Monday, 31 October 2022

How to Crochet Dragonfly Stitch?

After you learn the basic crochet stitches and make some quick projects, it’s time to move on to challenging patterns. The Dragonfly Stitch is an interesting crochet stitch. If you are wondering how to crochet the dragonfly stitch, we’ll walk you through it. It is a beginner-friendly lace stitch that adds to the beauty of any simple project.

In this blog, we’ll see how it’s made but first gather your supplies.

        Crochet hook – You will need a crochet hook, this can be any hook (single-ended, double ended or even Afghan/ Tunisian hook). Just make sure you are comfortable with it. You can use bamboo, wood, steel, aluminum or anything. Having the right crochet hook size is most important. If you are following a pattern, you will have all the details. If you are planning your own design, you can guestimate with your yarn. Most yarn labels have the information. You can also make a gauge swatch to see if you are getting the look you wanted.

        Yarn – The yarn for the dragonfly stitch can be anything from your stash or as a pattern instructs. Do not attempt with heavy-weight and light-weight yarn, stick to medium ply so that you can see the stitches easily.

After you have the supplies in hand, have this handy chart of the basic crochet stitches in UK and US terms.

U.K.

U.S./Canada

slip stitch (ss)

slip stitch (sl st)

double crochet (dc)

single crochet (sc)

half treble (htr)

half double crochet (hdc)

treble (tr)

double crochet (dc)

double treble (dtr)

treble/triple (tr)

triple treble (trtr)

double treble/double triple (dtr)

tension

gauge

miss

skip (sk)

yarn over hook (yoh)

yarn over (yo)

 

This pattern in UK crochet terms is a small swatch of 10X10 cm.

Step 1 – Make a slip knot on the crochet hook. Start with a chain of 12 plus 3 extra for turning rows and round for the treble crochet (tr) stitch.

Row 1 - Make 1 treble crochet (tr). To make a treble crochet stitch, yarn over the hook and insert it into the 4th chain. Pull up three loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull yarn through two loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull the loop through. You will have a treble crochet stitch on hand. Continue to make treble crochet stitches in each chain until the end of the row.

Row 2 - Chain 3 and treble crochet (tr) 5 stitches. Make 1 chain. Do not chain it on a stitch but in the air. Skip 1 stitch and then make treble crochet the other six stitches.

Row 3 – Start with a chain of 3 stitches. Make 2 treble crochet (tr) stitches. Chain 3 in the air and then skip 3 stitches. Make 1 treble crochet stitch in the space of the chain of the row below. Once again make a chain of 3 stitches in the air and then skip 3 stitches. Finish the row with 3 treble crochet stitches.

Row 4 – For this row, chain 3 stitches and make 1 treble crochet (tr). Chain 4 stitches in the air and then skip 1 stitch. Make a double crochet stitch on the treble crochet stitch (tr) of the row below. Once again follow the pattern of 4 chain stitches in the air, skip over 1 stitch and finish off with 2 treble crochet (tr) stitches.

Row 5 - Chain 3 and make 1 treble crochet (tr). Continue with 4 treble crochet (tr) stitches in the space formed by the chains of the row below. Make a treble crochet 1 above the double crochet of the row below, 4 treble crochet in the space formed by the chains of the row below and 2 treble crochet.

Row 6 - Make 1 treble crochet in each stitch.

Continue the steps of crochet rows 2 to 6 till you have reached the desired length or the pattern instructs you to.

With these steps, you can easily crochet this fancy lace texture. The Dragonfly Stitch adds to the beauty of blankets, scarves, or garments.

Friday, 14 October 2022

Things Every Knitter Needs

Knitting is a fun craft, after all, you only need three simple things: knitting needles, yarn, and creativity.  But, there are also a few “things” that can make knitting a lot easier and fun. Be it the beginners or the advanced crafters, every knitter needs some help. Before you go and get your hands on everything possible, check out our list of knitting essentials.

1. Knitting Needle Sets

In knitting, of course, you will need knitting needles, but the collection is never complete until you own all three types of needles and the popular sizes. A pair of single-pointed needles are handy to knit most rectangular projects in back-and-forth knitting. The circular needles are two 10 and 13 cm length tips joined by cables varying between lengths of 25cm to 150cm. If you do a lot of knitting you might want to get an interchangeable circular needle set which will offer flexibility. You won’t need new sizes for each project, as a set offers multiple. Plus, if your project calls for changing needle size or even the cable length you can easily go ahead with it. Double-point needles are ideal for knitting small things in the round, like mittens or the top of a hat.

Many times you may need to switch needles. You may start a project on circular needles, then switch to double points as you get close to binding off or knit different sections on different needles, so it is always recommended to include all needles in your collection.

Knitting Needles Set

2. Yarn

Obviously yarn, given the fact that knitting is fiber art. There are so many types, different weights, different fibers, different colors, etc of glorious yarn. Too much to possibly mention, but suffice it to say, you never have enough. For every project, you need different yarns. The ones that work best for socks may not be the right fit for a sweater, the ones you use to practice new techniques may be only used for practice and not any actual project.

yarn

3. Scissors

A pair of sharp scissors is always handy for a maker. You need it to cut the yarn when you finish your project or want to switch colours.

Scissors

4. Tapestry Needle

A basic need for any knitter, a darning needle is a large sewing needle, with an eye big enough to accommodate bulky yarn. You’ll use the needle to weave in the tails of yarn left after you bind off your project or for different techniques and even seam projects together.

5. Stitch Markers

Like its name, stitch markers are used on your needles to mark particular points in your pattern. Some markers can be directly put onto a stitch such as locking ones, while cute round designs stay on the needles for reference in a particular stitch or pattern.

Stitch Markers

6. Measuring Tape

As a maker, you would want to work on your own designs and for that measuring tapes are handu. Also many times, a pattern mentions inches, rather than rows, so it's better to keep them on hand. Measuring tapes will not leave you guessing.

7. Row Counter

Some patterns require keeping track of exactly how many stitches and rows you have knit, and a row counter helps you keep an accurate count.

Row Counter

Know More: How to Use Row Counter for Knitting

8. Blocking tools

Yarn blooms beautifully after being blocked and blocking tools assist you in this. Any yarn of any project requires some pampering and blocking does that.

Know More: How to Block your Knitting

With the above knitting-related things, you are ready to knit anytime and anywhere!