Basket Weaving

Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I didn't post last week... I never ended out having time to do so. So how does basket weaving sound? Well, not actual basket weaving... we're talking about crocheting a square... But the stitch is called basket weaving!

Row one: ch 21 dc in 4th ch from hook (ch 3 counts as first dc). Dc in each ch across (19 dc)

Row two: ch 3 *3 fpdc, 3 bpdc (repeat from * across, ending in dc in top of ch 3) 3 fpdc clusters and 3 bpdc clusters total.


Okay now I know that I haven't taught you yet how to do a fpdc (front post double crochet) and a bpdc (back post double crochet). I have to apologize a head of time for the lack of pictures in the description! Now that's out of the way, typically when you double crochet your inserting the hook on the top of the double crochet of the row below. Now when you front post double crochet your wrapping your hook around the post of the double crochet... (which would be the double crochet stitch itself). When you put the hook around the post the hook in on the front side (or your side) of the square. Now the bpdc is the same thing but your wrapping your hook around on the back side of the post.

Well I hope that makes sense... :-)

Row three: ch 3 *3 bpdc, 3 fpdc (repeat from * across, ending in dc in top of ch 3) 3 fpdc clusters and 3 bpdc clusters total.

Rows four - nine: repeat row two, alternate between rows three and two ending in row three. Fasten off!

Remember we're making two of each squares, and they're all supposed to measure 5"x 5". We should have four squares in total now! I just love the texture these basket weaves are going to be adding to the afghan!

Supplies for next week


Just remember your yarn and H hook! We're going to be making granny squares... As well as learning how to alternate colors!

Courtney

'Tis I. First, I want to say that I'm sorry that I haven't done my part on here lately. Second, I have not had any time to even think about taking a picture of the verse painting that I did. Third (I learned on NCIS:LA that you don't say thirdly..not that I would :P), I will soon be venturing out into my own blog world. Fourth, Leah rocks. That is all.

Double Crochet

So how did the scarves go? If you had to work through some bumps along the road that's okay, it takes time to get it down... I hope you all are as excited as I am about making the afghan! I'm still not certain how many different patterns we'll do. But today we're going to do a double crochet. Now this pattern is a lot like the scarf, but I promise next week we'll have all the abilities we need to make some truly beautiful patterns!

I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the lack of photos. I wasn't able to get any help this week with taking them... So I hope my description is enough to suffice!

Gauge for all the squares are 5 inches by 5 inches.

Chain 20

Row one: double crochet in 4th chain from hook. (You double crochet by putting the yarn over the hook, and then inserting the hook through the 4th chain. Yarn over and pull through one loop, yarn over and pull through two loops, yarn over and pull through the final two loops.) having a total of 18 dc (dc is short for double crochet).

Row two: chain 3 (counts as double crochet now and throughout). dc in each dc across. 18 dc

Rows three - eight: repeat row two. fasten off and tuck in the ends.

Now remember to make two of these squares, and to check your gauge! I used a beige and a siege green.

How is it going? Just take your time, sit back and relax.

Supplies for next week:
Just hold on to your yarn and H hook!

Crochet 101

Leah here and as I promised I'm here with some crocheting 101 lessons! I hope you all are excited as I am about this! Please remember that you may not be a wiz at it straight from the get-go! And if you get frustrated (as everyone does learning a new skill) it's okay to put it down and come back to it later when you're feeling up to conquering the yarn! (I've had to do that more times than I can count).

After a lot of long hard contemplation I decided that a scarf would be the best project for the first time crocheter for a couple reasons... Since it is a long repetitive project by the time you've completed it you've learned how to control your tension. And about the importance of counting while crocheting (to ensure that you're not dropping or gaining stitches)... Tension control and counting are crucial for all other crocheting projects you'll be enjoying in the future! Also the scarf pattern I'm teaching you today is extremely simple, which will allow you to not become overwhelmed by the idea of trying to crochet.

First make a slip knot as shown...

To start off our project you need to make a chain (written in patterns as ch). Then chain is created by looping the yarn over your hook and pulling it through the loop you hook is in... Now in our scarf our chain will be our width... I chained 8 to make a scarf for my teddy bear... Feel free to make this scarf as wide or narrow as you wish

Vala! You have a chain row!!

Starting with the 2nd chain from the hook you're going to do a single crochet all the way across (sc in patterns). To do this you're going to insert your hook into the second chain from the hook put the yarn over your hook and pull through the first loop. Put the yarn over your hook again and pull through both loops, making your first sc! Now do this all the way across, you should have one less single crochet stitches than what you chained... From here on counting becomes very important!

ch 1 (chain one counts as first single crochet) turn the project and sc in each sc across. (Sorry about any confusion I'm goal is to teach you all how to crochet and how to read the pattern at the same time). Make sure to count your stitches as you go to be certain that you don't drop or gain any...

Repeat previous step until the scarf is at the desired length, making sure to count the stitches in each row. Now if you have the same amount of stitches but it's thinner in one spot and thicker in another... this is where tension comes into play... You may have noticed in previous pictures how I'm holding the yarn that I'm working on with my other hand, draped over my pointer finger... This is to help control tension... Unfortunately it's not really something that I can teach you but more of a trial and error type of thing... In theory you'll be able to control your tension some by the time your done with your scarf... assuming it's a human size and not a teddy bear size that is ;-)

Cut the yarn with about 5 inches to spare, knot in the last sc and tuck in your ends using the tapestry needle, or your crochet hook. Please note that you can't just cut off the ends and call it a day... cutting them off can cause them to unravel making all your hard work be for not...

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I know you can do it and please feel free to comment or get a hold of me if you have any questions on how to do it!So for next week I'm thinking afghan! We're going to learn so many new stitches and become a wiz at them all... The deal is that we're going to make squares about 5" x 5" each (each square will be a different pattern). I'm not certain how many patterns we'll do just yet. But we will be making 2 of each...



Supplies for next week

1. We're going to need some more yarn... I'm thinking I'll do three different colors (a ball of each) that'll give me more than enough yarn and some color to play around with... You do however many colors you want! (Remember you're imagination is your limitation) 
2. Hold on to that H hook! 
3. Tape measure... We have to be certain that our squares all add up to be the exact same size (that's called gauge). 

Courtney's Pinterest Project

I have to make this brief, but I wanted you all to know that I haven't forgotten about my Pinterest project! I just won't be able to post it until next week. We have a major (ok, it's not that major) painting project going on in my house, and it's keeping me very busy.  Come back next week to see the minor painting project that is my Pinterest project.