Big Knit Mitered Squares

I get a lot of questions and comments about my tutorial for the knit mitered square sock blanket using leftover sock yarn.  You can find the tutorial on the tab under my Loose Threads blog header here.   The link on my sidebar takes you to this same page.  

Our local yarn store, Mass Ave Knits, here in downtown Indianapolis, started doing a larger version of this mitered square using Liberty Wool yarn.  When I started this, Liberty was coming out with 2 new colors of yarn each month (and they still may be).   I started that project with the Liberty yarn, but in the meantime I found this Bernat Super Value Stripes yarn.  Since this blanket will be used by a child, I think the Bernat yarn will work just fine.  Plus, the colors are more vivid.  Any worsted weight yarn would work, but I chose this because of the stripes.

Here is a comparison between my mitered square sock blanket (still not finished) and the larger mitered squares.

I'm using 4 different color ways of the yarn for the big squares.

Each of these larger squares measures approximately 12 inches.  

They can be set with the same layout as my sock yarn blanket joining the squares as you knit.  Or,  they can be whip stitched together into squares like this.  I still haven't decided how I will put these together.  I may stitch 4 of the same block together to make larger squares of one color way when I have more of them completed.




Pattern for 12" mitered square.

This square is made the same as the squares in my tutorial that are done with sock yarn.

Size 8 circular knitting needle 24" long

Cast on 93 stitches.  

Row 1.  Knit 1 row.  Turn.

Row 2.  Knit 45, Double Decrease, place marker, knit to end. Turn.

Row 3. (Wrong side row)  Knit to marker, slip marker, Purl 1, knit to end.  Turn

Row 4.  Knit to 2 stitches before marker, double decrease, knit to end.  

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until there is 1 stitch left on the needle.  

I hope you are finding some time to stitch today.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  

Diagonal Granny Stripe Afghan Tutorial

This is the start of my diagonal granny stripe afghan.  I started it back in the fall, and I ended up putting it away when the Christmas decorations came out.



This toss pillow was my inspiration piece, and I pulled yarn colors to go with it.  I used Simply Soft yarn because we have a cat, and this yarn is pretty inexpensive and seems to hold up well when used.  It also doesn't have a dye lot and comes in a lot of colors, so I can buy some, start a project, and go back to the store for more if needed.



Here are a couple of other samples I made:


Here is my Diagonal Granny Stripe Afghan Tutorial:

I used Simply Soft Worsted weight yarn and an I hook.  Since this yarn has no dye lot, I start with one skein of each color and if needed I may buy a second skein.  

Chain 4 and join into a loop.



Chain 4 and turn.

Do three double crochets (double crochet cluster) in the loop.

Chain 1.  Double crochet into loop.   One diagonal row completed. I know it's a little hard to see it now, but stay with me.


Chain 4 and turn.


Do 3 double crochets in the same space.


Chain 1.  Do 3 double crochets in space.


Chain 1.  Double crochet in same space.  Row 2 completed.



Chain 4 and turn.  Continue making sure to put your double crochet cluster in the same space at the beginning and end of each row until we start to decrease.

NOTE:  This afghan will form a square, so when the length of one side measures what you want then begin to decrease.



I've done 10 rows increasing just for this tutorial.  Your afghan will be much larger.


Decrease:  Chain 4 and turn.



DO NOT put a cluster in that first space.  Put the double crochet cluster in the next space and continue across the row.



End the row by doing chain 1, double crochet in the last space.


Chain 4 and turn.  Again DO NOT put the double crochet in that first space.  Double crochet in the next space and continue across the row.



End the row with chain 1, double crochet in the last space.  Chain 4 and turn.



Keep going until you are back to the corner of the afghan.  You end by doing chain 4, double crochet in the middle space.  Chain 1, double crochet.  (I didn't get a photo of the last chain 1 DC, but you can see it in the next photo.)  Tie the yarn off.



Here is my sample square.  I think the afghan will need some kind of a border around the edge.  I haven't finished my afghan yet so I'm not sure what I'll use.



 Please send feedback or questions.  lakrug@comcast.net     Please include your email if you have a question.  I try to take lots of photos to help explain my directions so let me know if something isn't clear.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

I hope you are finding some time to stitch today!

Granny stripe as a temperature afghan?

Hello Dear Readers and Happy New Year!

It's been a long time since my last post.  Someone has posted a link to my blog somewhere, because I am getting a lot of reader comments and questions.  Thank you to whoever posted it.  Unfortunately, most of you are no reply bloggers, so I cannot reply personally to your questions.  I will go back through those comments and try to reply to you in the comment section later on.  If I'm trying to figure something out, I do read people's comments and questions so I should have been replying to your questions there all along.  

I'm getting a lot of questions about using my Granny Stripe Afghan pattern as a temperature afghan. I have seen several people pose the idea, but I haven't seen one of these afghans completed after a year.  This is a photo of my granny stripe afghan on my king sized bed.  It has 132 rows.  You can see how much it covers on a king sized bed.  Now imagine it with another 233 rows added to do one row each day for a year.  This afghan is pretty heavy as is.  I used an I hook with worsted weight yarn.  Someone wrote and asked about using an H hook, but that isn't going to make it that much smaller.

Here is a side view of the same blanket.  I could have made it a little longer to come up over the pillows, but to do 365 rows would make it huge.   That's just my opinion, but you sure are welcome to use my pattern if you want to.   If you go on Pinterest and search temperature afghan or temperature blanket, you will find a few photos.  One person did 4 narrow strips dividing the year into 3 month periods.  Then they joined those strips with black and crocheted around the outside of the entire blanket.  

I love this afghan, and I have another one started in Christmas colors.  The tutorial for my granny stripe afghan can be found here.   You can see the start of the Christmas granny stripe afghan here.

This is a diagonal granny stripe that I've started.  I did a sample piece and started to write a tutorial, but I left out a couple of photos of important steps.  So I'm starting over with another sample and won't let so much time go by before I post the pattern/tutorial.  I started this back in the fall, but may put this one aside and start with more spring colors.  As you can see, I love any kind of a granny afghan.

If you leave a comment, please leave your email address so that I can answer you.  Or you can email me privately at lakrug@comcast.net     

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  

Hope you are finding some time to stitch today!

http://luannsloosethreads.blogspot.com/

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Diagonal Granny Stripe Afghan

I received an email from a reader who asked if I would write a tutorial for a Diagonal Granny Stripe afghan.  (Note:   I couldn't email you back because you are set as a no-reply blogger.)  I had never tried that pattern before, so I pulled out some scrap yarn and gave it a try.  Here are two samples that I tried.  The one on the left follows the pattern.  The one on the right leaves out the chain 1 that goes in between the crochet clusters.  I think the one on the left is the one I will follow.  

Here is a close up of the square.  The chains that are along the edges are pretty loopy looking, so this will probably require a border of some sort.  I think I will try another sample reducing the number on those outside rows to see how it looks.  I don't have the tutorial written yet, but I'll get busy on that in the next few days or so.  I can see this in a 3 color stripe or even just a random stripe using scrap yarn.  I'll have to check my stash and decide on what colors to use.  

Here is my progress so far on my crocheted Christmas Granny Stripe afghan.  You can find my tutorial for this afghan here.  

I hope you are finding some time to take a few stitches today.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  

Crocheted Christmas Granny Stripe Afghan

Welcome to all of my subscribers and to those who have come here looking for an easy crochet pattern.  I know it's been ages since I've posted anything on this blog.  After we moved here a year ago, I mostly left my yarn packed in boxes or Rubbermaid containers.  The other day I saw this yarn and decided to start a crocheted Christmas afghan.  I love the granny stripe afghan pattern.  My full tutorial is on my blog post here  There are a lot more detailed photos and explanations there.

Here is my afghan so far.  I chained 145 to start this afghan.  You can see that it is the length of the love seat on my porch.

I'm using a worsted weight called Caron Simply Soft Party and an I hook.   



I have had a couple of questions recently from readers that are having problems with their work curling when they get to row 3 or 4.  I don't know why that is happening, and without seeing a photo it's hard to help.  I am not sure I did a good job explaining the starting rows to them so I've taken some photos as I started this afghan.

First chain 145 (there are different sizes listed in a chart in my other tutorial).  Turn and single crochet in the second chain from hook and each chain until you are back at the beginning.  Then chain 3 and turn your work.  Do another double crochet in that same stitch.  Skip 2 stitches and do 3 DC in the next stitch.

So your first row will be 3 DC in one stitch, skip 2 single crochets.  Repeat this until the end.  End with 2 DC (because you started with 2 DC).

Chain 3 and turn your work. (That counts as 1 double crochet.)   Do 3 DC in the space from the row below.  Continue across the afghan.  End the row with 1 DC the same as you started.

When I am ready to change colors, I cut the yarn and pull the tail through the loop on my hook.  

I know this isn't the way most people teach you how to end one color and add the next.  But, I have several afghans that my Mom made years ago, and where she had joined the yarn the afghan is coming apart.  So I tie my yarn off at the end of a color and tie the next one on as you can see in the photo below.
Pull the white yarn through the space.  That creates a loop on your hook, and you're ready to go again.

Then chain 3 (this makes your first double crochet). 

 Turn your work.   

Do another double crochet in that space.   There are two in the photo.  It's just hard to see with the white yarn


The same thing - still not a great photo.

 End that first row of white with 2 DC because you started with 2 DC.



When you get to the end of the first white row, chain 3, turn, and then do 3 DC in the space as seen below.  There are no chains between the DC clusters.  I just don't like the way it looks when you chain in between because the holes are so large in the afghan.

Here is where I am so far.  Again, there is a better tutorial here in one of my earlier blog posts.

 I hope you will give this afghan a try.  I really love this pattern.  Once you get the first couple of rows finished, it is just the same thing over and over.  I think it's pretty relaxing to crochet this one.

The other afghan I finished in this pattern was wider than it was long.  So I've opted to start with less stitches to make it narrower.  I can always make the afghan larger by adding some kind of a border.

If you have any questions, email me.  I'll do my best to help you.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

I hope you are finding some time to stitch today. 

New Scarves

I've been doing more knitting.  This scarf is made using sock weight yarn and is from The Knit Experience - The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville.  The scarf is the Shape It Scarf.  This scarf is all knitting - no purls.

This is an easy knitting pattern and is also all knitting.  This pattern is a free one.  It's called the Misti Chunky Ribs and Ruffles scarf and can be downloaded for free here.  I'm almost finished with it.

This is a cowl pattern that I started.......

Here it is finished - sort of.  I ran out of the peach colored yarn.  After looking at it, I decided I really didn't like it and would probably never wear it.




There was a decrease toward the end of the scarf, and since I ran out of yarn I couldn't do it.  So the inside of the scarf ended up showing as seen in the photo below.  I think I might just rip it out and use the yarn to make one of the Misti Alpaca scarves instead.

This is a Super Daniel cape that I knit for my grandson.  I just made this up so there isn't really a pattern.  I used chunky yarn so this was really a fast project.  The letter D is made from self adhesive felt that I picked up at the craft store.  There are a number of web sites that have a free printable alphabet.  

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I hope you are finding some time to do a little crochet or knitting today.

Thanks for visiting!  

Scarves

I do a lot of quilting and blog about it over at http://luannsloosethreads.blogspot.com.  I attended a quilt retreat the week before Thanksgiving, and since I came back all I've wanted to do is knit or crochet.  I can't quite figure that one out either!

I know this blog is called Easy Crochet, but I also post easy knitting projects here,  I have crocheted for 40 years or more, but I've only been knitting for 15 years or maybe a bit more.  Most everything I knit is pretty easy and enjoyable so I go ahead and post the knit things, too, because most crocheters have tried some knitting at one time or other.  

Here are the scarves, cowls and ponchos that I've made (except for the blue ruffle) since Thanksgiving.  

The first one is an easy knit Drop Stitch Scarf.  I just made this one up.  I will write a tutorial if anyone is interested.  This one is knit with chunky yarn, and I was able to finish it in just a few hours.  

It was cold when I marched in the Veteran's Day Parade with the Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and I wanted to be sure I had a Patriotic scarf to wear in next year's parade.

That's me second from the right with no scarf.......

The pattern for this one is in The Knit Experience-The Knit Stitch book by Sally Melville.  It's called:
Shape It! Scarf.  This is easy knitting...no purl stitches.  

This is a free Koigu Ruffle Scarf pattern that takes 2 skeins of Koigu yarn.  It can also be made from any sock weight yarn that totals about 350 yards.  

This Cowl was a mystery knit along that I just finished.  It is supposed to be a poncho.  The pattern is by Laura Aylor called Outlier and can be found on Ravelry.  She emailed us a clue each night for the eight nights before Christmas Eve as a present and for us to take some time for ourselves during the busy holiday season.  It was just a pleasant hour's worth of knitting to relax at the end of the day.  

The cowl can also be worn with the point in front, at the side or in the back. Her pattern calls for a chunky yarn and size 13 needles.   I opted for a yarn that used size 10 1/2 needles and ended up with a cowl that was smaller instead of a poncho.

Here is my second try with chunky yarn and size 13 needles.  This is the full sized poncho.

I am a sock knitter wannabe.  You can see by the photo that the only thing about these two socks that match is the yarn.  I did one sock a few years ago and just finished the second one.  There was no pattern included in the bag with the sock and yarn, so I made a guess as to which one I'd used.  Right now I don't enjoy knitting socks, but I love wearing them.



Also.......I've had a few questions on different tutorials that I've posted in the past.  Many of the emails I receive are from people that have their settings as "no reply bloggers" or "anonymous".  That means that whenever I hit the reply button, my email won't get to you.  I'm going to go back through some of the last few emails I've received and answer those on the blog post in the comment section where the question was asked.  My daughter thinks that would not only be helpful to the person that asked the questions but would help the people that find my tutorials from a Google search.  After thinking about it, if I'm searching for a technique I will read the comments a lot of times.  So I'll get busy working on that.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

I hope you are finding some time to stitch today.