Working into a decrease....

[NeedSleep]

I'm fairly new to crochet and am curious what the correct thing to do is when working into a decrease.

 

What I mean is, when working in single crochet the stitch that you decreased ends up with 3 loops, instead of the usual 2 front and back loops.

 

So, when you work into that stitch (assuming the directions don't say in back loops or front loops only), do you put your hook through all 3 loops or skip one of them? If so, which one?

 

Thanks!!!

[#1Crochetfan]

Hi there.

 

Yes, you are right. You insert the hook and draw up a loop in the next two stitches. You yarn over and pull the yarn through all three loops. Good luck to you.

[queen_mo]

Maybe, I'm not getting your question, or maybe you are doing it wrong...but if you have a decrease in the previous row and are working the next row into it, there should only be two loops, the same as the rest of the stitches. It will look overlapped if you look at the front of the stitch but from above it should look the same.

Anyone else?

[natalie058]

Maybe, I'm not getting your question, or maybe you are doing it wrong...but if you have a decrease in the previous row and are working the next row into it, there should only be two loops, the same as the rest of the stitches. It will look overlapped if you look at the front of the stitch but from above it should look the same.

Anyone else?

 

Agreed.

[Chrome Kitty]

If I understand your question, you are asking about when you do the next row and have to put a stitch where the decrease was made. Is that right?

 

If so, you can look at these two pictures and see the three loops that are worked off the hook from the decrease you made. The two loops on the left will bend down and become the base of the stitch and the loop on the right will become the top loop of the stitch and that loop is where you will make the stitch when doing the next row.

 

http://z.about.com/d/crochet/1/0/T/A/twotog4.jpg

http://www.crochet911.com/graphics/apr05_c5.jpg

[NeedSleep]

Thank you The diagrams really help. Yes, I'm talking about when you're on the next row woking into that stitch.

 

So if the loop on the right is the front loop, the 2 other loops are the base of the stitch, which is the back loop?

[queen_mo]

Thank you The diagrams really help. Yes, I'm talking about when you're on the next row woking into that stitch.

 

So if the loop on the right is the front loop, the 2 other loops are the base of the stitch, which is the back loop?

The two loops on the left form the base of the stitch and the loop that is over the hook (to the right) will form the front and back loops that you work in the next row.

[Chrome Kitty]

Aha! I think I figured out why you're confused.

 

Have you been thinking of the red colored loops as the front and back loops?

(click picture to enlarge)

 

Because it's the green and blue loops that are the front and back loops. The blue is the back and the green is the front.

 

To see a more professional picture of real crochet with the front and back loops identified, click here.

 

Did I solve the mystery?

[NeedSleep]

Oh geeze...I think I've ben crocheting wrong all this time!!!! Off to make a swatch and see if I need to relearn....

[NeedSleep]

OMG. I have been crocheting wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Darn it. I'm so stupid. The right way is soooooooooo much easier. I've always been so slow and wondered why people say crochet is faster than knitting. I can't believe this.

 

 

I'm soooo hapyy because it'll be easier from now on. I'm p.o.ed because my past projects are wrong and I have to completely frog the 2 I'm in the middle of.

 

THANK YOU CHROME KITTY!!!!!!!!

[Chrome Kitty]

You're not stupid. What you were doing actually is a stitch. It's called a split single crochet. See? You learned a new stitch and didn't even know it. I'm totally impressed that you kept going doing it that way because I've always found that stitch impossible to do without losing my mind. What two projects had you started? If it's something like a scarf where gauge doesn't matter, you can finish it with the stitch you were using.

 

 

I'm glad it's going easier for you now:hug

[Healthierheart]

What does frog and all those other abreviations mean?

[lizc]

"ripit" =frog

[NeedSleep]

Well I was working on 2 stuffed toys for my 18mo. (Not that he'd care what stitch they were in)

 

I just can't believe I've been doing it wrong, and the hard way, long enough to get 4 stuffed animals done! LOL

 

I's soooo much easier the right way. The animals are turning out a lot smaller because I have to stitch tighter and with a smaller hook. Seems that the mistake stitch I was using doesn't leave as many gaps even if you stitch a little looser.

 

Sure is going faster though!!!