not your average crochet

I hope everyone enjoyed the break in difficulty we had last week — those bobbles weren’t too bad, were they?  This week we’re doing a bit of a chevron/ripple that I’m calling the “mirrored chevron,” so let’s get started!  Don’t forget, we’re using US terms.

Last week, we finished with row 29:

row 30

With new color, dc across

row 31

For this row and the 3 following rows, the turning chains do NOT count as the first stitch as they have previously been doing.

Change to a color you have a lot of.  Ch 1.  In the first stitch, bring up a loop.  Bring up a loop in the second stitch as well:

Yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on hook:

That counts as our first stitch.  It’s essentially my way of making sc decreases without just skipping a stitch entirely, as some books and patterns recommend.  In the next st, make a hdc.  In the next st, make a dc.  In the next st, make 3 tr.  In the next st, make 1 dc.  In the next st, make 1 hdc:

We’ve made a “mountain!”  Now it’s time to decrease again, only this time we’re going to pull up loops from the next 3 stitches, not 2; yarn over and pull through to finish the st:

In next st, make a hdc (the start of another “mountain”)… Continue this way, making the mountains and decreasing, until the end.  It should look like this:

At the end of the row, you should just have 2 stitches left to work into for your last decrease instead of 3.  We’ll do the same as we did in the beginning and pull up loops from the 2 stitches, preparing the decrease:

row 32

With your next color, finish the decrease of row 31.  Ch 1 (again, this does NOT count as your first stitch like it usually does).  This row is the same process as row 31 only we’re just using sc.  Pull up loops from the first 2 sts:

Yarn over and finish the stitch:

Sc in next 2 sts, then sc 3 in the middle treble of the row below:

Sc in next 2 sts, then make another decrease over the next 3 sts, just like we did in the last row:

Continue this until the end.  It should look like this:

At the end, you will only have 2 sts, left, so do like we did in the last row: pull up loops from last 2 sts, yo, pull through to finish st.  Yes, go ahead and finish the stitch.  We’re not changing colors yet!

row 33

With the same color, repeat row 32, but do not finish the last decrease stitch because we will change colors now:

row 34

With the same color as row 31, ch 3.  This does not count as your first stitch!  Make a tr into the second st.  That counts as your first stitch.  dc in the next st, hdc in the next one:

sc 3 in next st, hdc in next st, dc in next st:

Now we’re going to decrease over the next 3 stitches.  Make a treble into each of the 3 stitches but do not pull the last loop through any of them.  When you’ve done that, yarn over and pull through all loops on your hook and it’s a treble decrease:

You’ve got it now; continue until the end.  It will look like this:

At the end, there are only 2 sts left so we will just decrease with 2 unfinished trebles.  Do not finish, we’re changing colors:

row 35

This is a normal row of hdc, so ch 2.  This does count as your first stitch again, so make your first hdc in the top of the dc in the row below:

At the end, remember that the ch 3 of the row below didn’t count as a stitch, so make your last hdc in the top of the treble (but don’t finish, we’ll change colors):

I’d check to make sure you have the correct stitch count at this point.  Should be the same number you started the blanket with.

row 36

Make a normal dc row.

row 37

Make a normal hdc row.

We’re done for this week!  I had to take this last picture on the floor because the whole thing no longer fit on my white paper, which is what I’ve been using for all the close up pictures.

Also, we’ve now completed all of the stitch patterns we will use in this blanket!  I was considering doing surface chains but I figured we’ve got enough eye-catching stuff going on as it is.  Feel free to add them if you like, though, if you’re looking for a little extra something!  Just make sure you do them on the front of the work.  These might be good for any scraps we have at the end.

Anyway, as usual, if you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask!  And again, I look forward to seeing your pictures on facebook and Ravelry and Instagram (#nyaccal)!  Everyone’s doing a fantastic job so far and I love seeing all the color variations/palettes everyone’s got going!  I’m having a blast and I hope you are too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Everyone’s blankets are looking fantastic!  I’m so excited that so many people are taking part — there’s even a group in South Africa working on it!  I hope all of the rows so far have been do-able.  This week is going to be a bit of a break from the difficult stitches, although there is still a “special” stitch!  Ready to get started?

Don’t forget, we’re using US terms!

Last week, we finished here, with row 21:

row 22

With new color, dc across.

row 23

With new color, hdc across.

row 24

With new color, dc across.

row 25

With new color, hdc across.

row 26

We’re going to do 3 rows of 1 color, so I’d recommend starting this row with a color of yarn you have a lot of.  With your chosen new color, dc across.  I’m using my lavender color for this:

row 27

Do not change colors.  This is a row of hdc with bobbles interspaced.  You can space your bobbles however you like, but I’m personally putting 9 hdc stitches in between each bobble.  The bobbles will be a different color, so pick one that goes with your current working yarn.  If you want to space your bobbles like mine, here’s what to do.

ch 2, hdc 8 across.  Leave last stitch unfinished:

Finish the stitch with your bobble color.  Crocheting over the working yarn of your background color, make 1 dc in next st, but do not pull the last loop through:

Make 3 more unfinished dc stitches in the same stitch.  You will have 5 loops on your hook:

Switch to your background color and pull it through all 5 loops of your bobble stitch.  Make a hdc in the next stitch:

Working over your bobble yarn, make 8 more hdcs, leaving the last unfinished.  Repeat the bobble.  Keep doing this until the end!  You will not have 9 stitches of background color at the end (I have 7) but that’s OK — it looks fine, right?

row 28

With the same background color, dc across.  That completes the bobble section!  Aren’t they cute?

row 29

With new color, hdc across:

That’s all for this week!  Pretty simple compared to the star stitch and the Catharine wheels, no?  Next week we’ll have yet another challenge, but soon we’ll be repeating the stitches we’ve used already and you’ll have all of them down!

Don’t forget, you can post photos of your progress on the facebook page or on the Ravelry group.  If you’re on Instagram you can use the hashtag #nyaccal to share your progress!

As always, thanks for stopping by!