Making shells

[kurlykelly]

I am very green to crocheting!

 

I am to repeat the following sequence 24 times around the outer edge of a knit baby sweater. The 7hdc is throwing me for a loop though. Am I supposed to do an hdc 7 times in the same 3rd stitch? Then I skip two stitches, then slip stitch into the 3rd single crochet and repeat? The pattern says that it Makes 24 shells.

 

*7hdc into 3rd sc from hook, skip 2 stitches, sl st into 3rd sc*

[Granny Square]

Yes.  A shell is x stitches into 1 stitch, skip y stitches, make a short stitch (slip stitch or sc usually) into the next stitch, skip y stitches, repeat.  

Don't worry, you can put more than 7 stitches into one stitch!

[Becky Morgan]

That's what makes that pretty scalloped edging.

 

There are lots of kinds of shells in different patterns, so don't let it throw you if the next thing you make has a different definition--just fllow what the pattern wants and it'll work.