C2C Blanket Question

[jstaff]

Hello!

 I have done many corner to corner scarfs and hats but have never attempted a c2c blanket before. It always has seemed daunting to me. I was considering doing a c2c blanket from an image as a gift. It would be two colors total. I found someone who completed a blanket that I would like to replicate using the same image and coloring. Is this an advanced project for a beginner c2c crocheter?

Thanks!

https://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/comments/m4aeuk/c2c_uva_blanket/?rdt=43987

 

[Horsy]

Re c2c projects; what am I doing wrong?  The project always comes out cockeyed, i.e., corners are not 90 degrees; it is more of a slightly irregular quadrilateral. 😒

[Granny Square]

Jstaff, I'm no expert, I've done things in a corner-to-corner fashion but in plain knit or crochet stitches not the C2C stitch pattern.  I don't think it would be difficult, just a BIG project; it's all simple shapes and you aren't changing color all that often (just admire your work frequently to make sure you are on track with the pattern!).

Horsy, a wild guess, and I'm not 100% confident this is the reason.  I make a lot of center out doilies and my stitch height, versus the designers', makes a difference that I often have to compensate for (to keep it from ruffling or cupping).  I wonder if starting in a corner, and have stitch heights going in 2 directions could be a factor in the end item not having square corners if your stitch heights differ from the designer; in other words, I'm imagining you may the same problem as I do with my round doilies, but in your case you are sort of making 1/4th of a doily shape for the first half of the piece, -ish.  So example if your starting corner is greater than 90°, it is like my round doily ruffling.

 

[Horsy]

@Granny Square.  Might you be suggesting that the c2c in some cases has an inherent flaw?  Kind of like trying to make a larger-than-average granny square, maybe 7 rounds or more, where it starts to twirl?  Not the best comparison but you get the idea - that crochet stitches have a wee forward angle and the more rounds you make, the more the slant. I have a granny square doily, maybe 10"  square, which suffers this way.   I didn't see what was happening til it was all done!  I could not block my way out of this.  Thanks. 

I better look this up, as they say.  Someone, somewhere, must have mentioned this (the c2c flaw).  

[bgs]

C2C is my go to for prayer shawls and doll blankets.  I dont have to guess the number of stitches I need to hit a certain dimension.  Mine have always seemed to come out okay.  I hurriedly laid these out to snap photos and didnt get them laid out flat and perfect. 

On doing a design like originally asked I would have to study up and review on working with bobbins for the color changes.

https://makeanddocrew.com/change-colors-corner-to-corner-crochet-c2c/

 

Edited June 13 by bgs

[Granny Square]

erase erase

Oh thank you BGS, you posted as I was typing my question to Horsey (whether her c2c items are made same side facing or not), and your photos undoubtedly answered it.  It looks like your squares alternate which side of each row is facing, so there really isn't a front and back to the item, and no skewing.

Horsey, you are right about Granny Squares made with the same side always facing you, they will 'skew'.  But if you turn each round, they won't, well they do, but the skews cancel themselves out.  This is what is happening with BGS's blanket above, so there is no 'flaw'.

 

Edited June 14 by Granny Square

[bgs]

There is something out there called c2c in the round.  You start in center and work out so it seems like corner to corner is a misnomer but you are using the same block units.

[Granny Square]

There are a bunch of names for this stitch that I'd heard of way before "C2C" came along, here is one article on it

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-crazy-stitch-in-crochet-4061423

[Horsy]

 

Well.  No wonder my attempts at C2C look goofy.     I was following instructions in my Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, where they don''t have anything called Diagonal Box Stitch.  We are told to form the square (their word) by working increases in the centre stitch of each row. It is a form of C to C I guess but back in 1979 they had not yet developed the diagonal box stitch.  So obviously this will not be a true square, but instead you end up with a loopy looking whatever.  I thought I had eyesight problems or something. 

And all this time I was struggling to figure out what I was doing incorrectly. 

@bgs.  Many thanks for that link.  I have much reading to do.  Your blankets & scarves are gorgeous, including your choice of colours. (I always struggle with that a bit.)
Granny Square, thanks so much for your input.  About large granny squares, I now know what to do.  

[bgs]

1 hour ago, Horsy said:

 

Well.  No wonder my attempts at C2C look goofy.     I was following instructions in my Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, where they don''t have anything called Diagonal Box Stitch.  We are told to form the square (their word) by working increases in the centre stitch of each row. It is a form of C to C I guess but back in 1979 they had not yet developed the diagonal box stitch.  So obviously this will not be a true square, but instead you end up with a loopy looking whatever.  I thought I had eyesight problems or something. 

And all this time I was struggling to figure out what I was doing incorrectly. 

@bgs.  Many thanks for that link.  I have much reading to do.  Your blankets & scarves are gorgeous, including your choice of colours. (I always struggle with that a bit.)
Granny Square, thanks so much for your input.  About large granny squares, I now know what to do.  

The one was a square doll blanket folded into fourths.  The others are prayer shawls 24 inches wide and 60 inches long.  This was the pattern I used at first.  I was making square doll blankets.  When I was ready to make a rectangle I had to research how to make that happen. Most of the yarn we use for prayer shawls has been donated and this pattern works well using one color or lots of colors.  I sometimes grab the partial skeins off the shelf and just keep working them in. I cant say this enough.  It is my favorite pattern because I can always easily hit specific dimensions first time no matter what size hook or weight yarn I am using.

 

 

[bgs]

On this one the center section was what they call c2c in the round -- center black square, then the rounds of white, and then rounds of black.  The red is worked like you work the decreases on a regular c2c.  Then I met the required length requirement by working block on opposite sides of the square.  I am always in a hurry to snap a photo before turning them in and dont take the time to smooth them out.

 

[Granny Square]

Well that is brilliant, I don't think I've seen that stitch done in the round before (but I don't do very many blankets); that would be the solution for those who don't like the gaps in granny squares.  

Horsey, that stitch has been around a long time, probably as long as granny squares but it has a lot of names; box stitch, crazy stitch, brick stitch are the other ones I can think of off the top of my head, there are probably more (maybe one of those is in your book).

[bgs]

I havent done it enough in the round to remember how to do it from one time to the next.  I have to refer back  here to refresh my memory.

[Horsy]

17 hours ago, bgs said:

There is something out there called c2c in the round.  You start in center and work out so it seems like corner to corner is a misnomer but you are using the same block units.

Thanks.  I'll eventually sort this all out.  I just want to learn how to do your beautiful projects.  

[Ellie 13]

When I do a C2C (aka: box st), if it comes out a little "wonky" I put a border around, 3 sc for each little "box" with ch 3 turning the corners.

Ellie 13