Information that changed the way you crochet

[Tapanga]

Believe it or not, Paperclips saved my sanity. I used to have a hard time finding the chain I was supposed to put my last stitch in at the end of every row. You know, the top of the last row's turning chain. So I started marking them with paper clips. I just slip it on as I would if I were sliding it onto another paperclip as I make the turning chain and voila! A little place marker. I helps me keep my edges all even, since I gave up on counting stiches.

[Teesachu]

The realization that 9 times out of 10, if I can figure a way to work around an error I've made in a previous row and I keep going for a while, I have to look really hard to find it. And if I have to look hard to find it, then no one else is going to notice it. It makes things so much less stressful.

[thecrochetdude]

EVer since I (re-) started crocheting, I always used three chains for turning when working with double crochet. Then one day I read somewhere that using 2 chains might make a neater edge. It made a huge difference:)

 

Did others have a similar experience? I would love to hear your stories.

Maybe I can find out something new to me:hook

 

I had the same experience! It made me realize how important joining rounds, chaining for the next row, etc actually were!

 

Another a-ha was when I found that my tension completely evened out if I pulled enough yarn out of a skein to work an entire row/round. My speed increased quite a bit too!

[snbarclay]

a lot of the crochet talk is confusing to me . .

[luckygrrl]

I too had a revelation about the ch 2 or 3 for dc. I was complaining about the extra little "lump" of the chain at the end of my rows, and my friend said, "So just chain one less when you turn." Oh, did the lightbulb go on then!

 

I regularly have more than one project going, so sometimes I've got random projects stuffed in this place or that. Once I learned to put a stitch marker through the loop that would be on my hook when I put the project down, I saved myself the annoyance of a few or more stitches pulling out as the project got moved around while it wasn't being worked on.

 

Also, I think I read on here or Craftster someone's tip of keeping your ball of yarn in a pot on the floor to roll around in as you work. This is such a great idea for non center-pull skeins! So much better than it sitting next to me and me yanking on it every few moments.

 

I'll have to try out this bottom of the chain trick! Is it easy to tell which is the bottom loop of the chain? I always am miffed that my foundation rows looks slightly different because of the loopy bits from the starting chain at the bottom.

[Aggie May]

What made a huge difference for me was, when doing SC rows, always CH1, then turn and work the first SC into the last stitch of the row before. Makes a much neater edge than using the CH1 as the first SC.

When doing rows with DCs or bigger, always do the CH 2, 3, 4 etc. at the end of the row, then turn your work in a clock-wise direction, then when you go to work into the CH at the end of the row, the front of the stitch is facing and it looks neater and is easier to work into.

The most important thing I ever learned is, RELAX AND HAVE FUN.

It is not a competition to see whose is best, so if you are happy, that is all that matters.

Have fun.

Colleen.

PS Almost left out the most important thing I ever learned.

If you want it perfect, get it made in a factory by a Robot.

[ranieannie]

Did anyone beside me find that changing the way they hold the hook changed the world??

 

I now hold it like a knife, not a pencil. I'm left-handed, but crochet with my right hand (long story). A crochet instructor suggested I try holding the hook differently. Whoa...what a difference! Smoother work, even tension, etc.

[luckygrrl]

A silly little thing I just discovered the other day. Often when I get the hook tangled in my work, or get an extra loop on or whatever the deal is, I have a *^%#@ of a time trying to get the work off the hook. I realized that instead of playing around with the hook end, I should just shove the hook all the way through the work-- the loops, etc come off the smooth end of the hook way easier.

[mbcabbie]

Ditto on all of it - except I keep a stash of safety pins for marking stitches or rows - instead of paper clips. If I don't have my pins with me, I use another color yarn and tie a small bow.

 

I find that the project tells me whether the ch2 or ch3 works with the DC... Working in the round usually works better with the ch2 if you then DC in the joining space and ignore the ch2 in the next row. It comes out virtually invisible rather than a gap or a loopy bump. But in other circumstances, the ch3 works better.

 

Its been only in the past couple of years that I have learned alot of these things - usually the hard way.

[kittylou]

My biggie was discovering that I crochet tightly. Now I use a hook at least one size, sometimes 2 sizes, bigger for the starting chain. I used to end up with the starting edge being smaller than the ending edge because my starting chain was too tight.

 

The other thing was discovering that it's OK to put a few extra chains on the starting chain because I can always go back and take out the extras later without messing up my work. I have a tendency to miscount the starting chain, so this keeps me from frogging!

[Stacey]

A while back, I learned here that what I had thought for years was double crochet was actually extended double crochet. Oops! Doing it my old way never made a project come out wrong, but dc is so much quicker without that extra step I was doing.

 

By extension, I've been learning that even if I thought I read the instructions for a pattern or stitch, I really ought to read them again because I have some, er, attention span issues, and I tend to miss some of the details the first time around and then have to frog. I'm still working on this one

[Merlot]

I've tried 2 things I read about here already. I started a new afghan last night. I tried the foundation row in the bottom of the starting chain. It looks so much nicer. And I've been only doing ch 2 instead of 3 when turning for the dc rows. It does make a nicer edge. (I'd done that sometimes before, but if a pattern says ch 3, that's what I'd do.) I guess I learned that the pattern is more of a suggestion, not the law! Thanks for helping me get beyond that.

[tropicallie]

The Russian Join. I LOVE not having 101 ends to weave in when I finish a project.

 

 

Things I WANT to learn to do? That foundation sc or dc thing. I have tried and tried, but it always comes out a loose mess. Not sure where exactly I'm suppose to put the hook to start the second sc/dc.

[luckygrrl]

Russian Join? Ooooh, what's that??

[dogymom]

This!

enjoy:hug

 

Russian Join? Ooooh, what's that??