Tag Archives: diagonal

A Bit of a Color Change Difference

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Some color changes are a bit different than others. The way to change the color in a stitch is the same, I discuss that here. However, there times when a couple of other little tricks can make the color change smoother, and your fabric much more eye catching.

One of these times is when the color change may occur within the rows with a shift of the stitches, like a line of color moving diagonally. The color change is not exactly in the same location as the row below, so to have a really clean look you may have to start a new yarn each time or end up with a color strand laying awkwardly across different color stitches.

A diagonal color change, without ends to weave in, and a visually consistent look.

I for one really do not want to weave in as many ends as it would require to shift a color change every row, so there are a couple techniques I use to reduce the ends while keeping a smooth color edge.

For starters, when I change the color I toss the “old” color stand over the fabric, so that it is on top of the stitches. After completing the row of stitches and returning to the color change point, if I am changing the color before the last stitch of the color I change the color but leave a slightly loose tension in the new yarn. I then crochet over this yarn until I reach the same color, and crochet the next stitch over the loose tension strand in the same color stitch.

When the color change happens after the last time it was changed.
The loop brown strand, is the pulling up of the color a row below, then it is worked over until the color is changed.
The color change is completed, and the “old” yarn is then tossed to the opposite side of the fabric, over the fabric. This helps assure that the yarn is in the correct location for working on the returning row.

If the color change occurs after the last stitch of the color, I pull the yarn that will be changed up and crochet over it until the stitch it needs to be changed in.

When the color change happens before the last time it was changed.
Leave a little slack in the yarn when it changes color.
Crochet over this “slacked” yarn, until at least into the same color below.

Essentially I am working over the color change yarn until it is needed. This helps me keep a smoother look while actually being able to stay sane while working up and finishing the fabric.

Tunisian Full Stitch….How I Found It for Myself

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ScannedImageMany years ago I taught myself to crochet, I remember seeing the “Afghan Stitch” in the book I was using, but I was never interested in doing cross stitch embroidery, so I never looked at it too long. Then several years later I was taking a free form class and the teacher mentioned using some Tunisian Simple Stitch in the piece for fun.

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Tunisian Full Stitch

Well what I remembered of the stitch, insert you hook, pull up a loop, repeat, and then work them all off, so I proceeded to do just that. What I was not paying attention to was working behind the vertical bar; instead I worked between the vertical bars, you know that space that somewhat reminds me of chain space, and pulled a loop up. Later I realized my error, but I was sure that I was just doing a different stitch, however when I began looking around for the name, I couldn’t quite find it.

I searched on-line and through various books, and found some different names for it. Some called it “net stitch”, others “Basic Stitch”, and as Tunisian Crochet is becoming more mainstream and the terms more universal I have finally found it; the “Tunisian Full Stitch”.

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Working in the space Immediately next to the current loop on the hook

As I stated earlier there the stitch is worked between the vertical bars, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Since the stitch staggers on either side of the stitches below, you need to make adjustments at one side or the other of the fabric, or you will be making a piece that is not square. To make this adjustment on the beginning of one row you work a stitch immediately in front of the loop already on your hook, and end that row pulling up a loop in the last space between vertical bars. Then work the usual Return Pass (Chain 1, *YO, pull through 2 loops; rep from * across, until 1 loop remains). On the next row, you skip the space immediately next to the loop on the hook, and work in the rest of the spaces between vertical bars to the end of the row, insert hook in the chain-1 of the Return Pass below, YO and pull up a loop, then work the Return Pass again. Alternate these rows throughout the fabric. You will notice that the side that the Return Pass is begun, the edge will not be perfectly straight and this is normal, as you are adjusting a stitch to the last stitches every other row.

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Working the last stitch in the last space between vertical bars. This is the row ending to working the first loop in the space immediately next to the hook.

I personally really like this Tunisian Stitch, I am not sure if it is because it is the stitch I stumbled upon early on, or if it is because it does not give you a set straight line appearance but pulls the eye diagonally instead. The fabric does have a lot of stretch with this stitch and I find that useful in many designs, not to mention it is a fairly forgiving technique.

The Tentacle Stitch and the Sideways Skirt

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Crochet! Magazine Summer 2013- photo thanks of Annie’s

ScannedImageAmazing how time can come and go so fast. It seems like only last month that I was writing up my article on the Tentacle stitch that is featured in the current issue of Crochet! Magazine.

 

I know the name might sound funny, but to me it was reminiscent of an octopus arm reaching out to the rows not yet created. Some might

Tentacle Stitch Spa Cloths

Tentacle Stitch Spa Cloths, photo courtesy of Annie’s

 

wonder how I ever can up with this idea, well ideas come in the most unusual ways. This one came to me while looking at the color patterns on cow hides ( okay, I am a country girl), nature very rarely has color in straight lines, they often curve and bend, and I was envisioning ways that I could create these bends, and thus the tentacle stitch was created, you never know what you find when you play. By working the color over rows already created, like in Mosaic crochet styles I didn’t like the thickness, and working in same rows color change like intarsia or tapestry crochet I didn’t feel free enough to play since I had to plan the stitches by grid, so by free-forming I came up with this technique (and had some fun with it too).

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Sideways Skirt, photo courtesy of Annie’s

 

In this issue I also have a Sideways Skirt. This skirt looks straight forward, until you realized that is worked entirely on the diagonal. The reason for this….I really liked the way it fit. When looking at construction I have began to wonder why are all the seams for everything in the same places? Crochet lends itself well to designs that do not need to be seamed or at least only minimally. I felt that placing seams on the sides of this skirt would cause it not to drape as softly over the hip (nothing like an addition of a seam allowance to cause a pucker that makes my hips look bigger then they are), I like a nice smooth feel when I where a skirt, it feels womanly to me. So I designed this skirt completely on the diagonal so that the one seam runs across the body and blends in better. Also the shaping is done by changing hook sizes ( I know it can seem a little tedious to change hook sizes in a row, but it allows for a smaller waist and a flared hem, with very little effort).

Anyway, there are some thoughts on the latest designs I have out in the world, and I hope you are inspired to play a little too.