Have you ever wanted to make a blanket with a particular picture, logo, or symbol on it but couldn’t find a pattern for it? Maybe an afghan with cute teddy bears on it or a throw with you’re college mascot? In this tutorial I’ll discuss how you can make your very own color chart so that you can use it as a guide while crocheting. Color charts are commonly used to create blankets, but they can always be used to create designs on any item you can imagine, from bags, hats, sweaters, etc. If you’ve never worked with color charts before, feel free to learn about How To Read Color Charts before making your own.
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A Guest Post by Elsa.

If you’ve ever tried to make an afghan or scarf or other crocheted project with motifs, you’ll know that stitching together all the individual pieces can be quite annoying! This tutorial will show you a new way of doing this, with assemble-as-you-go pieces, so there’s no sewing required! This tutorial will show small circular pieces being joined together, but you can also use these techniques on granny squares and other motif shapes.
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As a crochet beginner, I steered clear of granny squares and other crochet projects made with motifs. Don’t get me wrong–I loved the look of crocheted motifs and how each little part plays a big role in the shape and look of each piece. I didn’t make motif projects simply because I wasn’t confident with my sewing skills–skills I thought were vital in completing motif projects.

When I discovered join-as-you-go motifs, a whole new world of crochet opened up for me. I didn’t have to sew all the motifs together! The last row of each motif is matched up to a corresponding side of the previous motif, and slip stitches are made in place of chain spaces. Here it is at work with my Magical Market Bag Pattern:

Magical Market Bag Photo Guide

A Guest Post by Linda Cee.

Slip stitch crochet is a fantastic way of making a thin stretchy fabric but it can also be used to create thick and heavy hats, scarves, mittens, etc. It can be so durable that the thicker items are waterproof!!!

There are six basic stitches: front loop only slip stitch, inverse front loop only slip stitch, back loop only slip stitch, inverse back loop only slip stitch, inverse slip stitch and of course the regular slip stitch. Now these are only the very basics, there are so many more and it is interesting to note that because you can do these stitches in many different ways (change the yarn over, change the direction of hook entry, etc.) the possibilities are practically endless.
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When it comes to crochet, color is one of the first things to consider when starting a project. It plays a vital role in the visual impact of any project–for bigger projects you may want to use colors that area easy on the eyes, but to make details stand out, you have to pick an eye-catching pop of color. You may think you have it all planned out when you go yarn shopping, but when you get home you think, “Did I just make a big mistake?”
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A Guest Post by Suzann Thompson.

My Oma indulged a teenaged me by buying me German knitting and crochet magazines. (What a wonderful Oma!) I found a cute short-sleeved top with a wavy crochet stitch pattern: sc, hdc, dc, trc, dc, hdc, and repeat. We bought the yarn. I started crocheting.

It was just a small thing, but after the first row, I was bothered by the fact that the treble crochet stitches buckled. The difference in height between the double crochet and the treble was too large. Each treble had to bend to meet the double crochet stitch on each side of it.

See how the tall trc-sts pooch out in these two samples?

A Guest Post by Amanda Kidd.

If you are interested in stiffening your crochet, then you are lucky to have plenty of methods at your disposal. The list of various methods range from commercial to homemade. The most traditional formula is the sugar solution and it works excellently even today. As for you, what you want to do with your crochet will decide the type of solution that will suit your purpose.
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We’ve all seen those crochet notions or accessories in craft stores. Some make us go, “oohhh,” and others, “how could this possibly help me crochet?” Regardless, most of them really just are what they are called: accessories AKA things you can do without. Some of them really do help with crochet work, and some even regard them as necessities in completing any project. These items can be quite expensive though–and won’t fit in all craft budgets. Don’t dismay, you just might have something around the house to substitute for that store-bought crochet accessory.

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The first time I saw a charted crochet pattern, I thought it was some form of ancient hieroglyphics, or a language beamed down from another planet. It didn’t help that the rest of the instructions was in Japanese–another very foreign language to me. I shouldn’t have been intimidated–as it turned out I would prefer charted patterns to worded ones.
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Do you think of yourself as a crochet designer? No? Think again…Have you ever tweaked a pattern to suit your liking? Maybe you thought of a different handle for a bag you were crocheting, or finished an item all in one piece instead of sewing it together as written in the pattern.
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