Cross Stitching on crochet without it showing too much in back?

[LaughingLasagna]

Hello!

I started doing my scarf project and did the cross stitching of a letter - looked GREAT and looked much better than me failing at switching colors, lol....however, I thought I wouldn't mind a messy back but I actually do. 

I read/watched about the Tunisian (afghan) stitch and saw a tutorial about how to cross-stitch with very little to no showing on the back when you used that exact stitch. I understand that completely, but then I realized I did not know how to get to the next row. Am I supposed to just start a new strand or is there a trick? 

Can anyone give me pointers or show me to the right direction? I would truly appreciate it!

[redrosesdz]

Tunisian crochet is a cross between crocheting and knitting.  You cast on in the forward pass and then crochet it off on the return pass.  If you're going to cross stitch, I'd go with the TSS (Tunisian Simple Stitch.)  Make sure that you're using Tunisian/Afghan hooks.  They have a stopper on the end, so that the stitches don't fall off.  Some have a long tube or wire before the stopper, so that you can fit a lot of stitches on the hook.

 

Here is Stitch Diva's tutorial on Tunisian ... http://www.stitchdiva.com/tutorials/tunisian-crochet.  (I love her tutorials!  She's easy to follow and free.)

[Granny Square]

Was this the tutorial you saw?  She was very specific about which loops to stitch under (in TSS) to hide the backside by not stitching through the fabric, but working under specific loops of the stitch.

 

TSS is thicker than SC, and the structure is obviously different.  Working in SC will be a bit more 'freehand'-- but you could do the same thing with SC by burrowing the back part of the embroidery 'thread' in the the stitch / yarn thickness so it doesn't show in the back.  To get to the next row, you'd bury the needle inside the stitch/yarn and travel to the spot you want to start the next stitch. 

 

PS, I know I mentioned this before, but surface slip stitch makes a chain on the front, and a 'running stitch' on the back that doesn't look too bad...

[LaughingLasagna]

Yes, that is the video and I did understand how she did it - but I was confused about how she would get to the next row and if I should go up to down or down to up. I tried that technique with the sc, but for some reason my front looked off...nothing in the back, lol, but the front wasn't even - but that could just be me getting flustered. 

I thought about the surface slip stitch, but I am confused as to how I would follow the pattern I made up for the lettering. Would each square be a slip stitch? 

I think I may just deal with my original plans and maybe add a piece of crochet to cover my messy work. I don't want to get too stressed. Still learning, but I guess I need to continue making swatches and practicing. 

Thank you both for your replies. You have been a tremendous help to this somewhat of a beginner crocheter.

[Granny Square]

Why didn't I think of this before, there are patterns for letter appliques:

http://www.mooglyblog.com/the-moogly-crochet-alphabet/

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/letters-a---z

http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/z-crochet

 

Slip stitch crochet acts like writing with a pen over the fabric, I was thinking you wanted to get someone's initial on the scarf.  It works with plain lettering as well as fancy script, easy to work freehand.  It wouldn't work with a 'fat' letter like a school logo.

[redrosesdz]

If you decide to go with letter appliques, make sure that you steam block them before trying to sew them on.  I learned this the hard way.  LOL