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Crochet Designing Tips – Working in the Round
When designing a crochet project that will end up being a circle or needing a round bottom (“working in the round”), there are a few simple guidelines to follow so you don’t end up with a wavy coaster or a little bowl!!
Remember, when working in the round, you must increase on each round so that your circle will lie flat. If you increase too many times, you end up with a ruffled look and if you don’t increase enough, your circle curls in on itself looking like a bowl. The wonderful crochet world has developed a “simple” guideline to help you keep your increases in proportion with the growing diameter of your circle.
The suggested beginning circle for a SC (single crochet) design would be 6 stitches. The beginning circle for a HDC (half double crochet) would be 8 stitches, for a DC (double crochet) begin with 12 stitches, and for a TR (treble crochet) it is best to begin with 18 stitches.
Once you have crocheted your beginning circle and joined with a SL (slip) stitch, place a marker so you know that is the start of your round. Now for the next increase round, you will work two stitches of your choice into every stitch that forms your circle.
Again, join with a SL stitch, move your marker and get ready for your third round. For this round, you will increase by working two stitches into every other stitch.
Repeat with your SL stitch, replace your starting point marker and begin your fourth round increases by working two stitches into every third stitch. Your fifth round increases would be working two stitches into every fourth stitch. Continue increasing in this pattern until your circle is as large and round as you want it to be.
By staggering your increases in the above fashion, the diameter of your circle will grow evenly and have a nice finished look.
Experiment with various types of yarns and different sized hooks to achieve a wide variety of crocheted circles.
Just imagine all the fun ways to use your circles — add them to clothing, make unique jewelry, update an old pillow or sweater or just use them alone as a wonderful coaster for that special cup of tea or coffee!!
- TIP: Crochet 4 CH (chain stitches), join with a SL stitch and within that circle begin your SC – 6 CH for HDC – 10 CH for DC – 12 CH for TR.
HAPPY CREATING!!
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Tips for making Children’s Shorts
Making elastic waisted shorts for children is really easy, quick and fun!! You can actually get a pair of size 5 shorts out of a half of yard of cotton fabric and if you find some cute fabric among the remnants, WOW.
Prewash your cotton fabric to allow for any shrinkage and cut out your short pattern, (2) fronts and (2) backs and be sure to make clip cuts to mark your notches. At this point too, I always place a pin in one of the back short fabric pieces because I serge all my seams and will serge off the notch placements. It is important to ensure that you don’t accidentally sew a front piece to a back piece at the center seam. The fronts will always only have one notch (maybe two) and the backs will always have two notches (maybe three). Anyways, all patterns are notched with less notches for the fronts and more notches for the backs. 
Now you want to begin sewing your shorts by first placing one front piece to one back piece, right sides together and only sew the inner leg seam. You will do that same sewing for the other front and back piece. I like to then serge both of those seams for a clean edge. If you don’t have a serger, you can just press open your seams.
Next you will want to pin the right sides together matching both front pieces to each other and both back pieces to each other. You will want to sew that seam twice. I make my first seam at the usual 5/8″ from the edge and come back and stitch again about 1/2″ from the edge. Just extra stitching support for a well used seam. I now serge that seam too or you can again just press open as far down as possible.
Now you will want to sew the side seams together. Matching front and back side seams on both sides (right sides together) stitch your 5/8″ seam and then serge or again press your seams open. At this point, I like to serge the edge of the shorts where the hem will be and serge along the top/waist which will be folded over for the elastic. If you don’t have a serger, a close zigzag stitch will work too.
At this point, I will machine stitch the bottom hem for both legs. I sew a 5/8″ stitching line from the bottom edge of the short leg, either on the right side or wrong side of the fabric. This stitching will be used to mark the hem. I then take the shorts to the ironing board and press that hem up along the stitching line making sure the stitching itself folds over to the wrong side. Press all the way around the leg opening, no pins needed. Now go back to the sewing machine and stitch the hem in place. This is a great time to use some of your decorative stitches or sew two lines of straight stitches about 1/4″ apart for a nice finished look for the hem.
Last step is to make the waist band. Fold over a 1 1/2″ hem along the top and press into place and use about 4 pins to hold it there. I use a piece of cotton twill tape and write the size info with a black permanent marker and place it at the center back seam. Stitch your waist band, folding under the serged edge as you go and leave about a 2″ opening for elastic. Cut your elastic 1″ smaller than the waist size, insert into opening and overlap it about 1/2″ on each side and zigzag in place at both raw edges. You want the elastic to stretch a little when wearing so it doesn’t slide down. Adjust your gathers so they are evenly spaced. To keep the gathers from shifting, I sew a stitching line (stitching in the ditch) along all four seams lines around the shorts.
You will find that you can make a pair of shorts in about 45 minutes. Stack a couple of fabrics on top of each other and rotary cut them out so you have about 3 pairs ready to be stitched. These are the same directions that I use if making a pair of gathered waist pants or capris for little ones. Actually, this is a great sewing project for a young person to make for themselves with adult supervision to keep Stitching4Ever alive!
HAPPY CREATING!!
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Make a Cute Felt Pillow
I love working with felt especially with little ones. It is soft and smooth to the touch, doesn’t fray and comes in sooooooooo many lovely colors and is very reasonably priced!! What else could you ask for.
If you get the chance, let me know your reasons why you like to use felt for your own special projects.
Anyways, here is a cute and pretty simple project you can do using felt, yarn, a little batting, a small handheld punch and whatever you may have around the house to give it some pizzaz!! This is great for any left over felt you might have stashed away or just buy some felt squares at your local fabric store. Be creative and use two different colors!!
First, let everyone decide upon their own design. Remember to keep it simple especially if working with young children. A heart, a square, a ruffled circle are good choices to think about. Again, pull out some cookie cutters to use to trace around on the felt. Think about keeping your design no bigger than 5″ by 5″. Any bigger, it gets to be too big for little hands to work with.
Once you have decided upon your design, trace it onto one side of the felt which will now become the wrong side. Cut out two matching designs so you have a front and back. Holding both your front and back pieces together, use a small handheld punch to make tiny holes along the outer edge, about 1/4″ in from the edge of your design and spacing your holes about 1/4″ apart. Don’t get too hung up on this part trying to make it exact. You just want to make sure that your hole openings on the front match up with the hole openings on the back.
The type of punch I used was a small heart shape design style similar to those you might find among the scrapbooking tools. You just want to have an opening large enough for a piece of 4 ply worsted weight yarn to pull through easily.
Now get a piece of yarn (4 ply worsted weight is easy to work with) and cut it to about an 18″ length. Use whatever color you might have available. Remember little ones like lots of bright colors! Using a plastic needle, thread it with your yarn and begin sewing your two felt pieces together. Hide your knot by pulling through only the front piece so it is sandwiched between the two felt pieces.
Your stitching can be whatever works for you and your child. You could do a back-stitch or a whip stitch to secure your pillow front and back together. Continue doing your sewing stitch around your pillow leaving a small opening to insert your batting. Don’t remove the needle and thread, just secure it into the edge of your felt pillow while you stuff it.
Once you have your pillow lightly stuffed, continue sewing the last few holes together to close everything. Knot it off on the back side.
Now decorate the front of your pillow with cute buttons, sequins, little pompoms by gluing them onto your felt. You could use those small adhesive backed foam shapes too. If you are up to it, glitter glue and/or decorative fabric paints are fun items to use for getting some neat pizzaz.
Most of all have fun with this activity. Just another way to teach little ones to use their hands and to be creative as well as some special one-on-one time together making memories!
- TIP: Use a button shank remover to cut off the sewing loop on the back of a decorative button to make it very easy to glue in place.
HAPPY CREATING!!
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Adding a Crocheted Edging
Crocheted edgings are another way you can personalize an article of clothing or update a home decor item. You can just about take any stitch pattern you like and use it as an edging for whatever strikes your fancy.
The most important part of doing an edging is making sure that your stitch placement guides/holes are even. There are several different types of tools available to make those holes for you so that they are spaced evenly to give a wonderful finished look. Check out the edgerydoo which looks like it does an excellent job of making small holes for you to crochet an edging along a blanket, etc. Also, the blogspot called At Home in English Valley used a Skip Stitch Rotary Blade to create small holes in a flour sack tea towel for crocheting a nice edge.
Another thing that I like to do as a foundation to crochet an edging on to is the lazy daisy or detached chain embroidery stitch. This doesn’t require making any holes and you can embroider the stitch along the edge of almost anything.
Making the lazy daisy embroidery stitch
How the embroidery stitches look along the edge
NOTE: I am left-handed so embroidery stitches are started from the opposite end of fabric from a right-handed person. However, I crochet right-handed so the single crochet stitches are going in the other direction!! That’s what happens when you are the only left-handed person in your household growing up. No one could teach me how to crochet left-handed!!
An important factor to keep in mind whether you are making holes for stitches or using an embroidery stitch for the foundation, is to plan for your stitch multiplier. A stitch multiple is the number of stitches needed to crochet a complete stitch pattern. Example: if your edging pattern calls for a multiple of 3, you need to insure that your foundation row can be divided by 3 evenly. Plus you will need to have one more hole or embroidery stitch for turning or corners if needed.
After you have your foundation row set up, I like to go around my entire foundation row crocheting a single crochet in all my stitches or holes (at this time, you can insure you have the correct number of SC for your pattern, increase in a stitch if you need to). By doing this, you have a nice base to work from. After completing your row of SC, then you are ready to begin the edging design you have chosen.
How it looks after completing a row of single crochet
Once you start crocheting edgings onto your projects, your hook will have a mind of its own!!!
- TIP: If you are doing the lazy daisy embroidery stitch, use the same color crochet thread for the foundation row so that everything blends together.
HAPPY CREATING!!
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