When you find a crochet stitch pattern that you love, there’s a good chance that you will want to use it over and over. But what happens when you find it in one kind of pattern (such as a blanket) but want to make it in another project (such as a dishcloth)?
Continue reading “How to Figure Out Crochet Stitch Multiples to Change Patterns”
Seaming crochet simply means joining two or more pieces of crochet fabric together. This is frequently done when a project, such as a crochet blanket, is made in motifs; you seam together all of the motifs to create the finished project. Crochet seaming is also important when making crochet clothing (and some accessories), where you create portions of the item (such as the sleeves) separately and then join them (to the body of a shirt, for example). Continue reading “Methods for Seaming Crochet”
There are so many inspiring crochet circle patterns out there. But what if you want to make a blanket or other item that has straight edges? You will need square crochet motifs. While there are also plenty of great square crochet patterns out there, there may be times that you want to adapt a circle into a square to create the exact pattern you desire. This guide shows you how to turn a crochet circle into a square. It includes a simple crochet circle-in-a-square pattern along with additional information to help you learn how to adapt any circle to a square.
Freeform crochet is a wonderful expression of your own creativity achieved through fiber. It is often called “painting with yarn” because of the openness of the design. Freeform crochet can be anything that you want it to be. While there aren’t any “rules” for freeform crochet, there are some great starting points and tips for people who would like to express themselves in this way but who aren’t sure where to begin. This guide will help you get started in the adventure of freeform crochet. Continue reading “Freeform Crochet Tips for Beginners”
Crossed stitches are created when you skip spaces, crochet a stitch and then crochet a stitch into the skipped stitches; you have crossed one stitch over another by working backwards into the skipped area. Crossed stitches are the foundation of creating crochet cables, and they can also be used as decorative textured stitches in their own right. This guide shows you how to crochet some of the most common crossed stitches.
Continue reading “Guide to Crochet Crossed Stitches for Cables and More”
Double-stranded or multi-stranded crochet, where you hold two or more yarn strands together as you crochet, is a terrific technique to incorporate into your craft experience. Adapting to crocheting with multiple yarns is fairly simple but you can do a lot with it if you learn all of the tips and tricks for this niche. This guide provides that foundation.
The shell stitch is a stitch pattern in crochet that can be worked in a variety of different ways. In general, it refers to a pattern in which multiple stitches are worked into the same stitch from the row or round below to create the “shell” shape. For example, a very common form of the shell stitch is to work five double crochet stitches into the same stitch. The stitches fan out so that they appear to be different heights at the edges, making that shell shape, even though they are actually all the same size. This crochet guide teaches you different variations of the shell stitch and shares patterns for practicing this fun design.
Continue reading “Guide to Crochet Shell Stitch Variations with Patterns”
Surface crochet is a technique for adding embroidery-style designs to your crochet work. There are a few different ways to work surface crochet, the most common of which is with the slip stitch. In this technique, you create a row of slip stitches on the surface of your crochet fabric by pulling loops through from the back of the fabric to the front in the shape of the pattern that you want to design on the front of the work. This article shares how to work this type of crochet. The Mandala Sampler Throw free crochet pattern is used as a reference. Examples of and links to other patterns using the technique can be found at the bottom of the post.
Crochet instructions may be written in text (with or without abbreviations), and/ or graphed or charted in symbols. Being able to read symbol charts expands your options for working with different types of crochet patterns. This guide explains how to read crochet charts.
Tapestry crochet is a niche of crochet that intimidates a lot of people because it involves a lot of different yarn color changes (resulting in many ends to weave in). However, once you get the hang of the color changes, you realize that this type of crochet, which is based entirely on basic single crochet stitches, is actually really simple. You work with several different colors across each row to create beautiful graphic designs, producing work that seems to be complex, but in the end it’s not that hard at all.
Continue reading “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Tapestry Crochet”