CAL: Increasing and Decreasing

First off, I want to apologize for not being around lately.  I've had some health issues, and it's been exhausting.  Then, after staring at a laptop all day at work, really, the last thing I want to do is stare at a laptop in the evenings to catch up on all my bloggy news.  Pair that with a new and improved bedtime of 9pm, just after putting my toddler down, means there isn't much of an evening to begin with!  So, I apologize for being distant during what should be a fun and interactive Crochet Along.  I do hope you've been working on the cowl, and checking out the tutorials and our awesome guest posts though - they've shared some great information!  We've got one more guest post this week and then we're getting ready to party!

So, today, let me try to catch up a bit and present a quick tutorial on increasing and decreasing stitches.  You won't need this for the cowl (although the V-stitch uses the concept of an increased stitch), but it comes in handy if you're ever in the mood for some amigurumi or anything that requires more than a rectangular shape!

Increase:

To increase means to increase the number of stitches in the row or round.  So if you have 9 stitches in this row, if you increase one of the stitches, you'll end up with 10 stitches total.  Easy?  Yes it is!

Start with a single crochet:

Single crochet complete.

Here's the increase.  See that hole where you completed the single crochet.  Insert your hook back into the same stitch for your next single crochet.

In other words, you're making 2 single crochets in 1 stitch.

You can see the bump in the middle where there's an extra stitch.  Of course, you can increase in every stitch, or every other stitch, as indicated by the pattern.  You see this most often when working in the round.

Decrease:
To decrease means you're taking that 10 stitches back down to 9.  Sometimes in a pattern, you'll see it written as sc2tog, which means single crochet 2 (stitches) together, which makes it really easy to understand.

Insert your hook into the first stitch.

Bring yarn over the hook and pull through.

Now, insert your hook into the second stitch.  You haven't completed a single crochet yet.

Bring yarn over the hook and pull through.  You should have 2 loops on the hook.

Bring yarn over the hook again, and pull through all 3 loops on the hook.

A sc2tog complete.

If you did the increase, and now the decrease as depicted, you should have the same number of stitches as you started with before the increase.

If you create amigurumi or anything in the round that requires a tighter decrease, you'll definitely want to check out the "invisible decrease" by Planet June.  Her version of a decrease doesn't leave a hole in your work, and you can barely tell there was a decrease at all.  Pretty amazing stuff!

Click here to see where I party!

CAL: Guest Post, Maybe Matilda

Today, I'd like to welcome my friend Rachel from Maybe Matilda.  She makes the most beautiful baby blankets and crocheted hats and has a wonderful sense of humor.  I love her and I think you will too!


Hello, fellow crocheters! My name is Rachel and I blog at Maybe Matilda. I’m excited to be a little part of ChiWei’s crochet along, and can’t wait to finish up and wear my pretty new cowl.

As a quick introduction: I’m the mom of a cute/crazy 2 year old boy, I live in Utah, and I love crocheting for myself, my family, and my Etsy shop. My current obsession is making baby blankets, and hats are also a perennial favorite. I’d love to branch out and try more clothing—sweaters, baby girl dresses, etc.

 (^ that’s me!)

I’m a mostly self-taught crocheter, and it was tutorials just like these ones that helped me to learn. Which makes me excited for you guys participating and just dipping your toes into the crochet waters, because I know how much crocheting fun is in store for you!

I’m hoping this post will help you out when it comes to yarn shopping. If you’re new to crocheting, the yarn aisles at the craft store can be pretty intimidating. There are a zillion different brands, colors, yarn weights, prices, and textures . . . how do you know what to purchase for your project? Hopefully, this post can clear things up and arm you with some confidence when you hit the craft store.

(^ that little cutie is my son, Forrest playing in my yarn stash. See? Yarn is fun for everyone.)

Yarn Weight
The first thing to consider when yarn shopping is the weight you need for your project. The pattern should tell you what you’ll need (for instance, the Double Strand Infinity Cowl we’re making for this crochet along tells us we need 2 balls of worsted weight yarn). Just about every yarn label you’ll ever see in a big craft store should have something that looks like this on the label to help you identify the yarn weight:

A yarn labeled as ‘1’ or super fine/baby/fingering yarn will be itty bitty skinny yarn; a ‘6’ or super bulky/roving yarn will be a big chunky rope-like yarn. Most of your everyday projects will probably require a weight of 4 (worsted/medium weight). So double check your pattern to see what weight you need to purchase, then, when you’re yarn shopping, check for the appropriate number/word on the label to make sure you come home with the correct yarn weight. Using the wrong weight for your pattern will affect the finished size, so it’s best to stick with the recommended weight. You’ll also want to check the amount of yarn you need for your project—many projects will list a certain number of yards of yarn required, and you can find the yardage per skein on the yarn label once you get to the store. I hate running out of yarn mid-project!


Fiber Content
Yarns are available in a huge variety of fibers, from cashmeres to merino wools to cotton to acrylic to a blend of multiple fibers. You can find information about the fiber content on the yarn label. The fiber content will affect the price of your yarn, the feel of it, and even its use and wearability. For instance, if you have allergies to wool, you’ll obviously need to avoid wool or wool-blend yarns; if you are making something you hope to wear in spring and summer, maybe a breathable cotton would be your best choice; if you’re crocheting hot pads for your kitchen, an acrylic yarn might melt if you place a hot pan on it. So think about what you’re making, how much you’re willing to spend on your yarn, and how/when your project will be used, and choose an appropriate fiber. Personally, I use acrylic yarn for 99% of my projects. It’s affordable, sturdy, machine washable, doesn’t require any special care, and there is a huge variety of brands and colors to choose from!

Workability
Some yarns are just easier to crochet with than others. As a general rule, the easiest yarns to crochet with are the simplest, least fancy/unique ones. Just a regular, run of the mill worsted weight yarn will be the easiest to learn with since your stitches will be clearly visible and the strands are compact and easy to see and navigate around. If you are a beginner to crochet, I would recommend that you avoid yarns that are too curly/loopy (for instance, Lion Brand Homespun is beautiful, beautiful yarn, but since it has a sort of ‘curly’ look, it can be difficult to see your stitches and wouldn’t make a good practice yarn), as well as yarns that are fuzzy or have loose fibers, as pictured below. They sure make for unique finished projects and are fun to play around with once you’ve nailed down the basics of crochet, but they make your stitches hard to see clearly, and they’ll probably be frustrating to work with if you’re just starting out. Save the ‘fun’ yarns for when you’re confident in your stitches and have a little practice under your belt.

Personal Favorites

In my crocheting days, I’ve tried quite a few different brands. Some of my very favorites—taking into consideration many factors like price, color options, availability (ie. do I have to special order vs. just pick it up in store?), softness/comfort, and workability—are Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn, Red Heart With Love, Vanna’s Choice, Waverly for Bernat, and Bernat Super Value. I would wholeheartedly recommend any of those!

I hope this guide makes the yarn aisles a little less intimidating—although there are tons of choices, you’ll love browsing the yarns and finding the perfect one for your project. Have fun yarn shopping and crocheting!

Click here to see where I party!

CAL: Reading a Pattern

Today, let's take a look at the pattern and see if we can make some sense out of it.  If you're unfamiliar with crochet, it must seem like a whole different language, especially if you try reading it out loud.  My eyes often glaze over reading patterns, so it's important to break it down line by line and try to picture the stitches in your head.

I've also gotten a few questions about the pattern, so I hope to answer them here as well.

Here's the original post with the pattern for the cowl.  If you read it, you'll notice I wrote that it looked like spring...I was dead wrong.  It is FREEZING here, and I often wear this cowl all day, in the office, at home, in the car, making dinner, watching tv.  Cold cold cold.

Anyways,  let's work through the pattern line by line.  First, we'll start with the abbreviations: 

ch = chain 

sl st = slip stitch

dc = double crochet

st(s) = stitch(es)

V-stitch = Work 1 dc, 1 ch, 1 dc into the same stitch.

This is your decoder.  If you replace all the abbreviations in the pattern with the full names, everything starts to become clear!

Foundation: Ch 99 with 2 strands of yarn held together.  Join with a sl st in the back ridge of first chain.  This means you will twist the chain slightly in order to work into the back ridge or hump of the chain.

Start with loop on your hook, and make 99 chains.  Keep the chains loose.  It's easy to make them nice and tight, but the rest of the scarf will be pretty loose and then you might end up with a crescent shape if one side of the scarf is worked too tightly.  I found it's better to keep your chain looser than you think you'll want it.  At 99 stitches, your chain link should be about 4 feet long.  (The finished cowl hangs to the waist and is about 6 inches wide, with plenty of stretch)

Then you have two options.  You can join with the beginning of your chains either in the back loop of the chain, or in the back ridge.  When I first started learning, it was always easier to connect my chains using the back loop, as shown in the chain tutorial.  If you're up for something fancier, you can join the chains in the back hump of the chain.  This is a bit more difficult, as it involves a bit of a twist, and you'll need to remember to twist it back when you finish the next round. 

** Regardless of how you work the slip stitch to connect the chain, stick with that method for all of Round 1.  If you use the back hump, continue working single crochets into the back hump.

Round 1: Ch 1.  Work 1 sc into each st around.  Join to ch-1 with a sl st.

Now that you have your foundation chains linked together, you should have a big loosey goosey loop.  Now, create 1 chain (gives height, and is actually the "last" stitch in the round).  Then work one single crochet into every one of your chains, either in the back loop, or the back hump.  When you get all the way around, you'll need to join to that first chain that you made, with a slip stitch.  If you count your stitches, you should still have 99 stitches all together.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but that meant you made 98 single crochet stitches, and 1 stitch to join.  If you have more or less stitches, you may need to pull out a stitch or add a stitch before joining.

If you single crocheted into the back hump of the chains, you'll need to twist the work back before connecting the rounds.  My advice is to play around, and it's ok to fudge a little if necessary.

Round 2:  Ch 3.  Work 1 dc into same st  as join.  *Skip 2 st.  Work (dc, ch 1, dc) in next st.  This is one V-stitch made.  Repeat from * around.  Skip 2 st.  Join with a sl st into 2nd chain of round. - 99 sts

At this point, count your stitches and make sure you still have the same number you started with.

For Round 2, it looks complicated, but remember to substitute the abbreviations in.  First, you'll make 3 chains, straight up.  Then, work 1 double crochet into the same stitch that you're sitting in.  Then count two stitches over to find the next stitch you'll work in.  In that 3rd stitch, you'll make 1 double crochet, then 1 chain, then 1 more double crochet into the same stitch.  That means that for the 1 stitch that you worked into, you'll have 3 stitches at the top - there's the V-shape!  Go back to the star (*) and repeat the instructions from the star over and over again until you reach the end of the round.  Then you can move on to the last bit, where you skip 2 more stitches and then join.  Again, it's good to make sure you have the right number of stitches in your round.

Round 3:  Ch 3. Work 1 dc into next ch-1 sp.  *Skip 2 st.  Work (dc, ch 1, dc) in next ch-1 sp.  Repeat from * around. Skip 1 st, then join with a sl st into 2nd chain of round. - 99 sts

Round 4:  Repeat Round 3.

Round 5:  Repeat Round 3.

Round 6:  Repeat Round 3.  

Round 7:  Repeat Round 3.

Round 8:  Ch 1 (does not count as st).  Work 1 sc into each st around.  Join with a sl st.  

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Hopefully, you can figure out the rest of the instructions.  Read through slowly and break down each step.  I'll give a short tutorial on fastening off and weaving in ends a little bit later.  Don't be discouraged if you have to take it apart and redo pieces of the cowl.  And don't be afraid to change things up if you don't like something either!  This is a recipe only; feel free to make it your own and have fun!

Click here to see where I party!

CAL: Petals to Picots Guest Post

I'm so happy to have Kara here as a guest poster today!  I absolutely love her patterns and tutorials and crochet references.  If you haven't gotten around to saying hi, head over there and look around - you're gonna fall in love!


Hi everyone! I am so excited to be a part of ChiWei's crochet along. This is going to be so much fun, and I am so excited about working up the pretty Double Strand Infinity Cowl. 

Let me introduce myself ... my name is Kara and I blog over at Petals to Picots, where I share my passion for crochet with free patterns, peeks at my works in progress, and lots of tips and tricks.

And today, I am here to share one of those tricks with you ... making a magic ring.

The magic ring is also called a slip ring, adjustable ring, magic loop, or magic ring, and it is used as an option for starting  work in a round. The magic ring is so awesome because it allows you to pull the the hole in the center of your work closed, which is great when making things like hats, amigurumi, granny squares, flowers, and other motifs.

To make a magic ring, make a loop with the yarn around your fingers with the tail end of the yarn behind the working yarn (the yarn coming from the skein) and leaving a tail about 6 inches long (see Fig. 1). Hold the place where the yarn overlaps between your thumb and forefinger (Fig. 2). 

Fig. 1

Fig.2

Insert your hook through the loop (see Fig. 3) and bring through a loop of the working yarn, one loop is now on the hook (see Fig. 4).

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Work the first round as instructed by your pattern.  In most cases you will chain 1 and make a number of single crochets into the loop (see Fig. 5). Join and pull on the tail end of the yarn to tighten (see Fig. 6).

 

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

I also made a handy little video to help you out ...

© Copyright 2012 by Petals to Picots

Please refer to my Terms of Use for copyright details.

Thank you so much, ChiWei, for having me over and for putting together this awesome CAL!

Thanks Kara!  Next Monday, we'll be going over and understanding the cowl pattern so that those of you who are new can get started.  I know many of you have already started (or finished!) the cowl, which is awesome!  I can't wait for the link party in a couple of weeks where you can all show off your finished projects!

Click here to see where I party!

CAL: Slip Stitch

I'm a little under the weather this week, so this tutorial is going to be quick.  I'm just going to go over a slip stitch, and you should be all set to start the cowl pattern next week!

A slip stitch is very simple, and has almost no height to it.  It's mainly used to connect two stitches together, especially when you work in a round.  However, a whole project with nothing but slip stitches does create a unique pattern, if you're patient (crazy) enough to work and work and work and make very little progress!

Insert your hook through your work.

Bring the yarn over the hook, and draw the yarn through the work.

You should have two loops on your hook right now.  So far, this is the same as the single crochet.  Except now, draw the first loop through the second loop.

Another way of explaining it, is when you bring the yarn over the hook in Step 2, draw that yarn through both the worked piece and the loop on your hook in one motion.  Boom, a slip stitch complete!

Sometimes, you'll be asked to slip stitch through a chain.  The concept is the same, insert your hook through the chain stitch, yarn over, and draw the yarn through the chain and the loop on the hook together.  

Yay for short tutorials and early bedtimes!  Tomorrow, we have our first guest poster, and she's got a great tutorial to share!

Click here to see where I party!

CAL: Half Double and Double Crochet Stitch

Ready for more?

Yesterday, we learned how to handle the yarn, work up some chain stitches, and worked one row of single crochet stitches.  Today, we'll review the single crochet, then move on to the double crochet and half double crochet stitch.  The concept is very similar, so you shouldn't have too many problems.  But as always, if you do, ask questions!

You'll need to turn your work in order to crochet back along the piece.  Before turning, most patterns will tell you to add 1 chain stitch.  Remember how you added the single crochet into the 2nd chain from hook.  Here, in order to SC into the 2nd chain from hook, you'll need to create an extra chain, so that the "2nd" chain is actually the first chain in the piece.  Otherwise, you'll start losing stitches.  So, in the picture below: Bring the yarn over the hook and draw it through the single loop on your hook to create a chain stitch.  Then turn the piece towards you.

Now, you can start a single crochet in the 2nd stitch from the hook, since the 1st stitch was that extra chain you added.  Insert the hook through the front and back loops (or below the entire V), as shown in the arrow.

This should be a review of the single crochet.  The hook is inserted through both front and back loops.  Yarn over, draw through the work to create 2 loops on hook.  Yarn over again, draw through both loops on hook.  1 SC created.

Alrighty, now, the Double Crochet Stitch.

Once you've finished the row of single crochet stitches, you'll need to add extra chains and turn.  For a double crochet stitch, you'll need to add 2 extra chains to accommodate the height of the double crochet.  Turn, and the first stitch will go into the 3rd stitch from the chain.

After turning, bring the yarn over the hook.

Insert the hook into the 3rd stitch from hook, through both front and back loops.  Bring yarn over the hook.

Draw the yarn through the work, and you should have 3 loops on your hook.

Yarn over hook, and draw yarn through first 2 loops.

You should have 2 loops left on your hook.

Yarn over hook again, and draw yarn through remaining 2 loops on hook.

Double crochet stitch complete!

Repeat one more time, and you should see two double crochet stitches, as well as the two chains at the far right of the work.

Here's a recap, from a different point of view:

Whew!  The Half Double Crochet Stitch should be a breeze!

Yarn over the hook first.

Insert hook into work, through both front and back loops.  Yarn over hook and draw yarn through work.

You should have 3 loops on your hook.  So far, this is exactly like the double crochet.

Yarn over hook again, but THIS TIME, draw the yarn through ALL 3 loops on the hook.

That's a half double crochet stitch complete!

Feeling good?  You should! You've got enough basics to be dangerous now!  As with anything and most everything in life, practice makes perfect, so take some time to practice these stitches.  Drop me a line if you have questions!

Click here to see where I party!