Tunisian in the Round: That's a wrap. . . err, lap blanket.

Hurray, the lap blanket is finished! 

Here's the glamor shot.

And here's the pile o' blanket it was shortly before I finished it. I think I was down to one more round.

I like this one because it looks like a flower.

Anyhow, that was a lot of fun, hope you can give the pattern a try if you're into it. Here's a link where you can find it.

*****

And now, on to the new project! Stashaholic's Braindead Afghan pattern by Sherri Bondy on ravelry. I tried this out a few years back to burn through some scrap yarn and lost the pattern. Lately, I got a little nostalgic, crossed my fingers, and searched it out on the interwebs.

Hurray! Found it here.

It's a super easy pattern to follow, even for a newer crochet enthusiast. The repeating pattern is excellent for practicing basic stitches, using up your stash of yarn, and generating a lovely throw or wall hanging.

Stitches include: chain, single crochet, and double crochet.

And here is my work in progress (and those are my knees).

I'm about a foot into the project, a baby blanket.

I had a single role of Caron Simply Soft yarn in my stash, and there's not much you can do with that other than baby blankets, snuggles, and the like. The picture pales in the scale of pinkness this yarn exudes. I tell you, when I buy pink, I go for bright. But yes, there is this entity known as Amazon.

Perhaps I can scout a better picture there. . .


Scout accomplished!


It's this stuff:

Watermelon. See? Told you it was bright.

If you dig the yarn, here's a link to the 3-pack pictured above.

New Pattern: Two Row Alternating Single and Double Tunisian Stitch Pattern:

Alternating Single and Double Tunisian Rows

Description:The pattern consists of two rows, one of single and one of double height.

Tunisian crochet (also referred to as afghan crochet) uses a hook that closely resembles a knitting needle, but it has a hook on the end. It is worked without turning, and each row requires two passes.

In the forward pass, you draw up loops as you would in normal crochet, but you do not draw through the final two loops (to link to the last loop you made). This results in you collecting loops on your hook. After you end the forward pass, you draw up one extra loop through the last one you made.

In the backward pass, you’re closing up the loops you collected on your hook, finishing off the row and ending up with only one loop on your hook, ready to start the next row. You will have added an extra loop to the last one you made in the forward pass. Now you yarn over and draw backwards through your row, 2 loops at a time.

The basic stitch is simple Tunisian, and the simple comes into play with where you draw your loop through on the previous row. Simple has you draw through the front yarn of the vertical loop of the last row. Simple single Tunisian tends to curl, which is why I began to experiment with patterns.

Similar to regular crochet, variations can be made by inserting the hook in other parts of the stitch, either from the front or back, but I don’t recommend going after that until you’ve had some practice with the basics. Potholders or scarves are great practice, and they’ll turn out great with the tight stitches of Tunisian crochet.

Tunisian crochet hook (top) and normal crochet hook (bottom).

Stitches used: Simple Tunisian at Single and Double Crochet height.

Scaling: Not important, chain to desired width.

Ideas: Scarves, potholders, and blankets (if you have the right equipment).


Pattern:
Chain crochet to the desired width of your project. I chained 23 for this example, but the number doesn’t matter as the pattern is vertical via the rows.


Cast on Row (forward pass): Cast on by inserting the hook into the second chain from the end and drawing up one loop. Do not work the loop, leaving it on your hook. Continue to draw up loops and collect them on the hook until you’ve worked into each of the chains. On the last chain, draw up the loop and then draw a second loop through that to prepare for the reverse pass (no matter the type of Tunisian crochet stitch, you’ll always draw up this extra loop at the end of the first pass). Figures 1-3.


Cast on Row (reverse pass): Draw through two loops on hook, yarn over, and draw through two more loops. Continue until you’ve worked backwards to the beginning of the row and have only one loop on the hook. Figures 4-5.


Row 1 (forward pass): Ch 3 (this counts as the first stitch). Yarn over, slip your hook through the center of the vertical loop of the second stitch, and draw up a loop. Draw through two loops, leaving the remaining loop on the hook (like working an incomplete dc). Work the double Tunisian crochet across to the last stitch of the row. Draw up an extra loop on the last stitch before working the reverse pass. Figures 6-8.


Row 1 (reverse pass): Draw through two loops on hook, yarn over, and draw through two more loops. Continue until you’ve worked backwards to the beginning of the row and have only one loop on the hook. Figures 9-10.


Row 2 (forward pass): Ch 1 (this counts as the first stitch). Slip your hook through the center of the vertical loop of the second stitch and draw up a loop, leaving it to collect on your hook. Work the single Tunisian crochet across to the last stitch of the row. Draw up an extra loop on the last stitch before working the reverse pass. Figures 11-12


Row 2 (reverse pass): Work the same as Row 1 (reverse pass). Figure 13.


Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until your work is the desired length. Together, Rows 1 and 2 form the Pattern Row for this project.


Finishing: The stitch will yield different textures on the ends of the rows. If you’re right handed, the row on the right (where you start your rows) will have a chain crochet look, while the row on the left (where you start your reverse pass) will have a rough look. At a minimum, I’d single crochet around and down the left hand side of the project so a casual observer won’t see a difference. I chose not to continue the single crochets around to the other side as it turned out rather bulky when I tried it out.

~~~End of Pattern~~~

 

Illustrative Figures:

 

Figure 1: Casting on row (forward pass), placing the hook into one of the ch bumps to draw through a loop.

 

 



Figure 2: Casting on row (forward pass), 4 stitches cast on. Note the loops collect on the hook.

 

 





Figure 3: End of Cast on Row (forward pass), extra loop drawn up on last stitch.

Figure 4: Cast on Row (reverse pass), draw through 2 loops at a time, working backwards towards beginning of row.

Figure 5: Cast on Row complete (both passes).

Figure 6: Row 1 (forward pass),chain 3, yarn over, push through front post of loop.

Figure 7: Row 1 (forward pass), starting chain dc, plus three cast on Tunisian dc.

Figure 8: Row 1 (end of forward pass), extra loop drawn up on final Tunisian dc.

Figure 9: Row 1 (reverse pass), draw through two loops at a time back towards beginning of row.

Figure 10: Row 1 complete (both passes).

Figure 11: Row 2 (forward pass), insert hook of front post of top loop and draw up a loop.

Figure 12: Row 2 (end of forward pass), extra loop drawn up on last stitch.

Figure 13: Row 2 complete (both passes).

~~~

Project Idea:
Tunisian crochet lends itself towards rectangular projects, so I worked up this nifty Dr. Whovian looking scarf with the alternating colors. Of course, the downside was hiding all the loose ends, but it was worth it.

Without repeating all the details of the pattern, here is what I did.

Beginning (6 pattern rows):
Chain to the desired width and cast on in single Tunisian.

Rows 1-12: In your main color (MC), work the Pattern Row (rows 1 and 2 in the pattern instructions above) 6 times. Work a color change at the end of Row 12’s reverse pass as follows:

Changing Colors:
Row 12 (end of reverse pass-color change): At the end of the reverse pass on a single Tunisian row, leave two loops on your hook. Instead of drawing through the MC, switch to the second color (SC) and draw through a loop (be sure to leave a lengthy tail on this and the MC). Hold your fingers to the delicate joining you’ve done until you’ve gone a few stitches deep into the next forward pass.

TIP: Unlike in normal crochet, you will not want to carry those loose strands along under the new row. Weave them in at the end.

Working the Alternating Color Rows (3 pattern rows):
Rows 13 18: in your second color (SC) work the Pattern Row (rows 1 and 2 in the pattern instructions above) 3 times. Work a color change back to MC as indicated in the Row 12 (end of reverse pass-color change) instructions above.

Continue working the patterns as in Rows 13-18, three Pattern Rows each color segment, until you’re just shy of the length you want.

Ending:
In MC, work the final rows of the scarf as in Rows 1-12, 6 Pattern Rows. Finish off and weave in all those lovely ends.

~~~End of Project Description~~~

 

Well that's it. I've tried a few interesting things with the Tunisian stitch, but I'm still rather new at it.

If you'd like a really good write up on how to start off, I'd check out Red Heart's Ultimate Beginners Guide to Tunisian Crochet.

I'd love to hear what you think. Post in the comments!

 

 

Tunisian Squares in the Round: Ok, so I think I'm getting better at it...

Or, maybe it's in the yarn. 

I ran out of the maroon yarn I was working with in my last attempt at the Squares Around the World pattern, so I started digging into my stash of "random yarn I binge purchased over the years."

I found this.

Enchantment TM if you cannot read the label.
Note the lovely knot, reinforcing the need to ball up your yarn before starting a project.

I also found this teddy bear I loom knit at some point, never gave a face, and then buried to find later and mull over.

Faceless bear, birthday unknown...

Anyhow, I found three skeins of the sparkly, annoying yarn that feels rough because of the sparkly strand woven along its length.

The photo doesn't do this yarn justice.
That's super sparkly, hot pink, vibrant purple, and deep black.
Scratchy, but striking.

So why am I focusing on the yarn? Because it works fantastically with this Tunisian square in the round pattern.

Starting up again with the new sparkly yarn.

As you can see, it isn't curling up nearly as much as the regular worsted weight and that springy grey yarn I used before.

And here it is, several more rounds.

Almost looks like the pattern, except I chose sparkly yarn in jazzy colors.

I'm certain that three balls of yarn is nowhere near what I need to make the entire blanket, but I have enough to make a wall hanging or a lap blanket or maybe a drape for the headrest of a chair or a pillow (though the scratchiness of the yarn wouldn't lend itself to snuggling, I think).

Want to give it a shot?

Here's the link to the free pattern on Red Heart's website for the finished project shown below. If you're unfamiliar with Tunisian Crochet, check out their tutorial page here. A benefit of the patterns on Red Heart is if you want to do a project, they have all the supplies queued up for quick purchasing.



Source: http://www.redheart.com/medias/sys_master/images/images/h5c/h43/8799497027614.jpg

Ok, now back to making this thing and soothing my finger burns from balling up all that yarn.  Post in the comments if you've tried this pattern.

Tunisian: Red Heart's Trip Around the World Throw

Yesterday I tried out the Trip Around the World Throw pattern I found On Red Heart's webpage.

Below is what came of my efforts. Two things to note, I used two different yarn sizes and the gray yarn was incredibly stretchy, which gave it a sort of abstract slant. In an attempt to tamp down the tendency of the Tunisian Crochet to curl (paired with the stretchy gray yarn), I worked two rounds of single crochet around the edges. As you can see, that added a rather interesting effect. The center seems to have turned out nice and flat, but the exterior curls and waves.

So, lessons learned:
One, on Red Hearts pattern, there are two distinct "block" patterns, although they reveal those across two pages of pattern. I got royally confused about these because it wasn't super clear where to start the blocks on the second round where it started becoming important.

The first block pattern (corner block), worked in Tunisian crochet (but in a way I've seen referenced as linked crochet because you're making stacked rows of linked sc) is begun on an exterior block. The fist block pattern starts with a chain 6.


The pattern refers to starting in the lower outer corner of any corner block. If you look at this crazy thing I made, they are talking about the corner of the greater square. In the first round, all of the blocks are the outer corner.  In the next one, it's the end of each of the blocks that make the plus sign.  To find the lower outer corner, you turn it to look like a plus, making your outer block to the left of your needle and working Tunisian up the edge.

The arrow below points to the corner you'll start in for the corner blocks (first block pattern).

Figure 1: The starting position and the chains are the only thing that's different about the first vs. the second block pattern.

The second block pattern (side block) is worked into the side of one of the previous row's blocks after completing a corner or side block. Assuming you start the first block in the right place, shown above, you should be good to go.

 

Instead of working 6 chains, you draw up loops along the edge of the block and then catch your extra loop in the corner below. Then you work on as you did for the other block(s).

 

 

 

Figure 2: Unlike the corner blocks, These start on the descending edge of one of the block on the previous round, working down it drawing up loops to make up your first row.

 

As for finishing, all their pattern says to do is weave in ends.  I experimented with a few options, landing on the ruffled looking single crochets in my sample, but I think that might not have been needed if I hadn't used such a springy yarn (gray). 

 



 

Want to give it a shot?

Here's the link to the free pattern on Red Heart's website for the finished project shown below. If you're unfamiliar with Tunisian Crochet, check out their tutorial page here. A benefit of the patterns on Red Heart is if you want to do a project, they have all the supplies queued up for quick purchasing.



Source: http://www.redheart.com/medias/sys_master/images/images/h5c/h43/8799497027614.jpg

 

 

That's it!

 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments if you've given this pattern a try, especially if you've managed a way to tame those curled edges.