.Notallyarnshavedyelotstoday,butiftheydoitisagoodpracticetohavemoreyarnthanyouneedsothatyoudon’trunoutandthecolorchangeswhenyouaddnewyarn.

Youcansubstituteyarnbrandsaslongastheyarethesameweightandfibercontent.ForexampleifthepatterncallsforVanna’sChoicebutyouonlyhaveRedHeartjustmakesuretheyarnsarethesameweights.Thiswillensureyourprojectcomesoutasyouexpectitto.

Savetheexpensiveyarnsforlater.Ifyouseeyarnyoumusthave,toaheadandpurchaseitandsaveitforlater.Fornowsticktomid-rangeyarnsthatareeasytoworkwithandeasytocarefor.

Trynottosmokearoundyouryarnstashorwhileyou’recrocheting.Yarnpicksupodorsveryeasilyandifyou’remakingagiftyoudon’twantyourprojecttosmelllikecigarettesmoke.Ifyoureceiveyarnasagiftandithasanodoryoucanplaceitinapillowcase,knotthepillowcaseandwashanddryitonthegentlecycle.Thisusuallyremovesodorsfromyarnandkeepstheyarnballsandskeinsintact.

ChapterThree–BasicTerminology

Crochetlikeanyothercraftorartformhasitsownlanguage.Patternsuseabbreviationstomakethepatternseasiertoreadandunderstand.Inthischapterwe’llgooverthebasicterminologyyou’llneedtounderstandthewonderfulworldofcrochet.AsyoubecomemorefamiliarwithcrochetandareinvolvedingroupsonFacebookandothersocialmediasitesyou’lllearnnewterminology,butfornowlet’sgooverthebasictermsandmeanings.(AllofthetermsinthisbookareinUSform.)

StitchAbbreviations

Chain–chDoublecrochet–dcHalfdoublecrochet–hdcSinglecrochet–scSkipstitch–skorskstSlipstitch–slstStitch–stTrebleortriplecrochet–trortrbSpecialStitchAbbreviationsBackloop-blBackpost–bpBackpostdoublecrochet–bpdcBackpostsinglecrochet–bpscDoublecrochettwostitchestogether–dc2togFrontloop–flFrontpost–fpFrontpostdoublecrochet–fpdcFrontpostsinglecrochet–fpscSinglecrochettwostitchestogether–sc2togGeneralTermsFoundinPatternsApproximately–appBetween–betChainspace–chspContinue–contContrastingColor–CCDecrease–decFollow/following/follows–follGram–gInch–“Increase–incMainColor–MC

Millimeter-mmPrevious–prevRepeat–repRightSide–RSRound–rndSpace-spTurningchain–tchWrongSide–WSYarnover–yoYarnoverhook–yohPatternRepeats[]Workinstructionsinthebracketstheappropriatenumberoftimescalledforbyyourpattern()Workinstructionsinparenthesistheappropriatenumberoftimescalledforbyyourpattern*Denotesthebeginningofapatternrepeat.**Worktheinstructionsbetweentheasterisksasapatternrepeatasmanytimesascalledforbyyourpattern.DecreaseandIncreaseWhenyousee2toginapatternthisisalsoknownasadecrease.Youwillbeworkingtwostitchestogether.Ifthepatterncallsforanincreasetwostitchesareworkedinoncespace.(We’llgooverhowtodothesetechniquesinalaterchapter.)YoucanfindamasterlistofcrochettermsattheCraftYarnCouncilwebsite.

CrochetSlang

Likeallhobbiesandartformscrochetalsohasitsownsetofslangterms.You’llseetheseonsocialmediasitesandhearthemwhencrochetersarediscussingtheircraft.

CAL–Crochetalong;aneventwhereeveryoneworksonthesameproject,usuallyheldonlineDesignElement–anothertermformistakeFOTH–FreshoffthehookFrogorFrogging–toripoutstitches(ripitripitlikeafrog…)Hooker–atermofendearmentothercrochetenthusiastsuseforeachotherHOTH–HotoffthehookLYS–LocalyarnstoreProjectofDoom–theprojectthatisdrivingyoucrazybutyouhavetofinishitScrumble–AformoffreeformcrochetinwhichyouusedifferenttypesofyarnandothermediaStash–YouryarncollectionUFO–UnfinishedobjectWIM–WorkinmindWIP–WorksinprogressYarnBarf–Thistermreferstothewadofyarnthatcomesoutinoneclumpwhenyoupulltheendfromaskeinorballofyarn.Itisusuallyatangledmessandaverycommonoccurrence.

YarnBomb–Adecorativeworkofcrochetusedtodecorateapublicpieceofproperty,usuallydonetocoverupaneyesore.YarnCake–Whenyouuseaballwinderyouendupwithballsofyarnwhichresemblesmallcakes.

ChapterFour–ReadingPatterns

Nowthatwe’vecoveredthebasicterminologyusedincrochetit’stimetomoveontoreadingandunderstandingpatterns.Thisisanessentialskillallbeginnersneedtomaster.Ifyoucanreadandunderstandpatternsyouopenupawholenewworldofcreativepossibilities.Inthischapterwe’llgooverabasicpatternstepbysteptohelpyouunderstandhowtoreadandworkit.

Beforeyoubegintoworkapatternlookattheentirepattern;checkthetypeofyarnyouneed,thequantityoftheyarn,thehooksize,andthegauge.Lookforanyspecialstitchesorinstructionsneededforthepattern.Nextreadthroughtheactualpatterntomakesureyouunderstandthestitchesandhowtheyallworktogether.Thiswillkeepyoufromhavinganysurprisesorgettingstuckbecauseyoudon’tknowhowtoworkastitch.Ifyoufindanystitchesyou’reunfamiliarwithlookthemupatoneoftheresourcelinksinthebackofthisbooktofindavideoorwritteninstructionsguidingyouthroughthestitch.

We’lluseRedHeart’sButtonedUpCuffsdesignedbyLoreneEppolitetolearnhowtoreadapattern.Cuffsandwristwarmersareverypopularrightnowandagreatprojectforthebeginner.

Firstcheckfortheskilllevelonthepattern;thispatternisratedforbeginnerssoit’sperfecttostartwith.Nextchecktheyarnandthequantityyou’llneed.ForthispatternyouwillneedoneballofRedHeartReflectiveinPink.Youcanusethisyarnoryoucansubstituteitforanymediumweightworstedyarn.YouwillalsoneedasizeUSJ/10(6mm)crochethook,ayarnneedle,andfour½inchbuttonsalongwithaneedleandthreadtosewonthebuttons.Youwillusetheyarnneedletoworkintheendsofyouryarn(we’llcoverhowtodothisinafuturechapter).

Thenextimportantpieceofinformationisthegauge.Ifyoutaketheyarncalledforandthehookthepatternspecifiesandcrochetsinglecrochetstitchestomakethreerowswith15stitchesyourswatch

shouldmeasure1¼incheshighandfiveincheswide.Ifitdoesn’tyoumayneedtogoupordownahooksizeoradjustyourtensiontogetthecorrectgauge.Gaugeisimportantbecausethepatterndesignerusedittogetthepattern’ssize.

Thespecialinstructionsforthispatternstatethatthedirectionsarewrittenforsmallwithmediumandlargeinparentheses.Soifyouneedtomakealargersizeyouwouldfollowthedirectionsinsidetheparenthesesandignoretheotherdirections.

Thepatternalsogivesyouthefinisheddimensionsforeachsize.

Attheendofthepatternyouwillalsofindanyabbreviationsyouneedtoknowtoworkthepattern.

Nowwegettothemeatofthepattern;howtoworkit.Youseethatyouwillbemakingtwocuffsandyoustartbychaining24(we’llusethesmallsizeforourillustration).

Row1startswithahalfdoublecrochetinthethirdchainfromthehook.Thefirstthreechainstitchescountasthefirsthalfdoublecrochet.Thisisacommondirectioninmostpatterns.Thefirsttwoorthreechainstitchescountasthefirststitchunlessotherwisespecified.Nowworkahalfdoublecrochetintoeachchainstitchuntiltheend.Ifyoucountyourstitchesyouwillhave23halfdoublecrochetstitchescountingthefirstthreechainstitchesasthefirsthalfdoublecrochet.TurnyourworkandyouarereadytostartRow2.

Row2beginswithachaintwo.NoticethatthisdoesNOTCOUNTasthefirststitchfromnowon.Halfdoublecrochetintothefirststitch.(Thisisthefirsthalfdoublecrochetofthepreviousrow.)Chainone,skipthenextstitchandworkahalfdoublecrochetintheremainingstitches.Youshouldnowhave22halfdoublecrochetandonechainstitch.Turnyourwork.

Row3startswithchaintwo.Workahalfdoublecrochetintoeachstitchandintothechainonespaceacross.Youwillhave23stitchesinthisrow.Turnyourwork.

Rows4and5arerepeatsofrows2and3.Onceyouworkrows2andthreeagainleaveaboutasixinchtailandcutyouryarn.

Onceyouhavebothcuffscrocheteditistimetofinishthem.Thechainonespacesserveasbutton

holes.Linethemupwiththeoppositeendsofthecuffsandsewontwobuttonsontoeachcuff.Threadatapestryneedlewiththetailsyouleftandweavetheminandoutofthestitchesgoingbackandforthto

securethem. Nowyouhavetwoprettywristcuffstowearorgiveasagift.

TipsforReadingPatterns

Iwantyoutobecomfortablereadingpatternssoherearesometipsforreadingandunderstandingpatterns.

Lookovertheentirepatternbeforeyoustarttoworkit.

Checkanyspecialinstructionsorstitchesyouneedtoknowbeforeyoustart.

Besureyouhaveenoughyarnbeforeyoubegin.Youdon’twanttogetalmostdoneonlytofindthatyouhaven’tpurchasedenoughyarn.It’sbettertopurchasetoomuchyarnthannotenough.

Gatherupallthesuppliesyou’llneedtobesureyouhavethecorrecthookandalloftheaccessoriesyouwillneed.

Takeyourtimeandrelax!

ChapterFive–BasicCrochetStitches

Nowthatwe’vecoveredtheequipmentyou’llneed,learnedallaboutyarn,andhowtoreadapatternit’stimetostarttolearnbasiccrochetstitches.Allstitchpatternsareacombinationofthebasicstitcheswhichincludesinglecrochet,doublecrochet,halfdoublecrochet,andtreble(triple)crochetstitches.Itishowyoucombinethisstitcheswhichdeterminesthewaythestitchpatternworksup.

ChainStitchandFoundationChains

Justabouteverynewpieceofcrochetstartswithafoundationofchainstitches.Firstmakeaslipknotandplaceitonyourhook.

Taketheyarnandplaceitoverthehookanddrawitthroughtheslipknot.Thisisyourfirstchainstitch.Puttheyarnoverthehookanddrawitthroughthischainstitch.Nowyouhavetwochainstitches.You

don’tcounttheknotfromtheslipknow,andyoudon’tcountthelooponyourhookwhenyouarecountingstitches.Yourpatternwilltellyouhowmanychainstitchesyouneedtomake.

SingleCrochet

Onceyouhaveyourfoundationchaincrochetedyoucannowbuilduponitwithotherstitches.Youdon’tworkintotheloopwhichisonthehook,andyoudon’tworkintotheveryfirstchainstitch.Insertthehookintothesecondchainfromthehook.Placetheyarnoverthehookanddrawitthroughthestitch.Younowhavetwoloopsonyourhook.Yarnoveranddrawitthroughbothloops.Thisisasinglecrochetstitch.

Insertthehookintothenextstitchandyarnover,pulltheyarnthroughthestitch,yarnoverandthenpullthroughbothloopsonthehook.Thisisthesecondsinglecrochet.Continuetodothisprocessacrosstheroworasmanytimesasthepatterncallsfor.

DoubleCrochet

Thedoublecrochetstitchisoneofthemostpopularstitchesyoucanlearn.Itisthebaseforpuffstitches,clusters,shells,andmanyotherstitches.Beforeyouinsertthehookintothenextstitchplacetheyarnoverthehook,insertthehookintothenextstitch,yarnoverandpulltheyarnthroughthestitch.Younowhavethreeloopsonyourhook.Yarnoverandpullitthroughthefirsttwoloops,yarnoverandpullitthroughthelasttwoloops.Thisisadoublecrochetstitch.Youwillnoticeitistallerthanasinglecrochetanditproducesalooserfabricthansinglecrochet.

HalfDoubleCrochet

Thehalfdoublecrochetstitchisusedalotforhatsandafghans.Itisnotquiteastallasadoublecrochet.Yarnoverthehookandinsertthehookintothenextstitch.Yarnoverandpullitthroughthestitch.Youwillnowhavethreeloopsonyourhook.Yarnoverandpulltheyarnthroughallthreeloopsonthehook.Thisisahalfdoublecrochetstitch.

Thefirstimageshowsworkingahalfdoublecrochetonafoundationchain.Skipthefirsttwochainsandinsertthehookintothethirdchainfromthehook.Thesecondimageshowsworkingahalfdoublecrochetatthebeginningofanewrow.

TrebleCrochet

Youwillseethetermstrebleandtriplecrochetusedinterchangeablyinpatterns.Bothtermsmeanthesamestitch.Atreblecrochetissimilartoadoublecrochet,butitismuchtallerandyouyarnovertwicebeforeyouinsertthehookintothenextstitch.

Yarnovertwiceandinsertthehookintothenextstitch.Yarnoverandpullthroughthestitch.Youwillnowhavefourloopsonthehook.Yarnoverandpullthroughthefirsttwoloops,yarnoverandpullthroughtwoloops,andfinallyyarnoveroncemoreandpullthroughalloftheremainingloopsonthehook.Thisisatreblecrochetstitch.

BackLoopCrochetStitches

Backloopstitchescreateaprettyridgealongthebaseofthestitch.IfyoulookatacrochetstitchyouwillseethetoptwoloopsformaV.TocrochetabackloopstitchsimplyinsertthehookONLYintothebackloopinsteadofthroughbothloopsoftheV.Workthestitchasnormal.

FrontLoopCrochetStitches

Frontloopsstitchesareusedtocontinuetheridgeonthewrongsideofthefabric.Theridgewillshowupontherightsideofthefabric.InsertthehookintoONLYthefrontloopoftheVofthenextstitch.Frontandbackloopstitcheswillbeabitlooserthannormalstitches,buttheyarejustassturdy.

ShellStitch

Shellstitchesmakeaveryprettyedgingforlotsofprojects.Yourpatternwilltellyouhowmanydoublecrochetstitchestouseforashell.Normallyitisatleastthree,usuallyuptofiveorsix.Toworkshellstitchessimplyworkthecorrectnumberofstitchesintoonestitch.Thiswillformaprettyshell.Forexampleworkadoublecrochetintothenextstitch.Nowinsteadofmovingtothenextstitch,workanotherdoublecrochetintothesamestitch.Continueworkingdoublecrochetstitchesintothesamestitchforasmanytimesasyourpatterncallsfor.

PuffStitch

Thepuffstitchaddsalotoftextureandaprettyeffecttocrochet.Itissimilartotheshellstitch,butyouwaittopullthelastyarnoveruntilyouhaveallofthestitchesworked.Yarnoverandinsertthehookintothenextstitch.Yarnoverandpullthrough,younowhavethreeloopsonthehook.Yarnoverandpullthroughthefirsttwoloops.YarnoverandinsertthehookintotheSAMEstitch,yarnoverandpullthroughthestitch,yarnoverandpullthroughthefirsttwoloops.Nowyouhavethreeloopsonthehook.Yarnoverandinsertthehook,yarnoverandpullthrough,yarnoverandpullthroughthefirsttwoloopsonthehook.Younowhavefourloopsonthehook.Yarnoverandpullthroughallfourloopsatonce.Youwillalwayshaveonemorelooponthehookthanyouhavepuffstitches.

PopcornStitch

Thepopcornstitchisacutestitchthataddspuffsoftexturetocrochetfabric.Itisworkedinthesamemannerasthepuffstitch,butyoudonotpulltheyarnthroughtheloopsonthehookuntiltheveryend.Yarnoverandinsertthehookintothenextstitch,yarnoverandpullthrough,yarnoverandinsertthehookintotheSAMEstitch,yarnoverandpullthrough,yarnoverandinsertthehookintotheSAMEstitch,yarnoverandpullthrough.Youwillnowhavesevenloopsonthehook.Yarnoverandpullthroughallsevenloops,chainonetolockthestitch.

VStitch

TheVstitchisaveryversatilestitchusedinalotofprojects.TocrochetaVstitchworkadoublecrochetstitchinthenextstitch,chainone,andthenworkanotherdoublecrochetintotheSAMEstitch.Skipthenextstitchandrepeat.

ChapterSix–BasicCrochetTechniques

Inthischapterwe’lllearnthebasiccrochettechniquesyouneedtolearnasabeginner.Thetechniqueswe’llcoverarecrochetingintheround,changingcolorsatthebeginningoftherowandinthemiddleofarow,howtojoinyarnwhenyourunoutoryouryarnbreaks,andmorecrochettechniquesyoucanusetomakeyourprojectsworkupeasilyandmakeyourlifemucheasier.

CrochetingintheRound

Youwillusethistechniqueforlotsofprojectsuchashat.Afteryouhavemadeyourfoundationchaininsertthehookintothefirstchain,yarnoveranddrawtheyarnthroughthechainandthelooponyourhook.Thisisknownasjoining.Iwouldhighlyrecommendyouattachastitchmarkertothejoiningchain.Younowhaveacircleofstitches.Onceyoustarttogoaroundyourprojectitwillbecomeveryhardtotellwheretheroundbegins.

Asyoucrochetintheroundyou’llnoticeyourseamismovinginadiagonaldirection.Thisisnormalandjustthewaythepatternsworkup.Thisisparticularlytrueifyouhavedecreasedorincreasedduringthepattern.Whilecountingyourstitchesisalwaysimportant,whenyoucrochetintheroundcountingyourstitchesisessentialsothatyourprojectturnsoutcorrectly.

MagicRing

Whenyouuseafoundationchainandjoinitwithaslipstitchyouendupwithatinyholeinthecenterofyourround.Whileinmostprojectsthisisperfectlyacceptable,therearesometimeswhenyouwantthecircletobeclosed.Thisiswhereknowinghowtodoamagicringcomesinhandy.

NowIwilladmitlearningthistechniquetakessomepractice.Ihadtowatchavideoseveraltimes

beforeitfinallyclickedandIcannowdoitwithouthavingtolookitup.(YoucanfindthelinktothevideointheResourceschapter.)

Taketheyarnandlayitonthepalmofyourhandanddrapeitoveryourindexfinger.Wraptheyarnaroundyourindexandmiddlefingerandholdtheendconnectedtotheskeinwithyourlittlefinger.Insertthehookunderthelooponyourindexfingerandgrabtheyarn.Drawitthroughtheloopandthengrabtheyarnagainanddrawitthroughthelooponyourhook.Continuetocrochetthebeginningstitchesofthefirstroundaroundtheloop.Whenyou’vecompletedthestitchesgrabtheloosetailofyarnandgentlydrawitupuntilthestitchesmeet.Youcanthenjointhestitchesandyouwillhaveasolidcircleofstitchestoworkwith.

ChangingColors

Usingdifferentcolorsisoneofthefunthingsaboutcrochet.Forthebeginnerchangingcolorsmayseemlikeadauntingtask,butitisveryeasy.Ifyouhavereachedtheendofarowandwanttochangecolorssimplyworkthelaststitchuntilyouhavetwoloopsonyourhook.Pickupthenewcoloranddrawitthroughthetwoloops.Turnyourworkanddothechainstitchesforfirststitchofthenextrowandgentlypulltheoldcolorandthenewcolorsnug.Leaveasixinchtailoftheoldcolorsoyoucanweaveitin.

Ifyouneedtochangecolorsinmid-rowyoucanusetheexactsametechnique.Workthelaststitchoftheoldcoloruntilyouhavetwoloopsonyourhook,grabthenewcolorandpullitthrough.Workafewofthenextstitchesandthenpullthecolorssnug.Don’tpullthemtootightlyoryouwillpuckeryourfabric.Leaveasixinchtailtoweaveinlater.

Thereareafewtricksyoucanusetotakecareofthosepeskytailssothatyoudon’thaveabunchofthemtoweaveinattheend.Youcancapturethetailsoftheyarnunderthenewstitches.Todothismakesureyourhookgoesunderboththenewcolorandtheoldcolor’stailsandcapturethemintoyourstitchesuntilyoureachtheendofthetails.Anothertechniqueistotakethetailsandweavetheminandoutofthestitchesofthepreviousrowandthencrochetmakingsureyouplacethehookunderthetails.Thisisaverygoodwaytosecureyourtailsandavoidhavingtoweaveinabunchofthemwhenyou’redone.

WeavinginTails

Thisisajobveryfewliketodo,butyoumustdoittosecurethetailsofyouryarn.ThebestmethodIhavefoundittouseatapestryoryarnneedleandsewthetailsintoyourstitches.Inserttheneedleundertheloopsofyourstitchesandreversethedirectionaboutthreetimes.Thisreallysecurestheendsoftheyarnandtheywon’tworktheirwayoutofthefabric.

HowtoJoinYarn

Sometimeswhenyou’recrochetingalongyourunoutofyarn.Sonowwhatdoyoudo?Inthissectionwe’llcovertwodifferentmethodstoaseamlessjoinsothatyoucankeeponcrochetingwithouthavingtofrogyourworkbacktothebeginningofarow.

SpitSplicing

Thefirstmethodcanonlybeusedforanimalfiberyarnssuchaswool,alpaca,cashmere,andothertypesofanimalfibers.Donottrytousethismethodonplantandsyntheticyarnsbecausetheydonotnaturallyfeltup.Andyesyouwillusespit.Yourspitcontainsenzymeswhichhelpbreakdowntheyarnfibersandwhenpairedwiththeheatcausedbythefrictionofrubbingyourpalmstogethertheyarnnaturallyfeltsandjoinsitself.

Firstfraytheendsoftheoldandnewyarn.Nowlickthepalmsofyourhandsandplacetheyarnsinonhandwiththeendsoverlapping.Rubyourpalmstogethervigorouslyuntiltheyarnsbecomeonestrand.Youmayhavetorubafewtimestogetthesplicetohold.Nowyou’vegotonecontinuousstrandofyarnandyoucankeepcrocheting.

RussianJoin

TheRussianjoinmethodcanbeusedwithanytypeofyarnfiber.Youwillneedatapestryneedletoperformthismethodofjoiningyarn.Threadtheneedlewithoneofthestrandsofyarnandsewtheyarnbackuponitselfforafewinches.Switchtotheotherpieceofyarnandthreadtheneedle.Bringtheneedleupthroughtheloopcreatedbysewingthefirstyarnbackuponitselfandsewthesecondpieceofyarnbackuponitself.Holdtheendsofbothyarnsinoppositehandsandgentlypulluntiltheyarnjoinsinthemiddle.Youmayhavetotrimthefrayedendsoncetheyarnisjoined.

Bothofthesemethodscreateverystrongjoinsandarealmostundetectableinyourcrochetedfabric.Ifyou’reusingabulkyyarnyoumaynoticeabitofextraweightwheretheyarnisjoined,butnotenoughtodetractfromyourfinishedwork.

ChapterEight–BeginnerPatterns

Nowthatwe’vecoveredtheequipmentyouneed,we’velearnedaboutyarn,learnedbasicstitchesandtechniques,it’snowtimetoputhooktoyarnandcreatesomebeginnerprojects.YoucanfindallofthesepatternsforfreeonlineandwherepossibleI’vegiventheoriginaldesignerscredit.ThepatternsI’vechosenforthisbookaremeanttohelpyougainconfidenceandskill.Takeyourtime,readthroughthepatternsfirst,andhavefun.Ifyouhavetoripoutyourstitchesandstartover,don’tsweatit.Wealldothatnomatterhowlongwe’vebeencrochetingorhowadvancedwemaybeinthecraft.AllimagescanbefoundatthelinkinthePatternLinksectioninthebackofthisbook.

ClassicChunkyCowlCowlsarealltheragerightnowandthiseasypatternfromRedHeartdesignedbyLauraBainworksupquicklyandeasily.Youcouldcrochetthispatterninseveraldifferentcolorsanduseavariegatedyarntogetadifferentlook.BesuretocheckoutthelinkforthevideointhePatternLinkssectionofthisbook.

YouwillneedtwoballsofRedHeartGrandeinFoggy,asizeQ(16mm)crochethook,andatapestryneedleforweavingintheends.Thiscowlwillmeasureabout8inchesby34incheswhencompleted.

Gaugeforthisprojectis6stitchesand3rowsequals4inches.

Chain12

Row1(rightside):DoubleCrochetinthirdchainfromhook(beginningchaindonotcountasfirstDoubleCrochet)andineachchainacross,turn—10DoubleCrochet.Row2:Chain2(doesnotcountasDoubleCrochethereandthroughout),DoubleCrochetineachDoubleCrochetacross,turn.RepeatRow2untilpiecemeasures33inchesordesiredlength.JoiningRow:Withwrongsideoffirstandlastrowheldtogetherandworkingthroughboththicknesses,chain1,singlecrochetineachDoubleCrochet—10sc.Fastenoff.FINISHINGWeaveinends.

SingleSquareCoastersHowcutearethese?TheseGrannySquarecoasterscanbemadeinavarietyofcolorsandwouldmakeareallycutestockingstufferorgiftforanewbride.Thisisagreatprojecttouseupyourstashandcreatesomefunhomedécor.

TocrochetthecoasterspicturedyouwillneedoneballeachofRedHeartGumdropinCherry(ColorA),Turquoise(ColorB),andLilac(ColorC).YouwillalsoneedasizeG/6(4.25mm)crochethookandatapestryneedletoweaveinyourends.Eachsquarewillbefourinchessquarewhencompleted.

ColorSequence:

ColorSequence

CoasterOne:AllfourroundsareworkedinColorB

CoasterTwo:Rounds1and2areworkedinColorA,Rounds3and4areworkedinColorB

CoasterThree:Rounds1and2areworkedinColorA,Rounds3and4areworkedinColorC

YouwillbeworkingintheroundwhencreatingtheGrannySquares.Eachcornerwillhavetwosetsofthreedoublecrochetclustersandeachclusterisworkedinthechainthreespaceofthepreviousround.Whenthepatterncallsforyoutojoinanewcolormakeaslipknotandplaceitonyourhook.Insertthehookintotheappropriatestitch,yarnoverandpulltheyarnthroughthestitchandtheloopsonyourhook.Thisdoesnotcountasastitchinthepattern.

Begineachsquarewithachain4;slipstitchinfirstchaintoformaring.

Round1(rightside):Chain3(countsasdchereandthroughout),2doublecrochetinring,*chain3,3doublecrochetinring;repeatfrom*twice,chain3;joinwithaslipstitchintopofbeginningchain-3–12doublecrochet;4chain-3spaces.Fastenoff.

Round2:Slipstitchinnext2doublecrochetandchain-3space,chain3,(2doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet)insamechain-3space,*(3doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet)innextchain-3space;repeatfrom*twice,joinwithaslipstitchintopofbeginningchain-3.Fastenoffifchangingcolor.

Round3:Slipstitchinnext2doublecrochetandcornerchain-3spaceorjoinnextcolorwithslipstitchinanycornerchain-3space,chain3,(2doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet)insamechain-3space,*3doublecrochetbetweennexttwo3-doublecrochetgroups**,(3doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet)innextcornerchain-3space;repeatfrom*around,endinglastrepeatat**;joinwithaslipstitchintopofbeginningchain-3.

Round4:Slipstitchinnext2doublecrochetandchain-3space,chain3,(2doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet)insamechain-3space,

*[3doublecrochetbetweennexttwo3-doublecrochetgroups]twice**,(3doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet)innextcornerchain-3space;repeatfrom*around,endinglastrepeatat**;joinwithaslipstitchintopofbeginningchain-3.

Fastenoff.Weaveinends.

FruitPlatterScarfThisprettyscarfpatternsletsyoupracticeyourcolorchangingskills.Remembertoworkthelaststitchintherowuntilyouhavetwoloopsonyourhookandthendrawthenewcolorthroughthetwoloopsandsnugupyouryarn.Turnyourworkandcontinuethepatterninthenewcolor.

TocrochetthescarfshownintheimageyouwillneedoneskeineachofVanna’sChoicebyLionBrandinAqua(ColorA),KellyGreen(ColorB),Fern(ColorC),RadiantYellow(ColorD),Raspberry(ColorE),andCheeryCherry(ColorF).CheeryCherryisVanna’sChoiceBabyYarn.YouwillalsoneedasizeJ/10(6mm)crochethookandatapestryneedletoweaveinyourends.

WithColorA,chain22.

Row1:Halfdoublecrochetinthirdchainfromhook(beginning2chaindoesnotcountasastitch),halfdoublecrochetineachchainacross–attheendofRow1youwillhave20stitches.

Row2:Chain2(doesnotcountasastitch),turn,halfdoublecrochetineachstitchacross.

RepeatRow2untilpiecemeasuresabout10in.(25.5cm),changingtoBinlaststitch.

ContinuetorepeatRow2working10in.(25.5cm)eachwithB,C,D,EandthenF,changingcolorinthelaststitchofeachblockofcolor.

Fastenoff.

FINISHING

Weaveinends.

BarefootSandalsThesearesocute!Imaginegoingtothebeachorthepoolandwearingyourveryownhandcraftedbarefootsandal.Youcancrochettheseupinavarietyofcolorstomatchyourmoodandyouroutfit.Firstyoumaketheanklestrapandthenyoucreatethetriangleshapeofthesandalbyslipstitchingintothecenterofthefirstchainthreespace.Thisnaturallydecreasestherowsuntilyouformapointatthetoes.Beforeyoucrochetthestartingchainslidethebuttonontotheyarnandslideitalongasyoucrochet.Thisplacesitatthecorrectpointwhenyoucrochetthebuttonhole.Gaugeisnotimportantwiththisproject.

YouwillneedoneballofLionBrandMicrospunYarninLavenderandasizeG/6(4mm)crochethookandatapestryneedletoweaveintheends.

Note:IfpieceistoolongforfootskipRow8byworkingslipstitchtocenterofsecondchainspaceonRow7,thenworkingworkRow9.

Chain6,joinwithslipstitchtoformabuttonholeloop.Row1:Chain36,slidebuttondownandleaveatendofrow,singlecrochetinsecondchainfromhookandacrosstoloopforanklestrap,endoff-35stitches.Row2:Attachyarnwithsinglecrochetin11thstitchfromlaststitchofpreviousrow,singlecrochetinnext14stitches-15stitches.Row3:Chain6(countsasdcandchain3space),[skip1stitch,dcinnextstitch,chain3]across-8dcand7chain-space.Row4:Slipstitchtocenteroffirstchain3space,chain6(countsasdcandchain3space),dcincenterofnextchain3space,(chain3,dcinnextchain3space)across,leaveremainingstitchesunworked-7dcand6chain-space.Row5:Repeatrow4-6dcand5chain-space.Row6:Repeatrow4-5dcand4chain-space.Row7:Repeatrow4-4dcand3chain-space.Row8:Slipstitchtocenterfirstchain3space,chain3(countsasdc),dcincenterofnextchain3spacetwice-3dc.Row9:Slipstitchinfirststitch,singlecrochetincenterdc.Row10:Turn,singlecrochetinsinglecrochet.Row11:Turn,singlecrochetinsinglecrochet,chain8,slipstitchintosamesinglecrochettofortoe

loop,endoff.Weaveinends

AfternoonWrapThisreallyprettywrapisfromCaronYarnspirationsandwasdesignedbyKimRutledge.Thewrapiscrochetedinafourrowpatternrepeat.Thisrowpatternisrepeatedeighttimestoachievetheprettywrappattern.Thewrapwillbeapproximately20incheswideand75incheslongwhencompleted.

Youwillneedthefollowingquantitiesofyarn:

CaronSimplySoft:2ballsofPlumPerfectforColorB,and1ballofOffWhiteforColorD

CaronSimplySoftHeather:3ballsofGreyHeatherforColorA,and1ballofCharcoalHeatherforColorC

YouwillalsoneedasizeI/8(5mm)crochethookandatapestryneedletoweaveintheends.

Gaugeforthewrapisfourpatternrepeatsandeightrowsequalfourinches.

STITCHPATTERN(multipleof3stitches+1;+1forfoundationchain)

Row1(RS):(Singlecrochet,chain3,dc)in2ndchainfromhook,*skipnext2chain,(singlecrochet,chain3,doublecrochet)innextchain;repeatfrom*across,turn.

Row2:Chain3(countsasfirstdoublecrochet),doublecrochetinfirststitch,(singlecrochet,chain3,

doublecrochet)ineachchain-3spaceacrosstolastchain-3space,singlecrochetinlastchain-3space,chain2,doublecrochetinlastsinglecrochet,turn.

Row3:Chain1,singlecrochetinfirststitch,chain3,doublecrochetinnextchain-2space,*(singlecrochet,chain3,doublecrochet)innextchain-3space;repeatfrom*across,singlecrochetinlastdoublecrochet(turningchain),turn.

RepeatRows2and3forpattern.

WRAPWithA,chain224.

Rows1–3:WorkRows1–3ofPatternStitch—75singlecrochetand74chain-2spaces.

Continueworkinginpatternstitchchangingcolorsasfollows:

4morerowswithA,*1rowwithD,2rowswithA,2rowswithC,4rowswithB,1rowwithD,4rowswithB,2rowswithC,2rowswithA,1rowwithD,7rowswithA;repeatfrom*oncemore.

Fastenoff.Usingyarnneedle,weaveinallends.

EasyPeasyPompomHatIjusthadtoincludethiscutepattern.Thisistheperfecthatforanylittlegirlorboy.Thepatternshowsayoungboywearingabluethemedhat,butyoucaneasilyswitchupthecolorsforayounggirl.Thepatterniswritteninthesmallestsize(tofitbaby’shead3/6(6/12-18/24)months).andhaslargersizesinparenthesis.Thehatisworkedasonepieceandthenyoufoldoverthepieceandsewupthesideandtopseamstoformthehat.Attachpompomoneachcornerandyou’vegotacutelookforanychildinyourlife.

Gaugeforthehatis12singlecrochetand13rowsequalfourinches.

Youwillneed1ballofCaronSimplyBabyOmbreyarninSailorBoyVariegatedandasizeJ/10(6mm)crochethook.Youwillalsoneedatapestryneedletosewuptheseamsandweaveintheends.

Chain47(56-61).

1strow:1singlecrochetinthesecondchainfromhook.1singlecrochetineachchaintoendofchain.Turn.46(55-60)singlecrochet.

2ndrow:Chain1.1singlecrochetineachsinglecrochettoendofrow.Turn.

3rdrow:Chain1.(1singlecrochet.2doublecrochet)infirstsinglecrochet.*Skipnext2singlecrochet.(1singlecrochet.2doublecrochet)innextsinglecrochet.Repfrom*tolast3singlecrochet.Skipnext2singlecrochet.1singlecrochetinlastsinglecrochet.Turn.

4throw:Chain1.(1singlecrochet.2doublecrochet)infirstsinglecrochet.*Skipnext2doublecrochet.(1singlecrochet.2doublecrochet)innextdoublecrochet.Repfrom*tolastsinglecrochet.1singlecrochetinlastsinglecrochet.Turn.

Replastrowforpatuntilworkfrombegmeasures6(7-8)inches.Fastenoff.

Foldpieceinhalf.Sewsideandtopseam.

Pompom(make2).

Wrapyarnaround3fingersapproximately50times.Removefromfingersandtietightlyincenter.Cutthrougheachsideofloops.Trimtoasmoothroundshape.Sew1pompomtoeachtopcornerofHat.

Thankyousomuchforpurchasingthisbookonbasiccrochet.Itismyhopethatthisbookstartsalongandenjoyableloveaffairwithcrochet.Remembertorelaxandhavefun.Don’tfeelthatyouhavetouseexactlythecolorsorthebrandofyarncalledforinpatterns,letyourowncreativityshinethrough.IhaveincludedseveralvideolinkstohelpyoulearnthestitchesandtechniquesIincludedinthisbook.Youwillalsofindausefullistofcrochetresourcestohelpyouexplorethewonderfulworldofcrochet.Thanksagainandkeephooking!

CrochetResources

CraftYarnCouncilLink:http://craftyarncouncil.com/hooks.htmlThissiteisagreatresourceforthebeginner.Youwillfindtutorialsonstitches,explanationsaboutyarnandyarnlabels,andlotsofadviceandinformation.RedHeartTutorialsLink:http://www.redheart.com/learnRedHeartisagreatsiteforlearninghowtocrochetandhowtoknit.Theyhavetonsofvideosandinstructionsforyoutorefertosoyoucanlearnnewtechniquesandbrushuponyourskillswhenyouneedto.AttheRedHeartsiteyouwillalsofindhundredsoffreepatternsandlinkstotheiryarns.Youcandownloadtheirpatternsandthenpurchasetheyarnrightofftheirsite.LionBrandLearningCenterLink:http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/pg.cgi?page=learningCenter.htmlTheLionBrandYarncompanyhasagreatsiteforresourcesonlearninghowtocrochetandknit.Theyhavehundredsoffreepatternsateveryskilllevel.Eachpatternliststhematerialsyouwillneedandyoucandownloadthepatternsandorderyouryarnandmaterialsfromtheirsite.TheCrochetCrowdLink:http://thecrochetcrowd.com/Thisisthesitethatgotmebackintocrochet.IloveMikey’svideosandblogs.Youcansignupfortheirfreenewsletterandreceivefreepatternseachweek.Theyhavechallengesandcrochetalongsyoucanparticipatein.BesuretocheckouttheirvideochannelonYouTubeforthebestvideosoncrochet.NewStitchaDayLink:http://newstitchaday.com/Asthenameimplieswhenyousignupfortheirfreenewsletteryoureceiveanewstitchadayinyourinbox.Johnnyisagreathostandmakesstitchesreallyeasytounderstand.Thesitehasavideostitchionarywithcrochetandknitstitchesforyoutolearn.IreallylikethissiteanduseitallofthetimetolearnnewstitchesandbrushupononesIhaven’tusedinawhile.

VideoLinks

LearnHowtoCrochettheSingleCrochetStitchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qELeHz5ar9QLionBrandYarnsHowtoSingleCrochethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOlQXn8JWWM&index=4&list=PL69F5A7FE3F95232FTheCrochetCrowdLearnHowtoCrochettheDoubleCrochetStitchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB-E6GS84pkLionBrandYarnsHowtoDoubleCrochethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGDxroGp0WY&index=6&list=PL69F5A7FE3F95232FTheCrochetCrowdHowtoDoubleCrochethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGDxroGp0WY&index=6&list=PL69F5A7FE3F95232FTheCrochetCrowdLearnHowtoCrochettheHalf-DoubleCrochetStitchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GtfZMrgYxLcLionBrandYarnsHowtoHalf-DoubleCrochethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0XxnXY9UzU&index=5&list=PL69F5A7FE3F95232FTheCrochetCrowdLearnHowtoCrochettheTreble(Triple)CrochetStitchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AkFtj5ZZWcsLionBrandYarnsHowtoTrebleCrochethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn5dMFUMGXk&index=7&list=PL69F5A7FE3F95232FTheCrochetCrowdHowtoCrochetaShellStitchhttp://newstitchaday.com/shell-stitch/NewStitchaDayHowtoCrochetthePuffStitchhttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-the-puff-stitch/

NewStitchaDayHowtoCrochetthePopcornStitchhttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-the-popcorn-stitch/NewStitchaDayHowtoCrochetintheRoundhttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-in-the-round/NewStitchaDayLearnHowtoCrochetanIncreasehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q4agkabFD40LionBrandYarnsLearnHowtoCrochet2Together(Decrease)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJGe6WGgYns&list=PLbHEcdQw1SaRv8mLiSEFF6vRZC7WErPOSLionBrandYarnsHowtoCrochetMagicCircleshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gehu8hL6xQTheCrochetCrowdHowtoCrochet:ChangeColorsSeamlesslyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF6OkNL5rY4NewStitchaDayCrochet–HowtoChangeColorsWithoutKnotshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm-OCqPaIkYTheCrochetCrowdHowtoWeaveinEndsofYarnhttp://www.redheart.com/learn/videos/weaving-ends-crochetRedHeartSpitSplicinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uLiFOVmcUUVeryPinkKnitsRussianJoinhttp://tutorials.knitpicks.com/wptutorials/how-to-knit-lace-lesson-2-part-3-of-3/VeryPinkKnits

PatternLinks

AllofthepatternsIhaveincludedinthisbookthatarenotminecanbefoundforfreeontheinternet.IhavegivencredittotheoriginaldesignerswhereIcould,andtheattributionsfortheimagesIuseinthisbookcanbefoundattheendofthisbook.Manythanksgoouttothewonderfuldesignersandteacherswhohavehelpaddtothewonderfulcontentinthisbooktheyhavesharedforfree.

ButtonedUpCuffshttp://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/buttoned-cuffsRedHeartBasicChunkyCowlhttp://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/classic-chunky-cowlVideoURL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWgLXPsmdwwRedHeartSingleSquareCoastershttp://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/single-square-coastersRedHeartFruitPlatterScarfhttp://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L40283.htmlLionBrandBarefootSandalshttp://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/cms-barefootSandal.htmlLionBrandAfternoonWraphttp://www.yarnspirations.com/patterns/afternoon-wrap.htmlCaronYarnspirationsEasyPeasyPompomHathttp://www.yarnspirations.com/patterns/easy-peasy-pompom-hat.htmlCaronYarnspirations

ImageAttributions

AllimagessharedfromFlickraresharedundertheCreativeCommonsLicense.Allimagesforpatternscanbefoundatthepatternlinkprovidedinthetext.

Crochethttps://www.flickr.com/photos/moonrat/5809243391ImagesharedonFlickrbyNatalieWilsonCrochetHookshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/sewpixie/2665022547ImagesharedonFlickrbySewPixieAnatomyofaCrochetHookhttp://www.lacebuttons.com/?page_id=670ImagefromLaceButtonsblogbyNancyNehringStitchMarkershttps://www.flickr.com/photos/madgeface/5179490666ImagesharedonFlickrbyMadgeFaceTunisianHookSethttp://www.knitpicks.com/needles/Caspian_Wood_Interchangeable_Crochet_SET_(3.5_3.75_4.0_4.5_5.0_5.5_6.0_6.5_mm)_8_sizes__D91113.htmlImagefromKnitPicksCrochetHookSizeshttp://craftyarncouncil.com/hooks.htmlImagefromCraftYarnCouncilYarnStoragehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/motherawesome/5723361332ImagesharedonFlickrbyMotherAwesomeAlpacashttps://www.flickr.com/photos/skyfire/4714788679ImagesharedonFlickrbyPhilLongFlaxFieldhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoon/5935246768ImageshardonFlickrbyPeterVandenBosscheAcrylicYarnhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/sagek/5188929273ImagesharedonFlickrbySageK.

YarnWeightshttp://www.craftyarncouncil.com/weight.htmlImagefromtheCraftYarnCouncilYarnCareSymbolshttp://www.lionbrand.com/yarnCare.htmlImagefromLionBrandYarnYarnLabelwww.craftyarncouncil.com/label.htmlImagefromCraftYarnCouncilBallWinderandSwifthttps://www.flickr.com/photos/psychobabble/1042392163ImagesharedonFlickrbyAmySlipKnotImageshttp://www.craftyarncouncil.com/tip_crochet.htmlImagesfromCraftYarnCouncilCrochetChainImagehttp://www.craftyarncouncil.com/tip_crochet.htmlImagefromCraftYarnCouncilSingleCrochetImageshttp://www.lionbrand.com/faq/113.html?www=1&lbc=&language=ImagesfromLionBrandYarnTutorialsDoubleCrochetImageshttp://www.lionbrand.com/faq/115.htmlImagesfromLionBrandYarnTutorialsHalf-DoubleCrochetImageshttp://www.lionbrand.com/faq/114.html?www=1&lbc=&language=ImagesfromLionBrandYarnTutorialsTrebleCrochetImageshttp://www.lionbrand.com/faq/116.html?www=1&lbc=&language=EnImagesfromLionBrandYarnTutorialsFrontandBackLoopCrochethttp://www.stitchdiva.com/tutorials/crochet/crochet-in-the-front-or-back-loops-of-a-stitchImagesfromStitchDivaBlogShellStitch

http://newstitchaday.com/shell-stitch/ImagefromNewStitchaDayPuffStitchhttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-the-puff-stitch/ImagefromNewStitchaDayPopcornStitchhttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-the-popcorn-stitch/ImagefromNewStitchaDayVStitchhttp://blog.redheart.com/how-to-crochet-classic-dc-v-stitch-plus-3-variations/ImagefromRedHeartBlogJoiningaRoundhttp://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/11/how-to-crochet-in-the-round/ImagefromCraftsyTutorialBlogMagicRingStepshttp://www.instructables.com/id/Crochet-Magic-Ring-Adjustable-Ring/ImagesfromInstructables.comColorChangehttp://www.crochetguru.com/change-color-in-crochet.htmlImagefromCrochetGuruSpitSplicinghttp://tutorials.knitpicks.com/wptutorials/how-to-knit-lace-lesson-2-part-3-of-3/KnitPicksVideoTutorialstillfromHowtoKnitLaceLesson2(Part3of3)atthe2:20mark.

Book2

IntermediateCrochet

ByDorothyWilks

Helloandthankyouforpurchasingthisintermediatecrochetbook!Ifyouareabeginnerandwanttotakeyourskillstothenextlevelthisisthebookforyou.Wewillexploretheexcitingrealmofmotifsandallofthedesignoptionstheyofferandcoverdifferentmethodsofjoiningmotifswhicharebothsimpleanddecorative.Nextwe’llmoveontoedgingtechniquesandstitchestofinishoffyourprojects.OneofthemostpopulartechniquesisCorner2Corner.Iwilltakeyoustepbystepsothatyoucanmasterthisfunandeasytechnique.Finallywe’lllearnoneofthemostpopulartechniqueswhichhasstoodthetestoftime;ripplecrochet.Ihaveprovidedlinkstoresourcesandvideostohelpyouhoneyourskills.Soareyoureadytogetstarted?Wellthenlet’sbegin!

Contents

WorkingwithMotifsJoiningMotifsEdgingTechniquesCorner2CornerTechniqueRippleandWaveTechniqueResourceLinksVideoLinksImageAttributions

WorkingwithMotifs

Motifsarefunwaystocreatemanyprojects.TheclassicGrannySquareafghanisoneexampleofusingmotifs.Thebeautyofworkingwithmotifsisthegreatamountofcreativitytheygiveyou.Youcanchoosetouseonedesignandcolorscheme,ormixitupandcreateaneclecticmixofstylesandcolors.

GrannySquares

WhenmostpeoplethinkofcrochetthefirstthingthatcomestotheirmindsistheGrannySquare.Thistimelessmotifhasstoodthetestofmanydecadesandremainsoneofthemostpopulartechniquestodayforgoodreason.YoucancreatewonderfullycreativeandcolorfulprojectsusingthehumbleGrannySquare.GrannySquaresareeasytomasterandinthissectionIwillsharewithyousometipsonhowtocreatetheperfectGrannySquareeachandeverytime.

Asyoucanseeinthisimagetheartistmixesmanycolorsandsizestocreateaveryinterestinganduniqueafghan.FeelfreetouseasmanyorasfewcolorsinyourGrannySquaresaswellasdifferentsizes.

FirstitisimportanttounderstandtheconstructionoftheGrannySquare.Thesquaresarecrochetedintheround.Youhavethechoiceofalwayshavingtherightsidefacingyou,orturningyourworkforeachround.Ifyouleavetherightsidefacingyouyoursquarewillendupabitcrooked.ThisisperfectlyokayandhowmostGrannySquaresendup.Butbyturningyourworkeachroundyouwillendupwithaperfectlysquaremotif.Thisisbecauseofthetensionandthewaythestitchesblendtogetherasyouwork.Eitherwayisperfectlyacceptable,itjustdependsontheeffectyouwantyoursquarestohave.

Tobeginyoumustcrochetastartingchainandjoinit.Thiscreatesthecenterofthesquareonwhichall

theotherstitchesareworkedoffof.NormallyGrannySquaresdon’tusemagicrings,butifyouwantthecentertobeclosedfeelfreetouseonetostartoff.

Thefirstroundofshellsstartswithachain3.Eachtimeyoubeginanewroundyouwillchain3andtheywillcountasthefirstdoublecrochetintheshell.Eachshellismadeof3doublecrochet.Sochain3andwork2doublecrochet,chain3,work3doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet,chain3andjoininthe3rdchainofthestartingchain3.Thisisthefirstround.Youshouldhavefourshellsseparatedbychain3spaces.

Forthesecondroundofshellsbeginbychaining3andwork2doublecrochetintothechainthreespaceofthepreviousrow.Youwillhavetoeasethetwodoublecrochetstitchesintothisspaceandthechainthreewillbeonthefarleftsideofthechainthreespace.(Thisiswhythesquareendsupabitcockeyed.)Ifyouturnyourworkyoucansimplychainthreeandthenwork2doublecrochetrightintothechainthreespace.Chainthreeandcrochetthreemoredoublecrochetintothesamechainthreespaceyoujustdidthestartingchainandtwodoublecrochet.Thisformsthefirstcorner.

Chainone,intothenextchainthreespaceworkthreedoublecrochet,chainthree,threedoublecrochet.Thiswillbeyoursecondcorner.Chainone.Intothenextchainthreespacerepeatthepreviousstitches,chainone,andthenrepeatthethreedoublecrochet,chainthree,threedoublecrochetcombination,chainoneandjoininthe3rdchainofthestartingchain.Nowyouhaveeightsetsofshells;foursetsseparatedbychainthree,andeachcornerisseparatedbyachainonespace.

Forthethirdroundofshellsbeginbyachainthreeandtwodoublecrochetintothefirstchainonespace.Chainone,crochetthefirstcornerwiththreedoublecrochet,chainthree,threedoublecrochetintothefirstchainthreespace.Chainoneandcrochetthreedoublecrochetintothenextchainoncespace.Repeatthisprocessworkingashellintoeachchainoncespaceandtwoshellsateachcornerintothechainthreespaces.

Workaroundthesquareandmakeitaslargeasyouwant.Youcanchangecolorsateachroundandmakeyoursquaresascolorfulorsimpleasyoudesire.Justrememberthateachcorneriscomprisedofthreedoublecrochet,chainthree,threedoublecrochet.Eachsideshellclusterisseparatedbyachainoneanditisintothesechainspacesyouworktheshells.

VariationsontheGrannySquare

TherearesomanyvariationsoftheGrannySquarethatIcouldwriteanentirebookaboutthem.Inthissectionwe’llcoversomeofthemostpopularvariationsusedtocreateverycreativeandbeautifulsquares.

Oneofmyfavoritesisthesunflowersquare.Thissquareusesclusterstitches.Tocrochetaclusterstitchinsertthehookandyarnover,pullthroughandpullthroughthefirsttwoloopsonthehook.Dothistwice.Youshouldnowhave3loopsonthehook.Yarnoverandpullthroughallthreeloops,chainonetolockthestitch.Thepatternalsousesa3stitchclusterwhichiscrochetedinthesamemanner,butyouendupwith4loopsonthehook,yarnoverandpullthroughall4loopsandchainonetolockthestitch.

Ididaroundofblacksinglecrochetonthissquaretofinishitoff.

Tobeginthissquareformamagicringandcrochettwoandthencrochet16doublecrochetintothemagicring.Youcanalsochainthreeandjointocreateacircle,butIlikethelookofthemagicringbettersinceitgivesanicetightcenter.Onceyouhaveyour16doublecrochetjoininthe2ndstartingchain.

Chain2anddoublecrochetinthesamespace.Crocheta2doublecrochetclusterandchainonebetweeneachdoublecrochetofthepreviousround.Whenyoureachtheendoftheroundslipstitchintothe2ndchainofthebeginningchain2tojoin.

Withthesecondcolorjoinatanychainonespaceandchainthree.Crocheta2doublecrochetclusterinthesamespace,chain3andcrocheta3doublecrochetclusterinthesamespace.Chain2,3doublecrochetclusterinthenextchainonespace,chain2;repeattwomoretimes.Inthenextchainonespaceworka3doublecrochetcluster,chain3,3doublecrochetcluster,chain2.Continuearoundthesquareuntilyoureachtheendofthisround.Youwillhavefourcornersoftwoclustersseparatedbychain3,andthreesingleclustersoneachsideseparatedbychain2.

Withthefirstcolorjoininanycornerandchain3,crocheta2doublecrochetcluster,chain3,3doublecrochetcluster,chain2.Crochetinthesamemannerasthepreviousroundbutyouwillhavethefourcornersandfour3doublecrochetclustersoneachsideofthesquare.

Sotoreviewthepattern,startwithamagicsquare.Youwillthenhave17doublecrochetinthefirstround(thisincludesthechain2).Thesecondroundconsistsoffourcornersandthree3doublecrochetclustersoneachsidewithachain2spacebetweenthem.Thelastroundhasfourcorners,andfour3

doublecrochetclustersoneachsidewithachain2spacebetweenthem.

GrannyRound

AnotherpopularvariationontheGrannySquareistheGrannyRound.Youcanusetheseforlotsofprojects.Makeasetandusethemascoasters,potholders,orkeepmakingtheroundlargerandlargerandcreateacircularafghan.

Tobeginchainfourandjoininthe1stchaintoformaring.Chain3andcrochet11doublecrochetintothering.Joininto3rdstartingchain.Forroundtwochainthreeandwork2doublecrochetintothesamespace.Chain1,*skiponedoublecrochet,andwork3doublecrochetintonextdoublecrochet,chainone*,repeataroundandjoin.Youshouldnowhave18doublecrochetandsixchainonespaces.

Roundthreestartsbyslipstitchingintothenextdoublecrochetwhichisthecenterofthethreedoublecrochetgroup.Chain3andworktwodoublecrochetintothesamestitch,chain1,skipnextdoublecrochet,work3doublecrochetintothenextchain1space,chain1.*Skipnextdoublecrochet,work3doublecrochetintothenextdoublecrochet,chain1,skipnextdoublecrochet,3doublecrochetintothenextchainonespace,chain1,repeatfrom*andjoin.Youshouldhave36doublecrochetplus12chain1spaces.

LotsofPossibilities

Hereisabeautifultablerunnermadeupoflaceymotifs.Withmotifsyoucanuseverylaceypatternstocreatedelicategarments,tablerunners,accessoriesandmuchmore.TherearesomanyoptionswithmotifsIcouldfillanentirebookaboutthem.

Hereisacutepincushionmadewithmotifs.

PleasebesuretocheckoutthelinksI’veprovidedintheResourcesectiontofindevenmoremotifpatterns.Therearehundredsavailableforfreeonline.Onlyyourimaginationisthelimitwhenworkingwithmotifs.

JoiningMotifs

Onceyouhaveyourmotifsmadeyou’llneedtojointhem.Thereareseveralmethodsyoucanusetojoinyourmotifsfromsimplysewingthemtogethertousingaprettybraidedeffect.Youcanjoineachmotifseparatelyorjoinarowofmotifsandthenjointherowstocreateyourproject.

Sewing

Sewingyourmotiftogetherisperhapstheeasiestmethod.Threadatapestryneedlewithagenerousamountofyarnandholdyourmotifswiththerightsidestogether.Lineupthecornersandwhipstitchthemotifscatchingthetwoloopsofeachstitchoneachmotif.Thismethodgivesyouanicealmostinvisiblejoin.Ifonemotifisabiglargerthantheotheronesimplyeasethestitchestogethersothattheseamdoesnotpucker.

SingleCrochet

Ifyouchoosetojoinyourmotifswithsinglecrochetyouwillneedtodecideifyouwanttheseamontherightsideorthewrongside.InthefollowingimageyoucanseehowIusedasimplesinglecrochetjoinandIhavetheseamontherightsidetomakeaprettyframeforthemotifs.

Ifyouwanttheseamtobeontherightside,holdthemotifswiththewrongsidestogether.(Fortheseamtobeonthewrongside,holdtherightsidesofyourmotifstogetherwhileyoucrochet.)Lineupthecornersandjointheyarninthecenterofacorner.Singlecrochetandcatchtheloopsofbothmotifedgesineachstitch.Youcaneasilyaddthenexttwomotifsbycrochetinginacontinuousseamuntilyouhavereachedtheendoftherow.Whenyoujointhenextroworcolumntoyourpieceandyougettoacornercatchthecornerstitchfromallfourmotifsinthecentercornerstitchtocreateanice90degreeangleforeachcorner.

JoinasYouGo

Thejoinasyougomethodisaveryusefultechniqueinwhichyoujoineachsquareasyoucrochet.Whenyouarefinishedyourafghanorblanketiscompletelyjoinedandallyouneedtodoisfinishitwithanedgingifyousodesire.

Finishyourfirstsquarecompletely.Inotherwordsdoalloftheroundsforthefirstsquare.Whenyougettothelastroundofthenextsquarestartwithachainthreeasthefirstdoublecrochet,dotwomoredoublecrochetandthengrabthefirstsquareandholdingthewrongsidestogetherchainonecatchingthefirstsquareinthechainstitch.Thenworkthenextsetofthreedoublecrochet.Whenyoucometoacornerchainoneandonthesecondchaincatchthecornerofthefirstsquareinthesecondchainstitch.

Chainone,andcontinuewiththenextthreedoublecrochetclustertocompletethecorner.Crochetthenextthreedoublecrochetcluster,chainone,andcontinuearoundthesecondsquaretocompletethesquare.Asyoucompletemoresquaresyouwillcontinuetocrochetthelastroundcatchingtheadjoiningsquaresinthechainonespaces.

FlatBraidJoin

Aflatbraidjoincreatesabeautifulbraidedlookbetweenyoursquares.Itlooksverycomplicated,butwhentakenstepbystepthistechniqueisactuallyquiteeasytoachieve.Thefirststepistocrochetasinglecrochetedgingaroundthesquares.Thiscreatesaniceevenbasefortheflatbraid.Youdon’thavetodothisstep,butIfinditismucheasierifyoutakethetimetodoit.Youcanusethismethodtojoinanytypeofmotifs,notjustGrannySquares.

Jointheyarnyouwishtousefortheflatbraidinanycornerandchainthree,singlecrochetintothesamestitchyoujoinedtheyarnontoandchainthree.Skipastitchandsinglecrochet,chainthree,skipastitchandchainthree.Dothisallofthewayaroundthesquareuntilyougettothefirstsinglecrochet,joinandbreaktheyarn.

Nowitistimetoworkonthesecondsquare.Jointheyarninacornerandworkacrossonesideofthesquarejustlikeyoudidthefirstsquare.Whenyougettotheothercornerchainthree,removethehook

andpickupthefirstsquareholdingthewrongsidestogether.Insertthehookintothefirstsquare’schainthreelooponthecorner,insertthehookintothethirdchain,pulltheloopthroughthechainthreespace,andchaintwo.Thisjoinsthetwosquares.Skipastitchonthesecondsquareandsinglecrochet.Chainone,removethehookfromthechainoneloopandinsertitfromfronttobackthroughthenextchainthreespaceonthefirstsquare.Insertthehookbackintothechainoneloopanddrawitupthroughthechainthreespaceandchainone.Chaintwoandcontinuethisacrossthesideofthesquaretojointhetwosquarestogether.

Usethismethodtojoinallofthesquarestogetherandwhenyouaredoneyouwillhaveadecorativeflatbraidjoin.Justremembertoremovethehookfromthechainloopontheworkingsquareandinsertthehookfromfronttobackonthesquareyouarejoiningtoanddrawthechainloopthroughthechainthreespace.Thenchainonetojointhesquares,chaintwo,skipastitchontheworkingsquareandsinglecrochet.Thatisallthereistoit!

Thesetechniquesarejustthebasicsonesyoucanuseforjoiningmotifs.Therearelotsofoptionsyoucanuse.BesuretoexplorethevideosandlinksI’veincludedattheendofthebookforevenmoreinspiration.

ColorWheelHotWaterBottleCover

PatternLink:http://www.yarnspirations.com/patterns/color-wheel-hot-water-bottle-cozy.html

Youwillneedthefollowingyarnandsuppliestocratethiscuteproject:

The finished size for thewaterbottle cover is about8 incheswideand11 inches longexcluding theneckofthewaterbottle.

Gaugeforthisprojectis20singlecrochetand24rowsequalfourinches.

Patternguideforjoiningsquaresisasfollows.

Motif

WithColor1,chain5.Joinwithslipstitchtoformring.1stround:Chain2.(Yarnoveranddrawupaloop.Yarnoveranddrawthrough2loopsonhook)twice.Yarnoveranddrawthroughallloopsonhook–begclustermade.(Chain3.Cluster)7timesinring.Chain3.Joinwithslipstitchtotopofbegcluster.Fastenoff.2ndround:JoinMAINCOLORwithslipstitchtoanychain-3sp.Chain3(countsasdoublecrochet).(2doublecrochet.chain3.3doublecrochet)insamespaceaslastslipstitch.*Chain1.3doublecrochetinnextchain-3space.Chain1.(3doublecrochet.chain3.3doublecrochet)innextchain-3space.Repfrom*twicemore.Chain1.3doublecrochetinnextchain-1space.Chain1.Joinwithslipstitchtofirstdoublecrochet.Fastenoff.Make6MotifsusingAasColor1.Make6MotifsusingBasColor1.Make6MotifsusingCasColor1.FrontJoin12Motifswithslipstitchasshownindiagram(seepage2).Edging:1stround:JoinMAINCOLORwithslipstitchtoanychain-3cornerspace.Chain1.3singlecrochetinsameslipaslastslipstitch.Work1roundofsinglecrochetevenlyaround,having3singlecrochetineachcorner.Joinwithslipstitchtofirstsinglecrochet.2ndand3rdrounds:Chain1.1singlecrochetineachsinglecrochetaround,having3singlecrochetineachcornersinglecrochet.Joinwithslipstitchtofirstsinglecrochet.Fastenoffatendof3rdround.BackTop

Join6Motifswithslipstitchasshownindiagram(seepage2).Edging:1stround:JoinMAINCOLORwithslipstitchtobottomrightchain-3cornerspace.Chain1.3singlecrochetinsamespaceaslastslipstitch.Work1roundofsinglecrochetevenlyaround,having3singlecrochetineachcorner.Joinwithslipstitchtofirstsinglecrochet.2ndand3rdrounds:Chain1.1singlecrochetineachsinglecrochetaround,having3singlecrochetineachcornersinglecrochet.Joinwithslipstitchtofirstsinglecrochet.Turnatendofthirdround.Beginworkinginrowsalongbottomedge:1strow:Chain1.1singlecrochetineachsinglecrochettoendofrow.Turn.2ndto5throws:Chain1.1singlecrochetineachsinglecrochettoendofrow.Fastenoffatendof5throw.BottomNote:Chain2atbeginningofrowdoesnotcountashalfdoublecrochet.WithB,chain44.1strow:1halfdoublecrochetin3rdchainfromhook.1halfdoublecrochetineachchaintoendofchain.Turn.42halfdoublecrochet.2ndrow:Chain2.1halfdoublecrochetineachhalfdoublecrochettoendofrow.JoinAatendoflastrow.Turn.Repeatlastrowinfollowingsequence:2rowsA,2rowsC,2rowsB,untilworkfrombegmeasuresapproximately4½”[11.5cm],endingonaWSrow.JoinMAINCOLORatendoflastrow.Nextrow:WithMAINCOLOR,as2ndrow.Nextrow:Buttonholerow:Chain2.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext5halfdoublecrochet.Chain3.Skipnext3halfdoublecrochet.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext6halfdoublecrochet.Chain3.Skipnext3halfdoublecrochet.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext8halfdoublecrochet.Chain3.Skipnext3halfdoublecrochet.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext6doublecrochet.Chain3.Skipnext3halfdoublecrochet.1halfdoublecrochetineachoflast5halfdoublecrochet.Turn.Nextrow:Chain2.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext5halfdoublecrochet.3halfdoublecrochetinnextchain-3space.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext6halfdoublecrochet.3halfdoublecrochetinnextchain-3space.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext8halfdoublecrochet.3halfdoublecrochetinnextchain-3space.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext6halfdoublecrochet.3halfdoublecrochetinnextchain-3space.1halfdoublecrochetineachofnext5halfdoublecrochet.Turn.Nextrow:1halfdoublecrochetineachhalfdoublecrochettoendofrow.Fastenoff.FinishingPlacemarkers2¼inchesinfromeithertopsideedgeofFrontpiece.AlignFrontwithBackTopwithWStog.JoinMAINCOLORwithslipstitchattoprightmarker.Workingthroughboththicknesses,joinFrontandBacktogwithslipstitcharoundpiece,overlappingBackBottomoverBackTopby1½inch,tooppositetopmarker,leavingtopbetweenmarkersopen.

Fastenoff.Sewonbuttonstocorrespondtobuttonholes.

EdgingTechniques

Asyouadvanceinyourcrochetexpertiseyou’llwanttolearnhowtoaddprettyedgingstoyourprojects.Alovelyedgingcantakeaho-humprojecttoawowproject.InthischapterI’llsharesometipsonhowtoworkupanevenedging,howtoaddedgingstofabric,andexploresomeedgingstitches.

EveningUptheEdgeofYourProject

Oneoftheeasiestwaystoevenuptheedgesofyourprojectsistoworkaroworroundofsingleordoublecrochetasyourlastroworround.Thisgivesyouaniceevenbaseonwhichtoworkyouredgingstitches.ForexamplethepopularCorner2Cornertechniquecreatesaprettyscarforafghan,buttheedgescanbeachallengetotryandcrochetontounlessyoueventheedgesoutwithasinglecrochetedgingfirst.Thisisbecauseyouhaveamixtureofsingleanddoublecrochetstitchesalongtheedges.Youmayhavetoeasethestitchesintoyourproject,butaslongasyouendupwithaniceevenedgeyou’regoodtogo.

YoucanseeonthisSunflowersquarethatIcrochetedIdidaroundofsinglecrochetinblack.NowwhenIjointhesquaresIwillhaveaniceevenedgetoworkwith.

AttachingEdgingtoFabric

Mygrandmothercouldtakethreadandcrochetintricateandstunningedgingsonherdresserscarvesandpillowcasessheembroidered.Watchinghercrochettheseprettyedgingsisoneofthethingswhichformedmyloveofthecraft.Mostofherprojectshasedgingsmadeforcrochetwithsmallholesalready

inthem.Butifyouwanttoaddadecorativeedgingtoapieceoffabrictherearetwomainmethodsyoucanuse.

Thefirstmethodusesanawlorverysharpcrochethook.Takeyourfabricandlayitflat.Nowtakearulerandmark3/8to½inchincrementsacrosstheedge.Nowuseasharpawltogentlypokesmallholesintothefabric.Jointhethreadtothefarrightholeandworkthreeorfourchainstitchesuntilyoucometothenextholeandsinglecrochetintothehole.Workacrosstheedgeandwhenyouturnyourworkyouwillhaveabaseontowhichyoucancrochettheedging.

Thesecondmethodusesneedleandthread.Layyourfabricflatandmarkout½inchincrementswithapencilorfabricpen.Nextthreadaneedlewitheithercrochetthreadorheavythreadandblanketstitchacrossthefabricusingthemarksasaguide.Theblanketstitchisveryeasy.Inserttheneedleintothefirstmark,pullthethreadthroughandinserttheneedleintothenextmark.Beforeyoupullthethreadtightsliptheneedleunderthestitchyoujustmadeandpullthestitchtaut.Workacrosstheedgeandwhenyoureachthelastmarkbindoffthethread.

Nextholdingthefabricwiththewrongsidefacingyoujointhecrochetthreadontothefirstloopontherightcreatedbytheblanketstitch.Singlecrochetacrosstheedgecrochetingthesamenumberofstitchesbetweeneachloop.Whenyouturnyourworkyouwillbereadytostarttheedgingstitches.

EdgingStitches

ShellorScallopEdging

Oneoftheeasiestandmostversatileedgingstitchesistheshelledging(alsoknownasscallopedging).Youcanusethisedgingonpracticallyanycrochetprojecttogiveitafinishedlook.Jointheyarnatanycornerandchainthree.Crochetfourdoublecrochetstitchesintothesamestitchasthejoin.Skiptwostitchesandworkfivedoublecrochetintothenextstitch.Atthenextcornerworktwoshellsandcontinueacrosstheedgeofyourprojectuntilyoureachthefirstshell,joinintothebottomofthefirstchainandbreaktheyarn.

BigandLittleScallopEdging

Thisisaprettyvariationonthebasicshellstitch.

Startingonthewrongsideworkonesinglecrochetintosecondchainfromhook,onesinglecrochetintoeachchaintoend,turn.Row2:5chain(countas1treble,1chain),work[1treble,1chain]twiceintofirstsinglecrochet,skip4singlecrochet,1singlecrochetintonextsinglecrochet,*1chain,skip4singlecrochet,intonextsinglecrochetwork[1treble,1chain]5times,skip4singlecrochet,1singlecrochetintonextsinglecrochet;repeatfrom*tolast5singlecrochet,1chain,work1trebleintolastsinglecrochet,1chain,intosamestitchaslasttreblework[1treble,1chain,1treble],turn.

Row3:1chain,1singlecrochetinto1stitchtreble,*2chain,intonextsinglecrochetwork[doubletreble,2chain]4times,skip2,1singlecrochetintonexttreble;repeatfrom*toendplacinglastsinglecrochetintofourthof5chainatbegofpreviousrow,turn.Row4:1chain,1singlecrochetinto1stitchsinglecrochet,*4chain,skipnextspace,1Bobbleintonext2chainspace,[3chain,1Bobbleintonext2chainspace]twice,4chain,1singlecrochetintonextsinglecrochet;repeatfrom*toend.Fastenoff.

NeapolitanLaceEdge

Thisverylovelyedgingwouldgiveyourprojectsaprettylaceyfinish.

Workfromthenarrowend.Endwithrow6ofpattern,endoff.Thisiswhereaniceevensinglecrochetedgecomeinhandytogiveyouastablebaseonwhichtowork.Row1:[3doublecrochet,chain3,3doublecrochet]infifthchainfromhook(shellmade),turn.Row2:Chain3,shellinnextchain3spaceofpreviousshell,turn.Row3:chain3,shellinnextchain3spaceofpreviousshell,turn.Row4:chain5,shellinnextchain3spaceofpreviousshell,turn.Row5:chain3,shellinnextchain3spaceofpreviousshell,[chain2,1doublecrochet]6timesinnextchain5space,1singlecrochetinnextchain3space,turn.Row6:chain3,2doublecrochetinnextchain2space*[Slipstitch,chain3,2doublecrochet]ineachofnext4chain2spaces,1singlecrochetinnextchain2space(beforeshell),chain3,shellinchain3spaceofnextshell,turn.Row7:chain3,shellinnextchain3spaceofpreviousshell,turn.

Repeatrows4-7untilyouhavereachedyourdesiredlength.LaceNapkinEdging

Usethisprettyedgingtoaddsomecharactertoplainnapkins,pillowcases,ortowels.Useafabricpentomake1/8marksanduseanawltopokeholesinthefabricbeforeyoubegin.

Edging:Jointhreadwithslipstitchat8thstitchmarktotherightofanycorner.

1stround:Chain1.1singlecrochetinsamespaceaslastslipstitch.1singlecrochetineachofnext6stitchmarks.*3singlecrochetineachofnext2stitchmarks.1singlecrochetineachstitchmarkuntillaststitchmarkatnextcorner.Repeatfrom*twicemore.3singlecrochetineachofnext2stitchmarks.1singlecrochetineachstitchmarktoendofround.Joinwithslipstitchtofirstsinglecrochet.

2ndround:Chain6.Missnext3singlecrochet.**1singlecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain3.Missnext3singlecrochet.1doublecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain2.1doublecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain3.1doublecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain2.1doublecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain3.Missnext3singlecrochet.*1singlecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain3.Missnext3singlecrochet.(1doublecrochet.Chain3.1doublecrochet)innextsinglecrochet.Chain3.Missnext3singlecrochet.*Repeatfrom*to*acrossuntil5thsinglecrochetfromcorner.Repeatfrom**twicemore.1singlecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain3.Missnext3singlecrochet.1doublecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain2.1doublecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain3.1doublecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain2.1doublecrochetinnextsinglecrochet.Chain3.Missnext3

singlecrochet.Repeatfrom*to*acrossuntilbegchain6.Joinwithslipstitchto3rdchainofchain6.

3rdround:**Chain7.1singlecrochetinnextdoublecrochet.Chain5.1singlecrochetinnextdoublecrochet.(Chain5.1singlecrochet.Chain6.1singlecrochet.Chain5.1singlecrochet)innextchain-3sp.Chain5.1singlecrochetinnextdoublecrochet.*Chain7.Missnext:chain-3space,1singlecrochetandchain-3sp.1singlecrochetinnextdoublecrochet.(Chain5.1singlecrochet.Chain6.1singlecrochet.Chain5.1singlecrochet)innextchain-3sp.Repeatfrom*acrossto2ndlastdoublecrochetfromcorner.Repeatfrom**3timesmore.Joinwithslipstitchto3rdchainofbegchain7.Fastenoff.

Thesearejustafewofthemostpopularedgingstitches.Pleasebesuretocheckoutthelinksinthebackofthebooktoexploreandfindevenmoreedgingstitchestotryout.

Corner2CornerTechnique

TheCorner2Corner(C2C)patternhasbecomeoneofthemostlovedpatterns,andforgoodreason.Itiseasytolearn,worksupquickly,andyoucanmakeawidevarietyofprojectsusingthistechnique.Inthischapterwe’lllearnthebasicC2Cpattern,nowtomakeasquareandarectangle,andhowyoucanusethistechniquetocreateinterestingandcreativemotifsandpatterns.

BasicC2CPattern

Asthenameimplies,thepatternisworkedfromcornertocorner.Blocksareformedandconnectedinincreasingdiagonalrows.Onceyoureachthewidthyouwantyouwillceasetoincreaseononesidetoformarectangleorasquare.Whenyoureachthepointatwhichyouwanttostarttofinishuptheshapeyounolongerincreaserowsonbothsideandendupwithafinalsquare.Thiswillbecomeclearerasweworkthepattern,butbelievemeitisveryeasytomaster.ThefollowingimageisfromthefreeC2CpatternfoundonRedHeart’ssite.

Thefirststepistochain6.Doublecrochetintothe4thchainfromthehook,anddoublecrochetintothe2remainingchains.Thisisthefirstblock.Chain6,doublecrochetintothe4thchainfromthehookanddoublecrochetintothe2remainingchainstitches.Thesecondblockisformed.Nowyouwanttofoldthetwoblockslikethepagesofabook,soslipstichintothechain3loopofthefirstblock.

Chain3andwork3doublecrochetintothechain3loopofthefirstblock.YourworkwillnowformaV

andyouwillhave3blocksmade.Thebeginningtailofyourfoundationchainwillbeontheverybottomcorner.Useittokeeptrackofwhichdirectionyou’regoing.

Turnyourworkandchain6.Doublecrochetintothe4thchainfromthehook,anddoublecrochetintothe2remainingchains.Slipstitchintothechain3loopofthenextblockandchain3.Work3doublecrochetintothechain3loopoftheblock.Slipstitchintothenextchain3loopandchainthree.Work3doublecrochetintothechainthreeloopandthenturnyourwork.

Continuetochain6oneachsideofyourfabricuntilyoureachthedesiredwidthandhalfofthedesiredlength.Nowwe’llcoverhowtomakeasquareorarectangle.

SquareC2C

Onceyouhaveyourfabricastallandwideasyouwantitinsteadofchaining6foranewrowyouwillslipstitchfourtimesuntilyoureachthechain3loopofthenextblock.Chainthreeandwork3doublecrochetintothechain3loop.Chain3andwork3doublecrochetsintoeachblockacrosstheproject.

Whenyougettotheothersidechain3andwork3doublecrochetintothechain3loop.Onceyougettotheverylastblockinthecorneryouwillslipstitchovertothechain3loop,chain3,work3doublecrochetintothe3chainloop,slipstitchintothenextblockandthenbreaktheyarn.

RectangularC2C

Ifyouaremakingascarfofanotherrectangularprojectworktheblocksuntilyougettothecorrectwidth.Nowinsteadofchaining6oneachsideyouwillslipstitchacrossthesideofyourworktothechain3loopandstartthenextblockwithachain3.Ontheothersideofyourworkyouwillcontinuetostartthenextrowwithachain6.Thiswillmakeyourprojectgetlonger,butnotwider.Whenyoureachthedesiredlengthslipstitchtothenextchain3loopacrossthetopofyourworkandchain3tostartanewblock.Donotchain3orchain6tostartnewblocks,butslipstitchacrossthetopofyourworkandthenchain3toformthetopofthenextblockuntilyoucompletethelastcornerblockandbreakyouryarn.

ChangingColors

Changecolorsjustlikeanyotherproject.Onthelaststitchoftheblockintheoldcolorworkthelastdoublecrochetuntilyouhave2loopsonyourhookandpullthenewcolorthrough.Whenyoucrochetthechainstitchespullthetwoyarnstaughtandcontinueon.

HereistheRedHeartBabyDiamondsAfghanusingsquaresofcolor.Noticehowthecolorsarematcheddependingonhowyoujointhesquares..

RippleandWaveTechnique

Ripple,chevron,orwaveafghanshavestoodthetestoftime.Theycontinuetobeafavoriteamongcrochetenthusiasts.Inthischapterwewilllearnthebasicripplepatternandafewvariations.Wewillalsogooverthemathneededtofigureouthowmanystitchesafoundationchainshouldbe.Youcanusesingle,double,orhalfdoublecrochetstitchestoworkuparipplethroworafghan.Somepatternsuseshellandclusterstitchestoworkupveryprettyprojects.RecentlyImadetheRedHeartCloudyDayRippleThrowformyson’sweddingpresent.Thispatternusedshellsandclusterstitchesandskippedstitchestoformthevalleys.Thepatternalsouseddoublecrochetstitchestoformsolidstripesbetweenthevariegatedshellandclusterstitches.Itwasafunvariationonthebasicripplepattern.Hereisapictureofthefinishedthrow.

BasicsoftheRipplePattern

Allripplepatternsareformedbypeaksandvalleys.Atthepeaksstitchesareincreased,andatthevalleysstitchesaredecreased.Stitchescanbedecreasedbyworkingtwoorthreestitchestogether,oryoumayskipstitchestoformavalley.

Mostripplepatternsareworkedinsetsofsinglestitches,increase,anddecreases.ForexamplethesolidcolorstripesintheCloudDayRippleThrowwereworkedasfollows:

Rows7-11:Withnextcolor,chain2,skipnextdoublecrochet,doublecrochetinnext4doublecrochet,*3doublecrochetinnextdoublecrochet,doublecrochetinnext6doublecrochet,skipnext2doublecrochet,doublecrochetinnext6doublecrochet;repeatfrom*8times,3doublecrochetinnextdoublecrochet,doublecrochetinnext4doublecrochet,skipnextdoublecrochet,doublecrochetinlaststitch;turn.

Startingfromtherepeatthethreedoublecrochetformthefirstpeak,sixdoublecrochetareworkedandthentwodoublecrochetareskippedtoformthefirstvalley,andsixdoublecrochetareworkeduptowardthenextpeak.Thispatternisrepeatedeighttimesandthentherowisfinishedoffwiththe

specifiedstitches.

Allofthepeaksandvalleys,nomatterwhichtypeofpatternyouuse,lineupasyouwork.Ifyoufindyourpeaksandvalleysarenotliningupthenyouhavemadeamistakeinyourstitchcount.Myfirstrippleafghanwaslikethat.IwasworkingawayandfoundthatsomehowIhadreversedthepatternandthepeakshadbecomevalleysandthevalleyshadbecomepeaks.YesIdidsomefroggingthatday…

FoundationChainMath

Oneyouhavethebasicideadownpatforarippleafghanyoumaywanttomakeoneonyourownwithoutapattern.Thefirstthingyouneedtodecideishowmanystitcheseachrepeatwillcontain.Forexamplesixstitchestowardthepeak,threestitchesinthepeak,sixstitchestowardthevalley,andtwostitchesforthevalleyaddupto17stitches.Multiply17bythenumberofrepeatsyouwishtohaveandthenaddsevenforthebeginningoftherow,andninefortheendingoftherow.

Soifyouwant8patternrepeatsyouwillneed136chainstitchesplus16forthebeginningandendingoftherows.Thisaddsupto152chainstitches.(Rememberthisnumberincludesthestartingchainforthefirststitch.)Aneasierwaytodothisistofindapatternyoulike,lookatthepatternrepeatsanddecidewhichtypesofstitchesyouwanttouseandusethestartingchainnumberfromthepattern.Ifyou’relikememathsometimesmakesyourheadhurtandwhyreinventthewheelifsomeoneelsehasalreadymadethecalculations.

Youcanalsousetheripplepatterntocrochethats,scarves,wristwarmers,slippers,andhomedécoritems.Itisnotlimitedtoafghansandthrows.

ResourceLinks

Asyougrowinyourskillsyouwillfindsomegreatresourcesonlinetohelpyouconnectwithfellowcrochetloversandtolearnnewtechniques.InthischapterIsharesomeofthebestresourcesI’vefoundwhilewritingmybooksandinexploringtheinternetforhighqualityresources.Therearelotsmoresitesoutthereyoucanexplore,butIhopetheonesI’veincludedgiveyouagoodsolidstartingpoint,andplacestorefertowhenyouneedinformation.

CrochetNCraftshttp://crochetncrafts.com/freecrochetpatterns.htmlAgreatsitefullofinstructions,videos,freepatterns,andpatternsyoucanpurchase.Therearepatternsforallsortsofprojectsonthissite,andlotsoftutorialsforyoutolearnnewstitchesandtechniques.TapestryCrochetBloghttp://www.tapestrycrochet.com/blog/?cat=18CarolVenturahasablogdedicatedtotheartofflattapestrycrochet.Youwillfindherworldwideadventuresfindingmaterialsandotherlovesofthisart,andlotsoftutorials,patterns,tips,andtricks.Youwillbeamazedatthebeautifulcreationsshecreates,andthestunningcreationstheartistsshefeaturesonherblogcreatewiththistypeofcrochet.TheCrochetSpothttp://www.crochetspot.com/Thisisagreatblogfullofinstructions,illustrations(includinglefthandedinstructions),patterns,andinformationaboutcrochetingforcharity.Rachelalsodesignspatternsyoucanpurchaseonhersite,andifyousignupforPremiumPatternMembershipyoucandownloadallofhernewpatternseachmonthfornocharge.CrochetKittenshttp://crochetkitten.blogspot.com/Thisisanothergreatblogtovisitfortutorials,patterns,andlotsofinformationabouttheartofcrochet.Findouthowtouseyourscrapstocrochetthingsforcatsinrescueshelters.TheCuddlesforKittensprogramonherbloggivesyouafreepatternforacuddlematandacuddlebedyoucandonatetoalocalshelterforlonelykittieswaitingtobeadopted.NewStitchaDayhttp://newstitchaday.com/Thissitehastonsofvideosandinstructiontolearnnewstitches.Signupfortheirfreenewsletterandgettutorialsdeliveredtoyourinboxeachdayoronceaweek.Thealsohostliveevents,contestsandgiveaways,anddiscountsforyarnandsupplies.BesuretocheckouttheVideoStitchionarytolearnnewstitchesandbrushuponoldfavorites.Ravelryhttps://www.ravelry.com/account/loginRavelryisafreecrochetandknittingcommunity.Hereyoucanmeetotherhookersintheforums,sharepatterns,showoffyourworksinprogress,andshopforyarnandsupplies.

RedHearthttp://redheart.comRedHeartsponsorsthisfreesitewhereyoucanfindhundredsoffreepatterns.Youcanshopforyarnandsuppliesintheironlinestoreandgeteverythingyouneedfortheprojectsyoudownload.Theyalsohavetutorialsandablogtokeepupwithallthelatestcrochetandknittingnewsandtrends.SignupforthefreenewslettertogetallthelatestpatternsanddealsfromRedHeart.LionBrandhttp://learntocrochet.lionbrand.com/LionBrandisanothersitewhereyoucanfindfreepatterns,yarn,andsupplies.Theyhavealearningcenterwhereyoucanlearnnewskills,andyoucankeepupwithtrendsandnewsontheirblog.Theyalsoofferafreenewsletter.Annie’sCraftshttp://www.anniescatalog.com/Annie’siswhereyoucanfindallsortsofyarn,supplies,patterns,andeverythingrelatedtoyarnandcrafts.Notonlydotheycovercrochet,buttheyalsohavelotsofinformationandsuppliesforjewelrymaking,knitting,plasticcanvas,andmorecrafts.Theyalsohaveafreenewsletterwhichkeepsyouinformedofallthespecialstheyoffer.TheCrochetCrowdhttp://thecrochetcrowd.com/Ilovethissite!Somuchfreeinformationandcommunity.BesuretofollowthemonFacebookandcheckouttheirchallenges.Mikey,Cathy,andDivaDanofferuphumor,thoughtfulinsights,andplentyofgreatinformationonthissite.Signupfortheirweeklynewslettertokeepuptodateonallthatisgoingonthere.AllFreeCrochethttp://www.allfreecrochet.com/TutorialsIgetSOmanyofmyfreepatternsfromthissite.Therearehundredsifnotthousandsoffreepatternsforeverylevelofskill.Signupfortheirnewslettersandbesuretovisittheirsistersitesforevenmorefreepatterns.AllFreeCrochetAfghanPatternshttp://www.allfreecrochetafghanpatterns.com/AreyoureadytotaketheplungeandstartanAfghan?Thisisthesitetostart.Theyhavealllevelsofpatternsforeveryonefrombabytoadults.

VideoLinks

LearnHowtoJoinasYouGoBasicGrannySquareshttp://www.redheart.com/learn/videos/join-you-go-basic-granny-squaresRedHeartCrochetFlatBraidhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbKe3ll6LXwCrochetGeekLearnHowtoAttachCrochetEdgingswithVickieHowellhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQQSZZwSnQQJoAnnFabricsHowtoCrochettheBigandLittleScallopsEdginghttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-the-big-and-little-scallops-edging/NewStitchaDayHowtoCrochettheNeapolitanLaceEdgehttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-the-neapolitan-lace-edge/NewStitchaDayHowtoCrochettheCorner2CornerAfghanhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dymIOzc_aXYRedHeart

ImageAttributions

AllofthepatternsIhaveincludedinthisbookthatisnotminecanbefoundforfreeontheinternet.IhavegivencredittotheoriginaldesignerswhereIcould,andtheattributionsfortheimagesIuseinthisbookcanbefoundattheendofthisbook.Manythanksgoouttothewonderfuldesignersandteacherswhohavehelpaddtothewonderfulcontentinthisbooktheyhavesharedforfree.

Someoftheimagesinthisbookaremine.AllimagessharedfromFlickraresharedundertheCreativeCommonsLicense.Allimagesforpatternscanbefoundatthepatternlinkprovidedinthetext.

CrochetBlockhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/kpwerker/452655919ImagesharedonFlickrbyKimPiperWerkerGrannySquareshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/ingermaaike2/5911863507ImagesharedonFlickrbyIngerMaaikeGrannyCirclehttp://www.orble.com/free-granny-circle-motif-crochet-pattern/ImagefromOrbleTutorialPurpleTableRunnerhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/pandatomic/5743049942ImagesharedonFlickrbypandatomicPincushionshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/eraphernalia_vintage/5716974251ImagesharedonFlickrbyCherylJoinasYouGohttps://www.flickr.com/photos/edieeckman/6011407963ImagedsharedonFlickrbyEddieEckmanFlatBraidJoinhttp://www.knotyournanascrochet.com/2013/04/10-different-ways-to-join-granny-squares.htmlImagefromKnotYourNanasCrochetCrochetEdginghttps://www.flickr.com/photos/knitsteel/7969973286ImagesharedonFlickrbyKirstenSkilesEdgingUsinganAwlhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/craftapalooza/6246148605ImagesharedonFlickrbyNicoleVaughan

ShellEdginghttps://www.flickr.com/photos/51106757@N04/4714873096ImagesharedonFlickrbyTraceyLeighBigandLittleScallopEdgingStitchhttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-the-big-and-little-scallops-edging/ImagefromNewStitchaDayNeapolitanLaceEdgehttp://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet-the-neapolitan-lace-edge/ImagefromNewStitchaDayNapkinLaceEdginghttp://www.allfreecrochet.com/Kitchen-and-Dining/Lace-Napkin-EdgingImagefromAllFreeCrochetCorner2CornerAfghanhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dymIOzc_aXYImagefromRedHeartBabyDiamondsC2CThrowhttp://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/baby-diamonds-blanketImagefromRedHeart

Book3

ExpertCrochet

ByDorothyWilks

Thankyouforpurchasingthethirdvolumeinmylatestcrochetseries!Inthisvolumewewillexplorehowtoreadchartsandgraphs,differenttypesofcolorworks,andIwillsharetipsondesigningyourownpatterns.Theseareimportantskillsforanexpertcrocheterbecauseifyouknowhowtoreadandworkchartsandgraphsyouopenupanentirenewworldofpatternsforyoutoexplore.WewillalsolearnsomeexcitingexperttechniquessuchasFilet.Ihopethisvolume,ExpertCrochet,willencourageyouandsparksyourcreativitytoreachanevenhigherlevelofcrochetskills.

Contents

HowtoReadaCrochetChartHowtoReadaCrochetGraphandExpertColorWorkTechniquesIntarsiaCrochetFairIsleCrochetTapestryCrochetFiletCrochet

BroomstickLaceBeadsandCrochetDesigningYourOwnPatternsEndNotesResourcesImageAttributions

HowtoReadaCrochetChart

Manyexpertpatternsarewrittenintheformofachart.Intricatepatternsfordoiliesandotherexquisiteprojectswouldbetoocumbersomeandhardtofollowiftheywerewrittenout.Notonlythatbutachartgivesyouavisualrepresentationofwhatyourfinishedprojectwilllooklike.Learninghowtoreadacrochetchartwillenableyoutoworkapatternnomatterwhatlanguageitiswrittenin.Soifyouknowhowtoreadachartyoucanfindaprojectyouwanttocrochetandfollowthechartevenifthewordsarewritteninanotherlanguage.ReadingtheChartIfyouareworkingrowsyouwillstarttoreadthechartatthebottomrightcorner.Thefirstrowisnotthefoundationrowunlessspecifiedasso.Thenextrowisreadfromrighttoleft,andthenextrowisredfromlefttorightupthechartifyouarerighthanded.Ifyouarelefthandedyouwouldreversethedirectionsandstartdowninthelowerleftcornerandworklefttorightandthenrighttoleftallofthewayupthechart.Ifyouareworkingintheroundandarerighthanded,workinacounterclockwisedirection.Ifyouarelefthandedyouwouldworkinaclockwisedirectionfollowingthechartaround.Whenyouworkintheroundthechartstartsinthemiddleandworksitswayouttowardtheedge.Asmallarrowisusedtodenotewhereyoubegin.Somedesignersincludedirectionalarrowsontheircharts,butsomedonot.Eachrowmaybemarked,butnormallydesignersonlymarkeithertheevenoroddrows.Mostdesignerswillmarkhowmanystitchesyoushouldhaveineachrowespeciallyiftherehavebeenincreasesordecreases.Mostchartsdon’ttellyouifyoushouldworkintoastitchoraroundit.Thisiswhereyourknowledgeofcommoncrochetpracticescomesintoplay.ForexampleifyouaremakingaGrannySquarethenyouknowtheclustersofthreedoublecrochetareworkedaroundthechainstitches,notintothem.Ihaveseensomechartswithdirectionalarrowsusedtodenoteworkingintooraroundastitch,butthisisn’tacommonpractice.Colorchangesmayormaynotbeshownonachart,itdependsonthedesigner.Youcanswitchupcolorsandaddthemwheneveryoulikeaslongasyouworkthechartstitchescorrectly.CrochetChartSymbolsFirstyouneedtoknowwhatallofthevarioussymbolsmean.Besuretocheckthekeytothechartjusttobesuresincedesignersmaychoosetousetheirownsymbolswhenworkingupachart.HereisalistofstandardizedcrochetchartsymbolsfromtheCraftYarnCouncil.(YoucangototheirsiteanddownloadahandyPDFfileforfuturereference.)

USversusUKTerminologyUSandUKterminologyisnotthesame.WhenyoureadpatternsfromtheUKyouwillneedtotranslatethemintoUSterms.Thisisimportanttoknowifyoufindachartwithwritteninstructions.Here’sahandyguideforyoutoreferto:American(US)Term British(UK)Terms

Slipstitch SinglecrochetSinglecrochet DoublecrochetDoublecrochet Treble

Treble/Triple DoubletrebleSkip MissGauge Tension

USandUKhooksizesarealsoreferredtodifferently.UsethischarttoconvertUSandUKhooks.

Letter Number MetricC 2 2.75mmD 3 3.25mmE 4 3.5mmF 5 3.75mmG 6 4.0mm 7 4.5mmH 8 5.0mmI 9 5.5mmJ 10 6.0mmK 1,5 6.5mm

Okaynowthatwe’vecoveredthebasicsonhowtoreadachart,whatthesymbolsmean,andhowtoconvertUKtermsintoUStermslet’stakealookatanactualchart.

Inthismotifchartyoucanseethatyouwillneedtousechainstitches,singlecrochet,anddoublecrochetstitches.Startinginthemiddlethefirststepistochainfourandjointoformaring.Nextchainoneandsinglecrochetsixstitchesintotheringandjoin.Forroundthreechainthreeanddoublecrochetintothesamespace,twodoublecrochetintothenextsinglecrochet,chainfour,twodoublecrochetintoeachofthenexttwosinglecrochet,chainfourandrepeataround.Join.Roundfourbeginswithchainthreeandadoublecrochetintothesamestitch.Onedoublecrochetintoeachofthenexttwostitches,twodoublecrochetintothenextstitch,chainthree,singlecrochetintothechainfourspace,chainthree,andthenworkaroundtheprojectaccordingtothechart.Onceyougetusedtothewaythechartlookscomparedtohowtheactualcrochetpiecelooks,itwillallcometogetherforyou.Thedesignerwaskindenoughtomakeeachroundadifferentcolortomakeiteasytofollowthechart.Hereisapictureofthefinishedmotifsjoinedtogether.

TipsforReadingandWorkingChartsFamiliarizeyourselfwiththestitchesandthekeyofthechartbeforeyoubegin.Makesureyouunderstandwhatthesymbolsonthechartmean.KnowifthedesignerisusingUSorUKterms.Findthestartingpointandendingpointofthepattern.Lookforanycluesthedesignergivesyousuchasdirectionalarrows,orinstructionsonwhetherornottoworkstitchesintothepreviousroworaroundit.Comparethecharttoapictureofthefinishedprojecttohelpyouvisualizehowtoworkthechart.Ifthecharthaswritteninstructionsfollowalongwiththemasyouworkthechart.Relaxandhavefun!

HowtoReadaCrochetGraphandExpertColorWorkTechniques

GraphsareusedinmanycrochettechniquesincludingFilet,IntarsiaandFairIsle.Knowinghowtoreadandcrochetagraphpatternisanimportantexpertskill.Youcanevencreateyourowngraphandmakeuppersonalizedpatternsanddesigns.Althoughagraphmaylookintimidating,onceyouunderstandhowtoworkeachrowyou’llbecrochetingupgraphprojectsinnotime.Thedirectionyoustarttoworkagraphisuptoyou.Somefolksfinditeasiertostartreadingagraphfromlefttoright,likeyou’rereadingabook,whileothersmayfinditeasiertostartreadingagraphfromrighttoleft.Justrememberonceyoustarttoworkyourgraphtocontinuetoreadthegraphinthesamemannerasyoustartedout.FigureOuttheFoundationChainFirsttakealookathowmanysquaresareacrossthebottomofthegraph.Thisnumberisthenumberofstitchesyouwillneedinyourfoundationchain.ThefoundationchaindoesNOTcountasthefirstrow.Addtheappropriatenumberofstitchestothefoundationchainforthetypeofstitchyouwillbeusing,forexampleplusonestitchforsinglecrochetandthreechainsfordoublecrochet.Filetgraphsareworkedindoublecrochetwhilemostothertypesofgraphsareworkedinsinglecrochet.Butyoucanworkapicturegraphinanystitchyoulike,justremembertoaddtheappropriatenumberofchainstitchestoyourfoundationchainwhenstartingout.KeepingTrackofYourProgressIrecommendusingahighlightertomarkeachrowasyouwork.Alsodrawanarrowatthebeginningofeachrowsoyouwillknowwhichdirectionyouaregoingincaseyouhavetotakeabreakfromyourproject.Ifyouhaveyourrowsmarkedoffandarrowsontherowsyoucanpickyourprojectrightbackupandstarttocrochetagainwithoutconfusion.Iwouldalsorecommendwritingthenumberofstitchesneededacrossthebottomofthechart,andhowmanyrowsyouwillworkalongthesideofthechart.Youmayalsowanttomakeanoteofhowmanystitchesareineachblockofcolorsothatyoucankeeptrack.Crochetingachartisallaboutcounting.Youmustcountcorrectlyforyourpatterntodevelopcorrectly.Ifyoutakealookatthepoinsettiachartyouwillseethatthecharthas25boxesacrossand27rows.Howyoucounttheboxesdependsonthetypeofcrochetyouareplanningtodo.IfyouaregoingtocrochetanIntarsiapatternorFairIslepatternyouwouldcounttheboxesasonestitch.IfyouaregoingtodoaFiletpatterneachboxacrossthepatterncountsastwostitches.Beforeyoubeginknowwhichtypeofpatternyouaregoingtowork.

IntarsiaCrochet

Intarsiacrochetisusedtocreatepicturesandpatternsinprojects.Inthepoinsettiachartyoucanseethedesignercallsforfourcolors.WhenyouchangecolorintheIntarsiamethodyouwilluseanewbobbinofthread.Sobeforeyoubeginlookatthechartandfindthemaximumnumberofcolorchangesinonerow.Thisisthenumberofbobbinsyouwillneedforeachcolorchange.Forexampleinrow14youwillneedtohavethreebobbinsofwhite,twobobbinsofgreen,andtwobobbinsofred.WhenworkinganIntarsiacharteachsquarerepresentsonesinglecrochet.Sotobeginyouwillneedtocrochetafoundationchainof25plusone.Theextrastitchcountsasthefirstsinglecrochetinthefirstrow.Wewillbeginreadingthechartfromthelowerrightcornerandworkoutwayacrosswith24singlecrochetinwhite.Turnyourworkandchainone,andcrochet24singlecrochetinwhite.Repeatthisonemoretimesothatyounowhavethreerowsofwhite.Turnyouworkandchainone,crochet11singlecrochetinwhite,oneingreen,and12moreinwhitetofinishrowfour.Whenyouchangecolorworkthelaststitchoftheoldcolortothelasttwoloopsandthendrawthenewcolorthroughtheloopsandworkthenewcolor.Droptheoldcolorandletitrestthereuntilyoucomebackacrosstherowandneeditagain.Youshouldhaveonebobbinofwhite,onebobbinofgreenandonebobbinofwhitesofar.Whenyoureachrowsixyouwillpickupabobbinofredandaddittothefabric.Atrow13yellowisaddedtothecolorandyouwillneedabobbinofthiscolor,too.ThemostchallengingthingaboutIntarsiaiskeepingyourbobbinsofyarnfromgettingtangledasyouturnyourwork.Ihaveseensomeverycreativeideasonhowtokeepthisfromhappening.Oneofmyfavoritesistouseadowelandemptytoiletpaperrolls.Windupyourcolorsontherollsandthreadtherollsontoadowelandsuspendthedowelonthebacksoftwochairsorsomeotherwaytokeepthedowelsuspendedandyouryarnflowingfreely.Whenyouchangecolorsbesuretocapturetheoldcolorunderthefirststitchofthenewcolortosecureit.Leavelongtailswhenyouarefinishedsoyoucanweavetheminsecurely.

FairIsleCrochet

YoumaythinkofknittingwhenyouhearthetermFairIsle.DidyouknowyoucanalsoworkbeautifullyintricateandstunningpatternsofFairIslecrochetincrochet,too?Wellyoucan,anditisveryeasyonceyouunderstandtheprocess.UnlikeIntarsiayoudonotusebobbinstochangecolor.Insteadyou“float”theyarnonthebackofyourwork.Whatthismeansisasyouchangecolorsyoucarrytheunusedcolorsalongthebackofyourprojecttobepickedupasyouneedthem.Thiscreatesaloopylookonthebackofthefabric,sounlikeIntarsiaorTapestry(whichwewillcovernext)thefabricisnotreversible.WewillusethepoinsettiachartagaintolearntheFairIslecolortechnique.Allstitcheswillbesinglecrochetinthisexample.Youstartoffwithafoundationchainof25plusoneandcrochetthreerowsofwhite.Inthefourthrowthechartcallsforgreenonthe13thstitch.Onthelastwhitestitchpullthegreenyarnthroughthelasttwoloopsandcrochetonegreensinglecrochet.Pullwhitethroughthelasttwolopsofthegreenstitchandcontinueacrosstherowwithwhite.Sincethereisonlyonegreenstitchsofaryoucanleavethegreenandpickitupwhenyoucomebackacrosstherow.Youwanttoavoidfloatingcolorsmorethanfiveorsixstitchesifyoucan.Repeatthisprocessforthenextrowandworkyourwayupthecharttorow8.Thisistherowwhereyouwouldstarttofloatthecolorsalongthebackofthefabric.Asyouchangecolorscatchtheunusedcolorsinthebackofthestitcheswhenyouchangecolors.Forexampleinrow8crochetfivewhite,pickupthegreenandcrochetthreegreencatchingthewhitebehindthegreenwhenyouchangecolors,nextcrochetthreeredstitchescatchingthegreenandthewhitebehindthefirstredstitch.Youwillnowcarryallthreecolorsacrosstherowasyouworkpullingthecorrectcolortothefronttoworkwithasthechartcallsforcolorchanges.HereisanexampleofwhataFairIslecrochetprojectlookslikeonthewrongsidesothatyoucanseehowtheyarniscarriedacrossthebackofthefabric.Youcanseehowtheartistdidnotcarrythecolorsacrosstherowsofsolidcolor.Youcaneitherbreakandjointheyarnorcarrythecolorsupthesidesofyourwork.Tocarrythecolorsupthesidesofyourworkcapturetheunusedcolorinthefirststitchoftherow.Thissecuresthecolorandletsyoucarrytheunusedyarnupthesideoftheworksoyoucanpickitbackupwithoutbreakingtheyarn.

TapestryCrochet

TapestrycrochetgetsitsnamefromthebeautifultapestriesartistscreatedintheMiddleAges.Inthosetapestriesthreadoryarnwascarriedintherowsoftheworkandasacolorwasneededitwaspulledforwardtobeused.Thissametechniqueisusedintapestrycrochet.UnlikeIntarsiaorFairIsleallofthecolorsareinplayatonce.Asyouworktheyarnsareincorporatedintoeachrow.Howthisworksisyouinsertyourhookintothenextstitchandgrabthecorrectcolorandworktheappropriatenumberofstitchescarryingtheunusedyarnunderthestitchesoftheactivecolor.Thiscreatesaverythickfabricwithhintsofallofthecolorspeekingthroughthestitches.Thecolorsarenotdropped,andtheyarenotfloatedonthebackofthefabric.Rathertheyarecarriedalongandcapturedundertheactivestitches.HereisanexampleofTapestrycrochet.Notehowthelightercolorpeeksthroughthedarkerone.

FiletCrochet

Filetcrochetcreatesverydelicateandintricatepicturesandpatternsincrochet.NormallythreadorverythinyarnisusedinFiletcrochet.Alsoonecolorisusuallyusedforthistechnique.AchartisalsousedforFiletandisreadjustlikeanyothercrochetchartexcepteachboxrepresentstwostitchesinarow.Thisisbecausetheemptyboxesrepresenttwodoublecrochetstitcheswhilethecoloredinboxesrepresentadoublecrochetandchainstitch.Thisisimportanttorememberwhenfiguringupyourfoundationchain.AlsorememberyouwillbeusingdoublecrochetstitchescombinedwithchainstitchestocreatetheFiletpattern.ThefollowingimageisofaunicornFiletpattern.Youwillseethatthereare66boxesacrossthechartand62rowsupthesidesofthechart.Thistranslatesintoafoundationchainof132plusthree.Thelastthreechainscountasthefirstdoublecrochetofthefirstrow.YoureadFiletchartseitherfromrighttoleftorlefttoright,whicheverwayisbestforyou.Likeallchartsitisagoodideatomakeanoteofhowmanystitchesareneededforeachpatternsection.Youmaywanttomakeeachblockofstitchessothatyoucancountthemeasierasyoucrochetandnothavetostopandcountthestitchesonthechart.Usearrowstohelpyoukeeptrackofwhichwayyouarereadingthechartandmarkeachrowyoucompletewithahighlightertomakeyourlifeeasier,especiallyifyouhavetoputyourworkdownandcomebacktoit.InthisimageyoucanseeacloseupofthestitchesusedinFiletcrochet.Noticehowtheboxesareformedbythedoublecrochetandchainstitchwhilethefilledinspacesareformedbytwodoublecrochetstitchesrightnexttoeachother.

TobeginthisFiletchartyouwouldfirstcrochetafoundationchainof135stitches.Althoughthereare66boxeseachonerepresentstwostitches.Thelastthreechainstitchescountasthefirstdoublecrochet.Doublecrochetintothefourthchainfromthehookanddoublecrochetintoeachchainstitchacrossthefoundationchain.Turnyourworkandchainthree.Crochetadoublecrochetintoeachstitchacrosstherowandendupwithadoublecrochetintothetopoftheturningchain.Tobeginrowthreechainthreeandworkfivedoublecrochet.AtthefirstXonthechartdoublecrochetandchainone,skipadoublecrochetthreetimes.AtthethreeX’syouwillhavethreesetsofdoublecrochetandchainone.Ateachchainoneyouskipastitch.Ateachemptysquareyoucrochetonedoublecrochetintothenexttwostitches.Thepatternwilldevelopasyoucrochetwiththechainonespaces.Hereisapictureofthefinishedprojectcrochetedfromthischartsoyoucanseehowthepatterndevelops.

CrochetChartsandEmbroideryChartsCountedcrossstitchembroideryuseschartswhichareverysimilartocrochetcharts.Asamatteroffactmanycountedcrossstitchchartscanbeconvertedtocrochetcharts.Withjustafewadjustmentsyoucanconvertacountedcrossstitchchartintoacrochetchart.InthisimageofacountedcrossstitchpictureyoucanseehowtheAidaclothhassmallsquares.Onchartsthesesquarescorrespondtostitchessoifyouuseacountedcrossstitchchartsimplytranslatethestitchboxesintocrochetstitches.Fortheoutlinestitchesintheembroiderypatternyoucansurfacecrochettogetthesameeffect.

Beforeyoubeginlookatthecolorkeyforthechart.Irecommendmakingachartofyourownusingtheyarncolorsyouwilluseforyourproject.Takeapieceofcardboardorposterboardandusingaholepunch,punchholesdownthesideofthesideoftheposterboard.Punchenoughholestoaccommodatethenumberofcolorsyouwillusetoworkthechart.Labeleachholewiththenameofthecolorandcolornumberisthereisone.Threadasmallamountofeachyarnintotheholessothatyoucankeeptrackofwhichcolorsyouwillbeusing.Thiswillreallyhelpyouwhenyoucomebacktoyourprojectanditwillhelpyoukeeptrackofthecolorsyouneedtouseinthechart.

BroomstickLace

Broomsticklaceisanageoldtechniqueusingalargerod(usuallyabroomstick)andyarntocreatebeautifulandlaceylookinggarmentsandaccessories.Thefinishedproductlookslikeittookyearstomasterthetechnique,butbroomsticklaceisactuallyquiteeasytocrochet.Youwillneedalargedowel,alargeknittingneedle,alargecrochethook,orbroomstick,yourfavoriteyarn,andacrochethook.Thelargeitemyouusetocreatebroomsticklaceisoftentimescalledapininpatterns.Sincebroomsticklaceisworkedinsetsofstitchesyoumustfirstfigureouthowmanystitchesyouwantineachset.Forexampleifyouwantfivestitchesineachsetthenyoumustdoafoundationchaininmultiplesoffive.Whenyoureachthelastchainpulltheyarnupandoverthepin.

Nowsinglecrochetintothechainanddrawtheyarnupoverthepinsothatallofthestitchesaremadearoundthepin.Thisiswhatcreatestheprettyloopsinthefinishedproject.Slideyourcrochethookunderfiveoftheloops(we’llusefiveforthisexample,butyoucanuseasmanyloopsasyouwantaslongasyoufigureyourfoundationchaincorrectly).Pullthefirstsetofloopsoffofthepin.Yarnoverandpulltheyarnthroughallfiveloopsandsinglecrochetfivetimesacrossthetopofthegroup.

Slipyourcrochethookunderthenextfiveloopsandrepeatthisprocess.Repeatuntilyouhaveworkedalloftheloopsoffthepin.Tocreatethesecondrowturnyourworkandsinglecrochetintoeachsinglecrochetdrawingaloopupandoverthepin.Slipyourcrochethookunderthefirstsetofloopsandrepeatthepreviousrow.Continuetorepeatthisprocessuntilyourpieceisthedesiredlength.Besuretocounteachsetofloopssothatyouhavethecorrectnumberofstitches.Youdon’twanttoaccidentlyincreaseordecreaseyourstitcheswhileyouwork.Youcanslipalloftheloopsoffthepinbeforeyougroupthemtogetherandsinglecrochetaroundthemifyoulike.Somepeoplefeelthismakesiteasiertowork,butIprefertokeeptheloopsonthepinasIwork.Trybothmethodsandseewhichoneyoufeelmostcomfortablewith.Youcanvarythesizeofyourstitchesbyusingalargerorsmallerpin,alargerorsmallercrochethook,andbyvaryingtheweightoftheyarnyouuse.

Hereisaveryprettyexampleofbroomsticklace.Notehowtheartisthasslippedalloftheloopsoffthepinandisnowcrochetingaroundtheloops.Youcanusebroomsticklacetocreatescarves,afghans,garments,andaccessories.

BeadsandCrochet

IhavetoconfessI’masuckerforbling.Ilovejewels,beads,andallthingsshiny.Addingbeadstoyourcrochetprojectscantakethemoverthetopandgivethemarealoneofthekindlook.Youcanevencrochetwithwireandbeadstocreateyourownjewelrymasterpieces.IstillhaveaprettyseedpearlnecklacemygrandmothercrochetedmanyyearsagoandIwearitoftenandjustloveit.Inthissectionwewilllearnhowtoaddbeadedembellishmentstoyourcrochetprojects.

HowtoAddBeadedEmbellishmentstoCrochetTherearetwowaystoaddbeadstoacrochetproject.Thefirstwayistothreadthebeadsontoyouryarnbeforeyoubeginandasyoucrochetmovethemdownintoyourstitches.Thesecondwayistothreadthebeadsontoapieceofyarnandasyoucrochetincorporatethebeadedyarnintoyourproject.Bothmethodsworkwell,andbotharefairlyeasytodo.ItisuptoyouwhichmethodyoupreferalthoughifyouaregoingtoaddalotofbeadstoaprojectIthinkthesecondmethodismucheasierthanthefirstbecauseofthefactyoudon’tquiteknowhowmuchyarnyouwillneedbeforeyoubeginandwhenyourunoutofbeadsyouwillhavetobreakyouryarn,threadmorebeadsontoitandthenjointheyarnbackontoyourproject.ButlikeIsaid,itisapersonalpreferencewhichmethodyouuse.

ThreadingBeadsontoYarnThefirstmethodwe’lllearnistothreadthebeadsontotheyarnbeforeyoubegintocrochet.Youneedtoknowhowmanybeadsyouwanttousesinceonceyoustringthebeadsontotheyarnyouwon’tbeabletoaddanymore.Usingasewingneedleandthreadmakeaknotintheendofthethreadtoformalargeloopandslidetheyarnintotheloops.Placeabeadontothesewingneedleandslideitdownthethreadandontotheyarn.Dothisuntilyouhavethreadedthecorrectnumberofbeadsthatyouneedontotheyarn.UsingaSecondPieceofYarnorThreadThesecondmethodforaddingbeadstoyourcrochetinvolvesusingasecondpieceofthinyarnorthreadtoholdthebeads.Thismethodworkswellifyou’renotsurehowmanybeadsyouwillneedsinceyoucanalwaysthreadmorebeadsontotheendofthethreadoryarn.Youwillholdthesecondpieceofyarnorthreadandcrochetwithit,butonlyaddabeadwhenyouneedto.Thisiswhyyouneedtouseverythinyarnorthreadsothatyoudon’taddalotofbulktoyourfabric.

HowtoCrochetwithBeadsYoucanpositionthebeadsonthefrontorbackofyourworkdependingonhowyouplacetheminthestitch.Youcanalsousebeadswithalmostanystitchsothismethodisveryversatile.Ifyouwantthebeadtobeonthebackofyourworkslidethebeadupagainstthestitchbeforeyoubeginandmakeaslipstitchtoholdthebeadinplace.Nowworkyourstitch.Eachtimeyouneedabeadaddedslidethebeaddownagainstyourwork,slipstitch,andmakeyourstitch.Anothermethodtoplacebeadsinthebackofyourworkistoworkthestitchtothelasttwoloopsonthehook,slidethebeadupagainstthehook,yarnoveranddrawtheyarnthroughthelasttoloops.Thissecuresthebeadintothestitch.Ifyouneedthebeadtobeonthefrontofyourworksimplyslidethebeadtothefrontafteryouyarnover.Thisenablesyoutobeabletoaddbeadsnomatterwhatsideofthefabricyouareworkingon.

DesigningYourOwnPatterns

Oneofthefunthingsaboutadvancingyourcrochetskillsisthechallengeofdesigningyourownpatterns.Nodoubtatonetimeoranotheryou’veworkedapatternandhadtomakeafewadjustmentsortweakedittomakeitwork.Oryoumayhavehadapatternyoureallylikedbutdecidedtoaddyourowntouchestoit.Ifyou’veeverdonethiswhynottryyourhandatcreatingyourownpatterns?Ilovetolookatblogswhichofferpatterns.Thisgivesmelotsofinspirationformyownpatterns.Youdon’thavetoreinventthewheelwhencreatingyourowndesigns,usewhatyoualreadyknow.Ifyouhaveafavoritepatterntrytakingitandmakingsomeadjustments.Ortakeapatternandsubstituteanewstitch.ForexampleIreallyliketomakeslouchybeaniesformydaughter.I’veusedlotsofpatternsandonedayIfoundapatternforadropstitchdoublecrochetthatIthoughtwouldmakeareallycutehatsoIplayedaroundwithabasichatpatternandcameupwithmyowndesign.

Ialsotookthebasichatpatternandplayedaroundwithbackpostdoublecrochetandthecrabstitchandcameupwiththisdesign.

Designingyourownpatternsisfun.It’sachanceforyoutoreallystretchourcreativityandskills.IsubscribetoNewStitchaDay’sdailynewsletterandtherehavebeenmanytimesthesestitcheshaveinspiredmetocreateanewpattern.TipsforCreatingYourOwnCrochetDesignsFirsthaveagoodideaofwhatyouwantyourprojecttolooklike.Thiswillguideyouonthechoiceofyarn,thesizeofthehook,andthetypeofyarnyouchoose.Youmayevenwanttodoaroughsketchofthefinishedproject.Ifyouaredesigninganarticleofclothingdecidehowthepieceswillcometogether.Youwillalsoneedmeasurementsforthesizeyouaremaking.Remembertoincludeeaseintoyourdesign.Easeistheextrabitofroomyouneedtohavethegarmentfitcomfortably.YoucanfindchartswithmeasurementsontheCraftYarnCouncil.Theylistthemeasurementsforwomen,men,andchildren.Crochetafewswatchesusingtheyarnyouwanttousewithdifferenthooksizes.Theseswatcheswillletyouknowhowthefabricwilllookandfeelsoyoucanchoosethecorrecthooksizefortheproject.Writedowneverythingyoudowhileyoucrochetthepattern.Makenotesaboutanyadjustmentsandchangesyoumakeasyouwork.Thefirstdraftofyourpatternwillbeamess,butthatisokaybecauseyouaretheonlyonewhowillseeit.Don’tcrochetupaprojectandthentrytowritedownthepattern.I’vetriedthisanditjustdoesn’twork.Whenyougobacktowritethepatterndownyoumaymissstepsoryouwon’tbesureaboutthestitchcountandendupstartingalloveranyway.Makesureyourstitchcountsareaccurate.Onceyoucrochetupyourfirstversiongooverthepatternagainandcrochetfromyournotes.Makeanynotationsonchangesoradjustmentsyoumakeasyougoalong.Whenyouarehappywithyourpatternwriteoutafinaldraft.Useindustrystandardsto

writeyourpattern.Thiswillmakeitmucheasiertoshareorsell.YoucanfindindustrystandardsforabbreviationsandindustrystandardsforsymbolsontheCraftYarnCouncil’swebsite.Includetheamountofyarnyouused,thetypeofyarn,thesizeofhook,andthegauge.Nowthatyouhaveyourpatternwrittenout,oryourchartdrawn,youwillneedtohaveittested.Asksomeofyourfriendstotestyourpatternforyou.Havethemnoteanymistakesordifficultiestheyranintowhencrochetingthepattern.Taketheirnotesandmakeanyadjustmentsyouneedtoyourpattern.WheretoShareorSellYourPatternsOnceyouhaveapatternyouarehappywithandithasbeentestedandeditednowwhatdoyoudowithit?Wellyoucanstartablogandshareyourpatternsforfree,oryoucantrytosellyourpatternsonEtsyorRavelry.PersonallyIliketheRavelrycommunity.Youcansignupforanaccountforfree,listpatterns,sellyourpatterns,collectyourfavoritepatternsinadigitalnotebook,favoriteotherdesigners,jointheirforumsandgettoknowothercrocheters,andpostpicturesofyourwork.Etsyisalsoagoodsitetousetosellpatternsandfinishedproducts.Youcansignupforafreeaccountandlistyourpatternsforsale,andifyouhavefinishedproductstosellyoucanalsolistthesetoo.Facebookhaslotsofpagesdedicatedtotheartofcrochet.Youcanalsostartyourownpageandshareyourknowledgeoftheartofcrochet,sharevideosyoufindthatareeducational,startdiscussions,andbuildyourveryowncrochetcommunity.

EndNotes

Thankyousomuchforpurchasingthethirdandfinalvolumeofmycrochetseries.Ihavetrulyenjoyedsharingmyknowledgeofcrochetwithyou,andIhopeIhavestartedyouonalifelongjourneyofthispopularyarnart.PleasebesuretocheckouttheResourcesectionattheendofthisbook.Ihavelistedlinksforyoutofindvaluableinformationandlinkstoinstructionalvideostohelpyoulearnthetechniqueswecoveredinthisbook.Somynewcrochetfriend,keeponhookingandtakecare!Dorothy

Resources

BodyMeasurementChartshttp://www.craftyarncouncil.com/sizing.htmlTheCraftYarnCouncilIndustryStandardsforCrochetAbbreviationshttp://www.craftyarncouncil.com/crochet.htmlTheCraftYarnCouncilIndustryStandardsforCrochetSymbolshttp://www.craftyarncouncil.com/chart_crochet.htmlTheCraftYarnCouncilRavelryhttp://www.ravelry.com/Etsyhttps://www.etsy.com/HowtoReadCrochetCharts&Symbolshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZfLVaIWHz4KnitPicksHowto:ReadaCrochetCharthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i05LFBLgcgBernatYarnsIntarsiaTutorial#1:BasicIntarsiaTechniquehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhm6WK5cqxUCrochetEverAfterFairIsleCrochetTutorialshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r98K2d7hzCw&list=PLbs4nHwbFQvJA3sPAy49HFyXfsgtlMgRkCrochetEverAfterColorworkandTapestryCrochetwithRedHeartYarnshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQJUfEL5PFARedHeartYarnsLearntoFiletCrochethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtArDUX3fogTheCrochetCrowd

HowtoCrochetwithBeadshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MbLCuyfv-MCrochetandCraftsHowTo-Howtodesignacrochetedhatandthemathshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGeZVs2JJ7MHappyBerryCrochetBroomstickLaceTutorialhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R600nqwft_gCrochetEverAfterDIYLearnHowToCrochet-BroomstickLaceBlanketAfghanThrowwithSolomon'sKnot(BabyBlanket)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRRcbQ9kPXsNaztazia

ImageAttributions

Someoftheimagesinthisbookaremine.AllimagessharedfromFlickraresharedundertheCreativeCommonsLicense.HooksandYarnImagesharedonFlickrbyDavinaHarrisonhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/crochethooker/11732616825CrochetChartSymbolsImagefromtheCraftYarnCouncilhttp://www.craftyarncouncil.com/chart_crochet.htmlMotifChartImagesharedonFlickrbyMariaKeayshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/maria_keays/4873424724CompletedMotifsImagesharedonFlickrbyMariaKeayshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/maria_keays/4733638860CrochetGraphImagesharedonFlickrbyBethDayhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/beth_day/3917194726BackofFairIsleCrochetImagesharedonFlickrbyHeatherWardhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/velvet-c/1434935533TapestryCrochetExampleImagesharedonFlickrbyNoricumhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/noricum/82236943FilletCloseUpImagesharedonFlickrbyNoricumhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/noricum/116607350UnicornFiletGraphImagesharedonFlickrbyNoricumhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/noricum/144730638CompletedUnicornProjectImagesharedonFlickrbyNoricumhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/noricum/128610074

BroomstickLaceStepsImagefromLionBrandYarnBloghttp://blog.lionbrand.com/2012/04/26/how-to-crochet-broomstick-lace/BroomstickLaceExampleImagesharedonFlickrbysinglestitcheshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/46858275@N07/4299569069BeadsandYarnImagesharedonFlickrbyVlekahttps://www.flickr.com/photos/22475775@N03/2165713650BeadedSquareImagesharedonFlickrbyElainewithGrayCatshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/elainegreycats/3183233956BeadedHatImagesharedonFlickrbyWhere_is_Jo_nowhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/where_is_jo_now/4552206956CountedCrossStitchExampleImagesharedonFlickrbyKristenhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/sewtechnicolor/6798209858