Do you every wonder why some people’s crochet projects look better than others? Sometimes it’s because of the difference in skill levels of the crocheters. But other times, the difference is in the little details, like blocking and finishing, which can make a big difference! Here is an example of a project that turned out much better with a little added effort.
Before steaming
I crocheted a scarf the other day and added cut fringe to the short ends. The fringe looked scraggly and not very attractive. Here’s how it looked:
Left half steamed
It looks very messy, doesn’t it! The yarn I used was acrylic, so I decided to steam it to straighten out the kinks in the yarn. Here’s how it looked after steaming the left half of the fringe:
After steaming
You can see that the kinks are gone on the left half now. Here’s how it looked after steaming all of the fringe:
Steamed and trimmed
That’s quite a difference! But look at how uneven the strands of yarn are at the bottom. That doesn’t look very good either! The final thing I did for this fringe was trim the bottom of the strands. Here’s how it looked after trimming the fringe:
Before steamingAfter steaming and trimming
Now doesn’t that look much nicer than the kinky, scraggly, uneven fringe I started with? Take a few minutes for that finishing touch of steaming (or blocking, depending on the fiber content) your fringe to remove the kinks in the yarn and trimming the fringe to an even length. You’ll be glad you did! The difference is like night and day!
I decided to start designing a garment today (it’s a long process, but if I don’t get started, it’ll never get done!). Last Fall, I took a class at the CGOA Conference in Greensboro, NC, taught by Joan Davis, called “Crochet Fabulous Fashions from Commercial Sewing Patterns”. In the class, I learned some things about designing a crochet garment and I’m ready to give it a try! Anyway, I’m going to design a garment using the sizes and shapes of the pieces in a particular sewing pattern and see how it works out (hopefully it will look great or it’ll be back to the drawing board for me!).
I decided I wanted stronger pattern pieces than the pattern has in it so they wouldn’t get torn too easily. I also wanted to keep an uncut original pattern with the 3 sizes that the pattern comes with intact (to make sizing the crochet garment pattern easier to do later on). So I got started with tracing the sewing pattern pieces for the garment I want to make.
Step 1
The first thing I needed to do was read the pattern, cut apart the pattern pieces and decide which size I wanted to make. Then I taped the pieces, one at a time, to my sliding glass door like this:
Step 2
After taping the pattern piece to the sliding glass door, I taped a big sheet of paper to the door on top of that. I used part of an “end roll” from my local newspaper printing facility. They sell the “end rolls” for a few dollars and they’re really handy for all types of crafts! Of course, I had to do this during the day because I’m using the sunshine outside to see through to the bottom layer of paper! Here’s what it looked like after taping the top layer onto the sliding glass door:
Step 3
After taping both of these pieces to the sliding glass door, I drew the cutting lines from the size of the pattern that I want to make onto the top layer of paper like this:
Step 4
These cutting lines on the pattern are for cutting out each piece of fabric to make the garment. Most people know that sewing patterns have a built in seam allowance (usually 5/8″) on each pattern piece. But for a crochet pattern, I want to remove the seam allowance because crochet seams aren’t that wide. So I drew lines 5/8″ in from the cutting lines that I traced from the pattern pieces (after verifying that there were 5/8″ seams around all edges of the pattern pieces per the instructions in the pattern). Here’s what the pattern piece looked like after drawing those new lines:
Step 5
After drawing the new cutting lines (5/8″ in from the sewing pattern cutting lines), I cut out the pattern pieces along my new cutting lines like this:
Step 6
And here’s how my new pattern piece looks after cutting it out:
I now have a new pattern piece for each of the pieces in this garment pattern with the seam allowances removed. I will use each of these pattern pieces to crochet a front, back and 2 sleeves for this garment that will be the size and shape of each pattern piece. Then I’ll sew the crocheted front, back and sleeve pieces together to form my crochet garment pattern. And I’ll be able to calculate the different numbers of stitches and rows for each size of the crochet pattern by using the original, uncut sewing pattern, which is sized already (I’m a visual person, so these pieces should help me tremendously!)! Since this particular sewing pattern comes in 3 sizes (XS, S and M) per pattern packet, I also bought the pattern packet with the larger 3 sizes (L, XL and XXL) to grade the pattern fully. I bought the 2 patterns when they were on sale for $1 each, so that didn’t break my bank account! I can’t believe how expensive sewing patterns are now. The retail price of each pattern says $17.95! I’d never pay that much for a sewing pattern, especially a pattern rated “easy”!
Now all I need to do is play around with some yarn, different sizes of crochet hooks and crochet stitch patterns to decide how this garment will be made. That may not be as easy as it sounds, but I’m up for the challenge!
I’ll post more as this garment progresses (unless it’s a total loss!). Wish me luck!
Do you ever wonder why the edges of your crochet project aren’t straight or why your project gets wider or narrower from the bottom to the top? It’s just possible that you aren’t working your first or last stitch of the rows in the proper place. Here are the rules for working in rows with single crochet, double crochet and half double crochet.
Note: These rules apply when no increases or decreases are to be worked.
Sc (Single Crochet) Rows
When working in sc rows, the first sc of the row is worked in the first stitch and the last sc of the row is worked in the last stitch. A turning ch-1 is used so your first stitch will be at the height of the sc to be worked. This turning ch-1 does not count as a stitch.
Dc (Double Crochet) Rows Note: Beware! Most patterns won’t automatically tell you this. You are expected to know this already. This is a crochet rule (except when the rule is broken!).
When working in dc rows, the first dc of the row is worked in the next (second) stitch. The reason for this is a turning ch-3 is worked at the end of the previous row (or at the beginning of the current row) to bring your work up to the height of a dc to work the dc row. This turning ch-3 counts as the first dc of the row, so the first stitch on the previous row is skipped (if it wasn’t skipped, you’d have an increase). Since the turning ch-3 counts as a dc, the last stitch in the row is worked in the 3rd chain (top) of the turning ch-3 of the previous row (which counted as the first dc of that row) to keep the stitch count the same. This also keeps the edges of the work straight. Turning chains can be worked at the end of the row or at the beginning of the next row. For instance, a pattern can be worded with “ch 3, turn” at the end or beginning of the row instructions.
Hdc (Half Double Crochet) Rows
There are 2 ways to work hdc rows. The first is to use a turning ch-2, which counts as the first hdc of the row. When working hdc this way, work the first hdc in the next (second) stitch of the row. Work the last hdc in the 2nd ch of the turning ch-2 from the previous row. This will keep the stitch count the same in each row.
The second way to work hdc rows is to work a turning ch-2, but not to have it count as a hdc in the row. When working hdc this way, work the first hdc in the first stitch of the row. Work the last hdc in the last stitch of the row (not in the turning chain). This will also keep the stitch count the same in each row, but the edges will stick out a little where the ch-2 is located.
If you’ve never blocked your crochet projects after you finish them, you’ll be amazed at what a difference it can make! It’s almost like night and day! For a professional look, this is how I block my crochet projects:
You will need a blocking board to pin the edges of your crochet pieces to the right size. My blocking board is a 4 foot square piece of pink foam which is used in homes for insulation or under stucco. It retails for approx $20 for a 4 x 8 foot piece (I split a 4 x 8 foot piece with a friend). Use a permanent black marker and yardstick to draw lines on the board (I spaced my lines 2” apart in both directions). If you plan to block anything round, also draw some circles on your board, using anything you can find that’s round (like the lid of a pot or pan). Next, cover the board with plastic wrap, overlapping the plastic strips and pinning the edges of the plastic wrap to the edges of the board.
There are many ways to block your crochet. One of them is to immerse your crochet piece in tepid water for 10-20 minutes (if the yarn label says you can wet block it, of course!), then gently squeeze out the excess water (do not twist or wring) and pin it to your blocking board.
Another way is to pin the piece directly onto the blocking board (to the desired measurements) while it is still dry and spray it with water until it is all wet.
IMPORTANT: Only use rust-proof (stainless steel) pins for blocking.
Allow plenty of time to adequately pin the edges of your crochet pieces to the proper measurements on the board (if your piece has lots of picots around the edges, this can be time consuming). Allow your crochet piece to dry thoroughly before removing the pins. In some areas, it may take up to 24 hours for your crochet piece to dry completely before removing it from the blocking board. To help speed the drying process, try using a ceiling fan or box fan to move the air around more in the room!
In the end, your effort will pay off with a professionally blocked crochet project!
I’ve done Filet Crochet for many years and along the way, I’ve learned some important things. If you are having trouble with your filet crochet, please take a few minutes to read these hints and tips!
1. If your dc stitches are too short and you have trouble getting the proper row gauge, try using an extended dc instead of a dc to make taller stitches. To make an extended dc (edc), YO, insert hook in specified st or sp and draw up a lp, YO and draw through 1 lp on hook, [YO and draw through 2 lps on hook] 2 times.
2. Turn work counterclockwise at end of each row for best results (the opposite direction as turning a page in a book).
3. For last stitch of each row, work into back loop and back bar of turning ch at end of row to get edges to lay flatter.
4. To help keep your place on the filet chart, use a magnetic board, ruler, pencil, etc. Make an extra copy of the chart, if desired. If using a magnetic board, put a magnetic strip above the current row so you can see the row below to help keep stitches lined up and mistakes to a minimum. If you don’t have a magnetic board, you may want to mark through the rows on the extra copy of the chart as you complete them.
5. Always wash and block filet pieces when finished for best results. I like to wash/soak my filet in the kitchen sink with a small amount of liquid laundry detergent. This removes any dirt and grease that may have accumulated while crocheting. Then I rinse the filet piece, squeeze out the excess water (DO NOT WRING) and put it on a clean kitchen towel to absorb more moisture. For more on blocking, read my “blocking” post here.
Today, I finally decided it was time to mend the Granny Square afghan that my step-mom made for me several decades ago. One of the yarns that she used basically started disintegrating in the afghan! None of the other yarns came apart, but this one yarn must have been wool and got eaten here and there in the section of that yarn.
Here’s a photo of some of the bad spots:
The bad yarn is the purple yarn that has holes in it just below the yellow yarn that I put on safety pins so those yellow stitches wouldn’t come out.
The bad yarn was in the middle of the afghan instead of at the end (it’ll never happen at the end, that’s one of Murphy’s Laws!). I started my mending where the last stitch with the bad yarn was worked. First, I cut out the bad yarn a little at a time. At the same time, I ran the new yarn (with the help of a tapestry needle) through the bottom of the yellow stitches, from left to right like this:
I was careful NOT to split the yellow strands and to run the new yarn through the bottom of all 3 dc stitches in each group of 3 dc (6 strands total: 2 strands per stitch).
When I got to the beginning of the bad purple yarn, I joined the new purple yarn the same as I would when making a color change (I yarned over with the new color and dropped the old color that was used before the bad purple, making sure there was a long enough tail of both yarns to weave in later).
Then I started crocheting with the new purple, working one section of “3 dc, ch 1” at a time. After crocheting each section, I inserted my crochet hook from left to right in the base of the yellow stitches where I ran the new purple thread through, tightened up the yarn between the yellow stitches and the new purple stitches and pulled the purple loop through the base of the yellow stitches like this:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
When I got to a corner, I worked the first set of “3 dc, ch 1”. Then I pulled the purple loop through all 6 yellow dc in the corner and worked the second set of “3 dc, ch 1” like this:
Step 1
Step 2
As I worked, I had to pull more new purple thread through all of the yellow stitches to where I was crocheting the new purple stitches. It was a tedious process (it took about 2 hours), but I was able to mend this afghan with great success! Here’s how a section of the afghan looks now with the mending done:
I think it came out quite nice! What do you think? The new stitches look just like the old stitches, except for the shininess of the new yarn. Oh, I also tried to match the gauge that my step-mom used (with some success, but I’m gauge challenged, so it could have been a little better!!!).
I hope this has been helpful for you to feel confident in mending your Granny Square afghan that is in need of some TLC!
