Have you seen the video below making its rounds on social media? (Here's the link.) The promise of doing colorwork and never having to weave in ends seems too good to be true! Multi-colored projects are so pretty, but few of us enjoy weaving in the inevitable ends. I had to check out the technique for myself to see where I thought it would make sense. One of my most popular designs is a colorwork design. I feel my students’ pain when it comes to weaving in the ends. It’s my MultiGarment design from my Tunisian Crochet class on Craftsy. And one of the most common questions in the class is: “Is there any trick for not having to weave in so many ends?” And I always regret...
How do you make your picots? There are a ton of ways to do a picot stitch, and they all have their good uses, but in this post I'll show you my personal favorite. I probably do picots like this about 90% of the time. The typical instruction for making a picot stitch usually has you chaining 3, then slip stitching into the first chain that you made. Take a look here for a step-by-step tutorial. In the photo above, I used some hemp to crochet the Picot Arches edging pattern. It's a free pattern that I posted on the blog yesterday. On the right you can see a 3-picot arch in my preferred method and the “typical method” on the arch to the left. My favorite method makes a round, full and flat...
Broomstick lace makes for gorgeous edgings. You can crochet these edgings on anything that you can pull up a loop in - crochet, knitting, fabric. I’ve spent quite a bit of time coming up with original Broomstick lace edgings. One day I will publish a collection of them. I’ve shared a pattern for one of them below. I’ve got a trick for doing picot stitches - watch for it in my blog post tomorrow. For National Craft Month, look for a tip a day on my blog until the end of the month. Picot Arches Sample worked with DK Cotton Tape yarn, a size C crochet hook and a #50 Knitting Needle. Multiple of 10 (+1 for starting chain) Row 1(RS): Set up – Working in...
Do you Lucet? We've got a number of free Lucet tutorials on the website. If you've been meaning to try it, take a look at this video then save the graphic above to your phone as a handy reference. While you try out the technique, here are some key points that you should keep in mind: Tension is key! Here are some tips: 1. Aim for “loosely tight”. You should stop pulling each stitch just before it gets tight. 2. Pull on the BACK of the bottom loop to make it larger so that you can bring it over the prong. 3. Pull on the FRONT of the bottom loop to tighten up the last stitch that you made. 4. You have 2 chances to control...
Do you know the stretchiest bind-off for stockinette stitch? [Tweet this!] A few years back I did a quasi-scientific investigation to answer the question "Which bind off is the stretchiest for stockinette stitch?" I compared: Lacey Bind Off Suspended Bind Off Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Bind Off Jeny's Super Stretchy Bind Off You can see my results (and instructions for working each bind off) here, but if you want a spoiler, my winner was Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Bind Off. Do you think there is a bind off I should have tried but didn't? Have you worked these bind offs before? Do you get the same results? For National Craft Month, look for a tip a day on my blog until the end of...
