I bought a bunch of yarn and now I don't know how to start

[texaskitty]

A year ago I went nuts and bought 12 skeins of LB Homespun in two colors. I was so attracted to the colors and love this yarn. I was thinking lap robe or throw.

 

Heres the problem:

 

I have no idea how to start. lol

 

If I do it in one go, how long to make the foundation chain?

 

If I do it on panels, of alternating colors, and then stitch the panels together, how to figure how big to make the panels?

 

So I have this big investment in yarn and am clueless.

 

Can anyone help?

 

Angie

[acraftylady]

Make the foundation chain as wide as you want the blanket. Just crochet how ever many rows of the one Color then switch to the next. Don't have yo make panels you sew together. Have you seen the free afghan patterns on the lion brand site for homespun? Mary

[CindysSweetThings]

Just like pp said, make the foundation chain as long as you want the lapghan/throw to be. Or, you can forget the chain and start with a foundation single crochet. I like the fsc better, especially for blankets. A starting chain always makes the bottom more taught than the top and that drives my OCD nuts! Here is a link...

 

Or, if you are doing double crochet, here is a foundation dc tutorial...

 

You can alternate stitches too. Do one row in one stitich and another row in a different stitch. Or, you can alternate sc and dc across the row then do the opposite in the next row (dc in every sc and sc in every dc). That is a nice texture.

 

Next, crochet as many rows as you want to make the strip of color as wide as you want. The easiest way to change colors at this point (in my opinion) would be to finish off at the end of the row and then attach the new color with a slip stitch. Then, you can either make all of your strips the same size or you can vary the sizes.

 

After your ghan/throw is a long as you want it to be, you are ready for a border. Attach your yarn with a sc and sc all the way around. On the sides, sc in each row. 3 sc in each corner stitch. You can add several rows of sc or add a row of dc (you would do 5 dc in each corner then), or you can add a simple scallped edge (5 dc in a stitch, skip 2 stitches, sc, skip 2 stitches, 5 dc, etc).

 

Voila! You have a lapghan/throw!

[creationsbycourtney]

To add to the great advice that's already posted, if you have an iPhone or other tablet phone, consider the Crocet Handy app. It's a great app for $0.99 or $1.99 that allows you to input the gauge (sc, hdc or dc and how many stitches per inch (yarn weight)) for the project (lapghan/blanket) and it tells you how many yards of yarn you need. Knowing how many yards will help in determining whether you have enough yarn for the width that you come up. There is nothing more frustrating than running out of yarn towards the end of a project, and you can't find anymore yarn in the same color.

 

When changing colors, I prefer to lay the new color on top the previous row at the last 4 or 5 stitches, and crochet over it to the end of the row. When you get to the last stitch, say in sc, pick up the new color after you have two loops on the hook, and complete the sc with the new color. You can cut the first color, and crochet over the tail with the new color as you begin the row.

http://www.crochetcabana.com/tutorials/join-new-yarn.htm

This is a link with lots of explanation and some pictures. Hope this helps

 

Courtney

[ddc]

When I do a foundation chain on a large project, I always use a hook one size larger, still rather loosely, for the chain. Then it has more give and doesn't tighten up the way Cindy described.

 

I also agree to check the Lion Brand site. They have some really nice patterns there for Homespun.

[texaskitty]

what wonderful advice!

 

I did check Lion's site and found a simple afghan that uses the same number of skeins as I have. Theres has six colors, but I can just switch my two out.

 

Am also thinking of making a one piece afghan as has been suggested here. I may need to wait for cooler weather though.

 

I seem to procrastinate on stitching panels together. I have all the panels ready for one I made using a Lion pattern (loosely as I substitute colors),

 

Need to add that to my to do list.