A new way to look at the Double Crochet

Since I started writing patterns, I have had on dickens of a time explaining how I do this one stitch, that I fall back on, A LOT. as in probably half design I publish.  
The Kadi Poncho

The Mary Caplet

The 3-D-V Cowl

which was just pulled from the Ravelry shop temporarily, so it can be revised. It is with Testers now. 

The List goes on, but this post is not about selling Crochet Patterns, it is so I can explain a really simple twist to the traditional Double Crochet.  

UPDATE:::   Tamara, the owner of Mooglyblog.com did a video tutorial on this.  You can see it Here

I have called it dc in the Eye of the stitch, I have called it a Waistcoat Double Crochet,  

I have just never been able to find something that truly made sense, that was easy to write around. It does not seem as though the stitch itself is out there anywhere, I have dug through countless posts, stitch lists, stitch blogs, You Tube, I have looked. Maybe it is my own concoction, (no, cuz my Grandmother taught me over 40 years ago) but I can in all good conscience say I have not seen it used by another designer. I finally came up with a name that fits

Here we go:

This is the Center Double Crochet  Cdc is how I will list it in my patterns, and I will now have a tutorial to link to.

Worked in the round, all on the front side

 A sample of 5 completed rounds. Notice please, how straight the stitches are. How they genuinely stack, one on top of the other. So now let's look at how we work this.

 For this method, no matter what the shape of the item, all our stitches are worked from the front of the piece, going in one direction, with no turns. 

Notice where the green hook is positioned. The top of the post forms a v shaped pocket, directly in the center, under the top two loops, and between the two that form the V, So, in the Center. Your hook goes here to make the stitch in the proper place.

 It may be just a smidge blurred, but here is a tighter shot.

 Worked in the normal manner, Yarn over, insert hook, yarn over pull up a loop, (3 loops on hook) yarn over, pull through 2, twice. repeat in the next stitch.

 This picture shows the back of the work, just for reference.

So, now you have it.  My newest contribution to the concept that there is no wrong way to crochet. Some of us are just different about it.

This is a wonderful stitch that offers height, is regal, stands at attention. This stitch technique does not stretch as much as the traditional stitch does. I love it, and as I said, I use it often in my designs.

There is a version I use for projects are worked in turned rows as well, That will be another post, and I will link here when it is completed.

Until Next time.  

Becky

Neice's "Dam - It" A Free Crochet Tutorial

My Grandmother, on my Mom's side was Necie Hunter.  (pronounced Nee-Cee)  

I learned a lot of crochet, 

                                      from her, 

                                                    and because of her.

This Technique is directly from her arsenal of tricks.  She never swore that I heard, so the first time she said Dam-It  to me I nearly died.  She used this to Hold things "inside", like a Dam holds water.

Hence, I call it Necie's Dam-It.

Ready?  Here we Go!

Starting with the surface you want to build off of.
In this case , A chain of 32, 2 dc in the 3rd ch from the hook, DC in the next, and each until the last Chain. Place 3 DC in the first half of the DC loop, then rotate the chain to work the other side. Place 3 DC in the other side loop of the same chain. Pull the tail tight, to remove the hole. Finish the DC's down the chain, working over the tail and BOTH unworked loops of the chain.  At the last, place 3 DC in the last st. Join as I showed you in this post, and finish off.

Insert hook into any stitch, right at the top, under the two top loops. It is easiest to show this technique with DC, but it does work with any traditional crochet stitch.

Bring the hook back to the front, also right under the two top loops. On a dc, the 3rd loop sort of separates the area nicely for practicing this trick.

I have doubled my yarn here, and have pulled the fold of it through, under the post, now catch the double strand with the hook, pull it through, as a slst. It works well with a single strand too, but for this application, I want the extra bulk.

This tutorial is turning into multiple tricks, You are getting a bonus here!  As you can see, doing this, there are no ENDS to weave in later!

Insert hook into the same space it came up from on the slst, and bring it up on the other side of the post. See how the EYE of the stitch slides down the post to allow room, the top loops tend to roll down the other direction. Do not panic over this, it is all good!

catch your yarn, and pull it through, Yarn over, and pull through both loops to form a SC of sorts. It has the traditional top loops, but it does not look like a SC.

The EYE of the stitch is turned sideways, under the loops.

continue around your work, entering from the space you exited in the previous stitch. No increases, just building your DAM on the face of the DC's

When you reach the end of the round, you will insert your hook back under the post if that first st, with your hook on the OUTSIDE.  Catch your yarn, and pull through, yarn over and complete the sc

Now Move your working yarn to the inside of your work

Remove hook from working loop, insert it from the inside, under the first loop.  draw working loop through to inside.  ( If you are continuing with the same color, skip this, and move on with your pattern as written.)

Draw yarn through to end the round.

Cut tail, mid loop

Tug tails, to be sure that slip knot has tightened.

Here is a view of the side of the dam, with it's peculiar stitch pattern. It is dense, solid, and yet still very workable

This is a view with the beginning of a round of stitches, just to show you. These are not the stitches we will be using, just what I threw on it for a picture.

This is the bottom.  I do not mind the look, but when I bring you more of the pattern, We will cover this with another layer.



When I told a few friends that I was going to share this technique with you, Tamara from Moogly offered a few links to patterns that you could use to practice if you like. You would just replace the BLO with this. follow the rest of the pattern as written
These are all great patterns, but they will lend themselves well to this trick.

 Birds Nest Bowl Set

Girls Night Out Wine Carrier

Stainless Water Bottle Sling

















Thank-You
Until next time
Grammy

It is so easy

Leave a reply

I have been testing crochet patterns for a fair amount of time. It took me a while to gain confidence. There is a process. The comfort with admitting I didn’t get it, Knowing (or hoping) that offering suggestions on things that might make it easier to understand, or what I thought would improve the pattern, would be appreciated. It has all taken time. Over this period, I have developed a great relationship with several designers; When I see them call out for testers, I try to get in the mix. I really enjoy the process, and have a lot of fun with it.  I have learned so much, I am actually excited to be able to give back to the community that has been so welcoming and helpful.

I am currently working a test with one of those designers. She sent me the pattern as a rough draft (her words, not mine)  Of course, I read it through, looking for the typo’s, and then collected my supplies.  Half way through the first round, I shot her an Email, offering the suggestions that made sense to me. Today, I decided that I would put those ideas into a tutorial, and offer it to any and all.

It is not rocket science, it is just an easy way to step up the finish look of any project crocheted in the round, by starting it a bit differently. This is what I call Reverse Join.   Reverse Join tutorial.  (link opens in a pdf)

I truly love the way this works,  I have not seen this in a pattern written by anyone else.  Please understand, It may be out there, Someone may have employed this technique, I am saying it has not been in a pattern I have worked.

I have thoughts on adding more of these little hints and tricks as time goes along. Please add me to the blogs you follow, so you will be notified when I post more of them.

Have a great day