Tips

Just random tips – some specific to this CAL and others more for crochet in general

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Pictures: You can double click on the pictures on this blog to see them bigger.

If sharing the pictures from this blog, please provide a link back to the original post.

Pictures used in the photo tutorials for the pattern may not correspond 100% to the exact colors or stitches I used for my sample afghan. (This is because some photos for the instructions were taken after I have completed particular stitches.) If you find such a discrepancy, please trust the written instructions on the pattern, not the pictures.

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Stitch Count: For the purpose of this CAL, the number of stitches refers to the stitches per side, between one chain space (Ch Sp) to the next Ch Sp. For example, the following has 21 stitches per side.  Corner chains are not counted in the stitch count for this CAL.

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Hidden Stitch:  This is the first stitch after your corner chain space. Sometimes this is visible but sometimes it is hard to find.  Throughout the pattern, count this stitch as your first stitch and put a stitch in here, unless otherwise stated.

But if you are 1 stitch short or too many, this is a good place to adjust your number of stitches.

Note that if you are left handed, your hidden stitch will appear to the right of your corner chain space.

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Starting a New Row:  For this CAL, unless otherwise noted, instructions on each row start with corner stitches.

• If you are using a different color than your previous row, start the next color in any corner space with a standing stitch. For more information on standing stitches, check out this informative page from Happily Hooked Crochet Magazine.

• If you are using the same color from one row to the next, slip stitch to the next corner space and use 1 chain for sc, 2 chains for hdc, or 3 chains for dc as your first corner stitch.  For example, for (sc, ch 2, sc), you will chain 3 (1+2) and sc in the corner space.
  • For rows starting with dc’s in the corner, check out this awesome tutorial on chainless starting double crochet by Tamara Kelly of Moogly.

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Finishing a Row: Unless otherwise noted, for this CAL, slip stitch (sl st) into the first (standing) st at the end of each row.

• If you are changing colors next, check out Dedri Uys’ easy-to-follow instructions on how to change colors with invisible join.  (She also shows how to make traditional slip stitch join at the end of the page.)

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“Crochet in back loops with no holes” – Some folks have found this post by Tatsiana helpful in making back loops.  I do something similar on star stitches and catch an extra loop from somewhere close to the back loops.  It secures the stitches better so your stitches are not hanging off one strand of loop.

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Taking Care of Yarn Ends: I love working with multiple colors, but with that comes a daunting task of taking care of yarn ends.  There are different ways to do so (including joining yarn with a magic knot or a Russian join) but I prefer to weave in my ends.  I leave about 3-4 inches of yarn tails, hang them loose for a few rows, and then weave them in. For this CAL, I usually wait a week or so, so I can see if I like my color placement (It’s hard to frog them down when ends are weaved in well!). Here is a great photo tutorial of the method I use.  Dedri of Look at What I Made also has a great post about taking care of your tail ends.

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Color Palette:

• For finding your favorite color palette, check out this fabulous blog called Design Seeds. It shows beautifully taken photos and color palettes to match them.
• This random stripe generator / color combination generator looks fun, too!
• For Stylecraft yarn, I enjoy looking at color combos by My Craft Life and Luciously Loopy.