Pattern help... Very new to this...

[hawkj_02]

I picked up a book at Walmart for beginners. I have watched videos on youtube.com to get me started with different stitches. So I opened the book to start looking at the patterns and understanding them but I'm already stuck. Maybe I got way ahead of myself by trying to start with a larger project. But anyway...

 

The pattern is an afghan.

The top line says "Ch 150 {252}" loosely

 

Does this mean that I'm chaining 150 chains 252 times??

 

[redrosesdz]

Welcome to Crochetville!

 

It means to chain 150.

 

What is the book?  The reason I'm asking is because what you typed is unusual.  Here are the standard things you should find in a crochet pattern ...

 

http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/crochet.html

 

As you can see, the Yarn Council doesn't include { } as symbols.  Typically any kind of brackets means it is a repeat and the instructions will tell you that.  Brackets can also indicate size.  If the instructions are for multiple sizes, it'll look like X (XX, XXX, XXXX) for 4 sizes.  You only follow the number for the size you're making and ignore the others. 

 

Numbers at the end of an instruction are a count of how many stitches you should have done.  If it's all the same stitch, it might be just a number.  If it's a combination of stitches, it might say X sc, X dc, X ch sp. 

 

{252} doesn't make sense.  Read everything before the pattern starts.  There may be an explanation in there.

 

Since you're new to crochet, I'm going to give you a couple of tips for chaining loosely.  The foundation chain needs to be loose, because you'll be pulling on it for the first row.  If it is too tight, it'll look scrunched together at that end,  Here are 2 different ways to keep it loose ...

1. Pinch the chain with your thumb and middle finger of the hand holding the yarn, before making the next chain.  This prevents you from pulling it too tight.
2. Use a larger hook just for the foundation chain.  Switch to the correct size for the rest of the project.

There are 3 strands on each chain.  The > are the front and back loops.  The front one is the one closest to you.  The single strand is the back bump.  You can crochet the first row using any one or two of these strands.  If you insert your hook under just the back bump, the bottom edge will look like the top edge.  However, the back bump pulls the most, so your foundation chain has to be looser than crocheting into the other strands.  If you insert your hook under the front and back loops, the bottom edge will look like a series of bumps.  These are the two ways I use, depending on what I'm making.  If Granny Square replies, she'll tell you about another way that she uses.

[Granny Square]

Hi Redrosesdz, and welcomeOP!  I agree, it's odd but not impossible for a blanket to be written for 2 sizes, and it looks like it's indicating the number of chains for small(large).  Maybe the pattern writer just liked the look of { } better than ( ).  ;P

 

Re: crocheting loosely in general...when I was new to crocheting, I stitched really tight.  I finally realized that I was using the very tip of the hook--the narrow part of the 'throat'--not the shaft--to make my stitches.  Shaft=hook and stitch size, so I had to re-learn to form my stitches further up the hook--for stitches and chains.

 

For chains, 2 ways to insert the hook into the chain were described above, but the third way (and the only way I knew until the internet) is this:  With the chain part facing you (back bump away from you), use the top loop of the chain only.  Interestingly, post-internet I found that this was the way that old crochet manuals (from the mid 1800s) told you to do it as well (no, I'm not quite that old...).  

Advantage: It's easier to insert the hook into that loop because it doesn't pull the chain tight, and therefore doesn't pull the fabric tight

Disadvantage: It doesn't look exactly like the top edge, it has 2 loops but doesn't look like a chain.  FWIW, since for decades I didn't know about the back bump, this never bothered me.  And presumably generations using those old manuals before me put up with it, too

[Real Deal]

I would assume the 252 is for making a larger afghan or blanket size.

[hawkj_02]

Thanks all. I really appreciate it. I have just been playing around with stitching. I have several little swatches floating around my house that I have given my daughter to play with. I just seem to catch on better if I do something repeatedly. BTW my daughter is loving that... its like christmas every day. LOL