Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
We’re almost there!
I’ve finished making all my motifs and, since I was joining them as I did the last round of each, I don’t have any additional joining to do. However, many of you chose to wait until now to join your motifs, a method I often choose. Since I know at least ten ways to do so, I have a choice of options at this point. Sewing motifs together with a tapestry needle and whip stitch is a non-starter for me. Meaning: I never do it. Waaaaaaay too slow and finicky.
Single crochet seam
This seam can be done either on the wrong side or the right side of the piece. It is a sturdy yet flexible join. It makes a nice ridge, which can be used as a design element to frame the motifs. Some people think the ridge looks “wrong”; I think it’s a lovely three-dimensional element that adds interest, and I often choose to put it on the right side. I’ve used a contrasting color yarn so that the seam shows up.
To work a single crochet seam on the right side, hold the motifs with wrong sides together and sc through the adjacent stitches and chain-spaces on both motifs.
In this design, I would probably work a bunch of short seams to create long strips of hexagons, then join those long strips with long zigzag-shaped seams lengthwise down the afghan. You’ll have to figure out the best way to handle the corners when 3 motifs meet.
On my sample, I joined the 3rd motif to the 2nd one from chain-spaces to chain-spaces, then chain 1, and joined the same chain-space of the 3rd motif to the next chain-space of the 1st motif, continuing along that edge to the next corner. (This will make more sense when you have a lot of pieces in your hand and you try it yourself!)
Here’s what the sc seam on the right side looks like:
Here’s what it looks like on the wrong side:
Note that this last photo shows more or less what the seam would look like if you worked it on the wrong side. To work a single crochet seam on the wrong side, hold motifs with right sides together and sc through the adjacent stitches on both motifs.
Single-crochet/chain seam
This join is a bit looser and more flexible than the single crochet seam. Again, it can be done either on the right side or the wrong side of the work. Instead of working into every stitch and chain-space as shown above, join with a sc at the corners, *ch 1, skip 1 pair of stitches, sc through next pair of adjacent stitches; repeat from * across the edge to the corner. As for the single crochet seam, you’ll have to experiment a bit to figure out how best to handle the corners where 3 motifs join. It may require a chain 1, 2 or 3 at the corner to lie flat.
Single Crochet Join on Final Round
My final suggestion is a hybrid of the join-as-you-go method that I showed you before. In this method, add an additional round of single crochet around each motif, joining as you go.
On the first motif, work a complete round of single crochet, placing 1 sc in each dc and (sc, ch 1, sc) in each corner space. Fasten off.
On the second motif, work a round of sc to the next-to-last corner. Sc in corner, ch 1, join that chain in the adjacent chain from the first motif (as described here), sc in same chain-space of current motif, join that sc to the adjacent sc from the first motif, and so on.
As you work, you may find that you need to put 2 or 3 chains in the corner to make the corners tidy—don’t be afraid to play around with it to get the perfect technique for your situation.
Which of these (or any other methods) is best? By now (hopefully), you’ll know what my answer is: only you can decide what’s best in your situation. Play with variations on these joins and decide which one you think is just right for your needs. For example, you may find that the join-only-in-the corner method that I showed you in a previous post is quick, but not sturdy enough for hard use, or you may think it gives the perfect lacy look you prefer.
Weaving in ends
Everyone has just been itchin’ for me to talk about weaving in ends. Your time has finally come. In an earlier post, I wrote about working over yarn ends as I create new stitches. I will do often do this, but I find that in an item that gets handled a lot, like an afghan, the worked-over ends are not secure enough. I prefer to weave in all my ends with a tapestry needle for the final finish.
Yes, this is tedious. It’s not nearly as much fun as stitching cute little hexagons. However, it IS a critical part of the afghan-making process. A couple of nights in front of the TV should do it.
I use a blunt-tip tapestry needle with a big enough eye so that I can easily thread it, yet not so big that it has trouble fitting through the stitches. You do know this trick for threading a tapestry needle, don’t you?
Weave the yarn tail in a couple of different directions through the back of the same-color stitches. The more different directions you go in, the more secure your tail will be.
Some people choose to use a sharper needle and actually skim through the back of the stitches, splitting the yarn. If you have a latch hook, you might find it easier to use it to weave in your ends.
A Finishing Round
Once I had all my ends woven in, I used a steam iron to carefully block the entire afghan. You may have heard that blocking is not necessary with acrylic yarn, but I find that blocking gives a finished look to any crocheted piece. I was careful to use the lowest steam setting on my iron, and I NEVER touch the iron to the fabric, as it it is possible to “kill” acrylic yarn and thus alter its drape. I just skimmed the iron over the afghan, keeping it about 2″ above the fabric.
Then I decided that a final round of single crochet would be a nice touch and would help strengthen and secure the edges. I worked 1 sc in each dc around, putting (sc, ch 1, sc) in each “outer” chain-space corner, and 1 sc in each “inner” chain-space corner.
Final Results
Can you see where I threw in a few off-pattern motifs to keep it interesting? Adding another color would have been fun, as well.
The finished size is about 37″ x 53″. That’s reasonably close to what I predicted. It is a bit small for a traditional-sized afghan, but I could easily have added motifs to make it larger. As it is, I decided it’s a perfect lap-ghan size to throw over my legs while I’m crocheting.
Also as predicted, the weight of the finished afghan indicated I used a total of about 8 balls of yarn. The breakdown of colors was about 5 balls of Taupe, 3 balls of Linen and 2 balls of Cranberry. (Yes, these add up to more than 8 balls, because the final ball of each color was not used up.)
It’s Just the Beginning
Those of you who have stuck with me this far, congratulations! I hope I’ve been showing you things you didn’t know before, and that you have been having fun and gaining confidence while working along with me. I haven’t been able to share half of what I know and love about crocheting; if you want to learn more, read more here at the Lion Brand website, refer to The Crochet Answer Book and Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs, and take classes. All my fellow crochet teachers and I are anxious to share our love of the craft with you.
I hope you’ll keep stitching and striving to grow your knowledge while enjoying what you are doing. No stress, no “wrongs”, just opportunities to learn. I’ll be hanging out here at the Lion Brand Notebook for another week or so to answer questions and respond to comments. After that, you’ll still be able to find me on the Ravelry CAL group or on my website.
Stitch On–and HAVE FUN!
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Do you have a blog, website, or Ravelry page? Let others know you’re in the Motif Afghan Crochet-Along with the official badge!
Simply right-click on the image (control+click for Mac users) and save it to your computer. Then upload it and share it on your website! Be sure to craft along with us here, on our Ravelry group, and on our Flickr group.
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Hello, Crocheters!
My name is Edie Eckman, and I’m so excited to be leading this Motif Afghan Crochet-Along! I’m a crochet (and knit) designer, and lately I’ve been doing lots of motif crochet. You may think of it as “granny squares”, but I’ve found it can be so much more than that.
Let me tell you what I have in mind for this adventure.
We’ll be making a full-sized motif-based afghan in 3 or 4 colors. I’ve chosen Motif #48 from my book Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs as the basis for the design. It works well in 1, 2, 3 or 4 colors, and the hexagonal shape is so versatile that we have plenty of opportunity for creativity. You can find the motif instructions here.
This week, we’ll be choosing colorways. The following week, we’ll look at how the motif appears when stitched in a variety of color combinations and learn the “sliding loop” method of beginning a motif in the round. In Week 3, I’ll show you a couple of ways to envision the final design, so you can decide how many motifs to make. The next week will include tips for improving your technique, dealing with yarn tails, and joining as you go. The final week we’ll finish up: block, sew together (if we didn’t join them as we worked), and weave in the ends.
Of course, this is simply a suggested outline. As we progress, I’ll answer questions, and let you help me decide what we need to discuss. As in life, the plan is subject to change.
Choosing Colors
One of my favorite things about starting an afghan project is choosing the yarn. There are so many possible choices! I decided early on that I’d be using Lion Brand’s Vanna’s Choice and/or Vanna’s Choice Baby, because of the many beautiful colors that are designed to go together. Wool-Ease is another good choice.
Although I didn’t have any particular colorway in mind, I was looking for three or four colors that would look good together. I really find it hard to make up my mind when it comes to colors, so I’m starting with a bunch of choices. I like bright colors, but sometimes for home decor I’d prefer something more subtle. I’ve narrowed down my choices to four colorways, and wound some yarn onto white index cards to get an idea of how they might look together, and in what proportions.
Colorway #2
I like #1 and #2 for a baby or kid’s afghan, but I don’t have any (little) kids at my house.
Colorway #3
#3 would look great in my bedroom, but I recently did another afghan in a similar colorway and I’m afraid I might get tired of it.
Colorway #4
#4 would work well in my den.
I’m leaning strongly toward #3 or #4.
What do you think? Let me know which colors you want to see me use in the comments section! You have FIVE days to help me decide, because I have to get the yarn!
Now…you go choose some yarns that will work for you. Since motifs lend themselves to using up colorful scraps of yarn, you could just go crazy and use a wide variety of colors! However, even if you are using up yarn from your stash, it’s a good idea to choose colors deliberately.
Also, leave a note and introduce yourself! We want to know what yarn and colors you want to use, and we want to know a little about you!
Let the adventure begin…
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I have been just so amazed this last week at the number of you responding to the invitation to join our CAL for the Moderne Jacket! For those of you who are just joining in on the fun, make sure to print your pattern soon as it will only be free especially to all the CAL participants until March 23rd.
This last week was a time for many of you to decide what yarn to use, making that swatch and starting work on the back. In my last post, I discussed what types of yarns would probably work best and decided myself to work with yarns that were different from the ones used in the pattern. The pattern calls for two different colors of yarn–but I decided to work with two yarns that were very similar in color. The two yarns I chose were “Vanna’s Choice” in Beige, and” Vanna’s Glamour” in Topaz. I liked the bit of glimmer that Glamour gave to my project, and so I chose a smooth, golden look to the jacket I am making my daughter.
So, how did my back turn out? Well, much to my surprise (and to some of you!) I found that after working my decrease rows, the 2 stitch pattern “shifts” by 1 stitch. Now, for many of you, this won’t be apparent at all – especially if you are working with two tones, or darker yarn, or a yarn with a texture, like Homespun. It is always amazing to me how the same pattern can look so different with a change of yarn!
Again, for many of you – this won’t even be an issue…but here is how I kept the pattern in line. I noticed while working this pattern stitch, that the first stitch I work into for the sc2tog was different in appearance than the second stitch I worked. (One is the stitch resulting from the sc2tog on the previous row, and the second is the ch1 done after the sc2tog). Keeping that in mind, on the rows that were “off” from the pattern, I did a sc at the beg of the row and an extra sc at the end of the row to make sure the stitch pattern lined up on itself as it did in the beginning. It was a little trickier for the raglan shaping as I was trying to line it up every row. I like how my back turned out, but it did take some forethought. I’m already thinking of doing this jacket again – but maybe a two- tone next time!
I’ve already started my fronts and keeping the pattern stitch “lining-up” will keep me busy. Next week, we’ll see how they “shaped-up”!
For CALers in the NYC, stop by the Lion Brand Yarn Studio to see the original jacket LIVE.
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Hey All!
I’ve done some serious crocheting this weekend to catch up with some of you, but in the meantime, for those of you who are newer to the crochet-along, I’ve decided to give y’all a rundown of stitches to try if you are so inclined:
First an easy alteration to make to any of the 3 existing blocks in the pattern is to simply try a different stitch. Try half double crochet in Block 1 for example.
And have you seen the Stitchfinder? There are quite a few fun patterns to try out!
Here are a few to take a look at:
Lacey Stripes:
Textured Stripes
Crochet Cable
If you’re using one of these alternate stitches, don’t forget to do a little gauge swatch and see how big each repeat of the pattern is, so that you can chain the right width for your block.
What alternative stitch patterns have you added to your sampler? Please tell us all about it, right here in the comments to this post!
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I hear some of you are finished already! I myself am woefully behind the pack, looking forward to a week of non-stop crocheting! Here’s a little step through of Blocks 1 and 3 to help address some of your comments.
Block 1 : Sc-tbl Stitch
Ch 27.
Row 1 Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across - 26 sc.
Row 2 Ch 1, turn. Sc in back loop only of each st across.
Rep (Row 2) 31 times more. Fasten off.
That Sc-tbl, means work single crochet stitches through the back loop. After you’ve worked your first row of single crochet into your foundation chain, take a look at what you’ve just crocheted. The top of each stitch has 2 loops. We usually work through both. “Through the back loop” means work only through the back loop (the loop furthest from you). Mama Mac, my great grandmother, called this the back porch and the front loop the front porch. This one simple difference of working through one loop opens up a whole different drape and texture for your fabric. It’s one of my absolute favorite ways to add a subtle dash of spice to some simple crochet.
If you work through only the back loop every row, there will be alternating ridges on each side of your work. These ridges are created by the un-worked front loop. Also, working through only one loop loosens up the drape a bit, you’ll notice that back loop gets stretched out a bit and there will be more space between your rows.
If you were to work through only the front loop every row, you’ll find the same result you get with the back loop. If you work through front loop only the one row and back loop only the next, you’ll see that the ridges will all be on one side.
Here’s a very simple change if you want to try another something different: Alternate across a row, working through the front loop of one stitch and the back loop of the next stitch. This creates a subtle waffled sort of texture.
Ch 27.
Row 1 Hdc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across - 26 hdc.
Row 2 Ch 1, turn. hdc in back loop only of next st, hdc in front loop only of next stitch, repeat across the row.
Repeat Row 2 to the desired size.
Block 3: Cluster Stitch
Ch 26.
Row 1 (RS) Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across - 25 sc.
Row 2 Ch 2, turn (counts as first dc), CL in next sc; *ch 1, skip 1 sc, CL in next sc; rep from * to last dc, dc in last sc.
Row 3 Ch 1, turn. Sc in first dc and in each CL and ch1-space across to t-ch; sc in top of t-ch. Rep (Rows 2 and 3) 8 times more. Fasten off.
Let’s step through Rows 2 and 3:
Row 2 starts with a ch 2 turning chain that will stand in as a double crochet, next you will work your first cluster stitch in the second single crochet from the previous row. This is very important, don’t work the cluster in the first stitch of the row, but the next one (the second stitch of the row.) Chain 1, skip the next stitch (third stitch of the row) and work the next cluster into the fourth stitch of the row. Continue in this combination across the row: chain 1, skip a stitch, cluster in next stitch. If you have an odd number of stitches in your first row of sc this will work out such that you have clusters along the row with a double crochet in the first (remember that turning chain is pretending to be a double crochet) and last stitch of the row. If you adjust your number of stitches in a row to get your blocks the same size make sure to use an odd number of stitches with this one!
For Row 3, work a single crochet in that double crochet from the previous row, then single crochet in the top of the cluster stitch and single crochet into the chain stitch and keep going across the row. Work a single crochet into that turning chain from the beginning of the last row and your sc row is finished! You should have the same number of stitches in Row 3 as you did in Row 1. See the photo for a close up of the single crochet worked into the cluster row.
Little mistakes to look out for:
-Don’t work the first cluster of the row in the first stitch!
-Don’t work a chain between the last cluster of the row and the last double crochet. This will throw off your stitch count. I have to keep an eye on myself because I keep doing this!
Happy Crocheting!
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For the first Lion Brand crochet-along we gave you the opportunity to vote for one of three patterns. You’ve chosen the Crochet Sampler Afghan (click the name for the pattern), so it’s time to grab our hooks and jump on in! Depending on your level of experience there are a variety of challenges this simple project can offer.
For some, it’s the task of completing an entire blanket. Myself included! I often stick with smaller projects simply to better guarantee the chances I’ll finish. So I’m starting this CAL off with the vow that I will complete one Sampler Blanket by the end of our time together. Eep! You’ll have to help me stick to my promise! Luckily the pattern works up in simple blocks that can be taken in small steps and before we know it we have an entire blanket. And just in time for crisp fall nights!
For others the challenge may be learning to crochet. And this is a fine project to start with. If you are completely new to crochet, you can start off with the single crochet blocks and by the time you’ve finished them you’ll be ready to take on the double crochet blocks and then the cluster blocks. Don’t forget, the Learning Center is available to help you out.
We have many of you excited (or a bit nervous and certainly curious) about giving pattern reading a try. I can talk on this in more detail next week. For now I’ll simply say what you’ve likely heard already, reading a pattern is just like reading a recipe. Simply take it step by step and whenever you don’t understand the next step take a moment to look it up or ask questions. It will start making sense in no time!
And there are plenty more ways to find a challenge in this project. I have personally always had a hard time following a pattern to the letter and can’t resist encouraging others to color outside the lines if they wish. So in that vein there will be plenty of discussion about choosing yarns, resizing the blanket, and yes some more complicated stitch patterns if you want to add some different textures to your blanket.
So let’s get started! What kind of challenge do you want to take on with your Crochet Sampler Afghan? Pick your yarn and grab a hook!
The CAL starts now and I’m aiming to finish my afghan in about 6 weeks, but you can start when you’re ready and work at your own pace!
In the next CAL post I’ll talk about working with the pattern, choosing yarn, and I’ll share the simple changes I made for a doll sized version of the Crochet Sampler.
I’ll be posting about once a week. If you have any questions about how to participate in a crochet-along, check out these tips from this summer’s knit-along right here. If you use Flickr or Ravelry, don’t forget to join the Lion Brand Crochet Sampler Afghan CAL groups!
In the meantime, leave a comment and introduce yourself! What’s your skill level? What do you like to make? What are you most looking forward to for the CAL?
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