Whether you are looking for a riot of colour or working in neutrals ripples add interest to your crochet. Ripples can be used for every project from warm king-size blankets to elegant clutch bags and the variety of different ripple patterns means you will never get bored. Of course, we love ripples because they are very wearable, they make a perfect shawl or cardigan trim or add interest to mitts and hats.
Perhaps the most loathed of crochet-related tasks is finishing: edging, sewing up, weaving in ends, blocking...they all get a bad name. I get it, when you finish that final stitch, you just want to be DONE. But, trust me, using some basic finishing techniques will really make your project shine.
When you are starting a crochet project and working into the beginning chain, does your work often look like the photo above?This if caused by a beginning chain that is tighter than your stitches - a really common problem in crochet and one that I suffer from. Fortunately, its really easily solved. If you know that you commonly have this problem, its a good idea to solve it one of two ways. WORK WITH A BIGGER HOOK FOR THE STARTING CHAIN:Grab a hook a few sizes larger than you will be working in for the rest of the piece to do your beginning chain. Why not just try to work looser with your normal hook? Its really difficult to maintain an...
To celebrate Socktober we are finally getting around to writing up a few tutorials that we have always meant to. Today's tutorial covers cuffs, where the cuff is worked first. If you are having a go at the Saunders or Riley sock patterns then it will get you started. But the method for making cuffs is the same as for making a cuff for a mitten or a brim for a hat so you might find this useful for the Bromsgrove Hat and Tenbury mitts from Crochet Yeah or The Tenbury Hat and Mitts set from Raw. Crochet ribbing works best when it is worked perpendicular (at right angles to) the work. That is, so that the rows run around...
Crochet colourwork or tapestry crochet can be a fun way to add pattern to your work. While there are a few ways to do it, in our book Raw, the Newnham Hat and Mittens, the colourwork is workied in UK double crochet (US single crochet) in the back loop only. This gives a lightweight fabric and limits crochet's tendency to work on a bias.Once you get the hang of it, crochet colourwork is quite easy, but as with anything, getting started can be tricky. To change colours, you work the last yarn over of the stitch before the colour change in your new colour.Insert hook into stitch, yo with col A, pull through, yo with colour B and pull through.As you...
