Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Crochet 101 - Skinny stripes 3 ways.




Hello!
 Today I have a little crochet class for you.  I have had a few questions on my skinny stripe blanket and how I made the rows stay straight and what not, so I thought I'd do a 'how to' to show you how I did it and also give you a few other options for narrow striped effects.  You know I love a good stripe, so it was fun to make little samples of skinny stripes and actually think about how I have been making them.  It's not rocket science, but it might be helpful to people still finding their crochet feet!


The 3 different stripe effects I am going to show you are pictured here.
The top one is the one I used for my skinny stripe blanket, I'll call this one Classic stripe.
The middle one is Classic stripe, but made alternating the starting side. (I'll try and explain this more clearly in a minute)
The bottom one is single rows of sc started from the same side each row.



Classic Stripe

(Each stripe of colour is actually 2 rows of sc,  down the front side, turn work and back down the reverse side.)

1. Make your chain row and sc into the second stitch from hook and into each stitch along the row. 
At end of row, ch1, turn work and sc into same stitch as chain (chain is not counted as a stitch in this case), and sc in each stitch along row till end , Fasten off.
2. Join your second colour, and ch 2, ( this counts as 1st stitch) sc in each stitch along row.
3.At end of row, ch1, turn work.
4.Sc in each stitch along, (remember turning chain does not count as first stitch), with last sc going in the second ch of your starting chain where you joined the new colour. fasten off. (See picture below)



So, this is what you have when you have done a few double rows of colour, this is the front side.....


....and this is what you get on the reverse side, I like this side the best as the stripes are nice and defined and quite square.  You can also start each new colour with 1ch instead of 2, but I like the extra square edge of each stripe when you do a 2ch start.  Totally up to you though.

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front side of classic stripe with a twist......
reverse side of classic stripe with a twist.....

Classic stripe with a twist!

This is made using the same method as the Classic stripe except that you start each new colour at alternating ends. ie, after first blue stripe, start green strip on the wrong side, then red stripe start on the right side, then pale blue stripe start on the wrong side, and so on.
It just gives a slightly different pattern to the fabric, with a less obvious back and front ( the fabric is pretty much reversible) and you don't get the same thickening of the side where all the threads are woven in like you do with stripes started all on the same side. 

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Single row stripe:

1. After the chain row,  sc into second chain from hook, and sc in each stitch till end of row. Fasten off.
2. Join new colour into first stitch of row making 2ch to count as first stitch, then sc in each st till end of row. fasten off.
3. Join new colour into second chain of 2ch made at start of last row, make 2ch and then sc into each st till end of row,fasten off.
4. Continue adding new colour stripes in the same way until work is at desired size.

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Ok , I hope that wasn't too confusing or boring, I know most of you would know all this stuff already, but sometimes it is nice to refresh the basics and see different effects with you can get with the same stitch.  And I hope it makes it a bit easier for the ladies who were having trouble with their stripes! :)

Have great day, and happy striping! 

xxxxxxxxx








16 comments:

  1. Thank you for this Jules, its so interesting to see how other people work, and this was really clearly explained. There are so many variations the possibilities are endless really aren't they ? My favourite is the reverse of your Classic stripe, it makes such a defined stripe - I was wondering how you had done it and had thought that maybe you had gone in to the back of each loop to make the stripes stand out - but now I know !
    Have a good week,
    Kate x

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  2. Many many thanks for taking the time to do this lovely tut. I'm gonna use your advise and give the 3rd stripe a go as this is just what I'm looking for :) thanks again.....I'm sooo loving your creativity and fun blog x

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  3. Lovely lesson! I really did learn some new things from this, and it was fun! Thank you.

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  4. Thank you....always needing to learn more! :) x

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  5. It is great to see how you did this and to see your variations which is the bit that I found very interesting! Thanks for sharing this. xx

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  6. Thank you for sharing this Jules, I've never really studied my crochet in this way. I like the definition of the of the reverse side of your classic stripe and the interesting relief effect of the classic stripe with a twist. Have a lovely week.
    Jane x

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  7. Always interesting to see how people do there 'stuff' and thank you for sharing this with us!! xoxo

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  8. What a great effect! Thank you for showing :-).
    Love, Mirjam.

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  9. Thats is a fab tutorial thanks for sharing..inspiring colours too
    bestest daisy j x

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  10. Fabulous tutorial - you are very kind to share you crochet knowledge - I really liked your striped blanket I think that I might just have to give it a try.

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  11. Enjoyed this. It was all really clear. Do you have a certain way of fastening off as well?

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  12. This is brilliant and so clear! Thank you. I will most certainly be making a stripe blanket, the classic option I think, that appeals to me most. X

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  13. Thank you for your time into this tutorial. It is booked-marked! I am still teaching myself. Also love your shop! Have a great day!!

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  14. I'm bookmarking this! Thanks so much Jules, I have always struggled with crocheting in a straight line so it's nice to have a few options :-) Mel x

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  15. I am making one now and love it! I'm using the classic stripe with a twist pattern. What yarn do you use for your blanket? I love cotton, but have had trouble finding what I'm looking for.

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Thank you for taking the time to add your comment, I love to receive comments and read them all, even if I don't get around to responding to you, I am just not that organised!