PATTERN: Mini Heart Square Tutorial

A few weeks ago, I started working on my new afghan pattern, the Rainbow Hearts Afghan. It's the same style as the Rainbow Twist and Turn Bargello Afghan, in that it uses small squares in a particular layout, with the join-as-you-go technique so that I don't have to sew 1,000 mini squares together! 

I really wanted to put some secret hearts into the blanket, as well as the more obvious ones, but I just couldn't find exactly what I wanted - two row granny equivalent, cute heart that sits on top of the surrounding row, and in the same colour for both the heart and the background! 

This one from Petals to Picots was going to be too big... 

This one from How to Crochet a Heart was perfect for the heart centre, but didn't have any information on how to make it a square... 

This one from Mollie Makes was close to what I wanted, but the heart sat flat in the square rather than sitting on top, and required either two colours, or detaching and rejoining the same colour to start the second row, and who has time for all these ends! 

So, inspired and encouraged by the above, here is my Mini Heart Square, all in one colour :)

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PATTERN: MINI HEART SQUARE
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http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mini-heart-square

Materials:
3-4 metres of yarn (depending on what weight you choose - you can use any size yarn you like! I used my favourite Stylecraft Special DK for this tutorial) 
Hook to match yarn (I used a 3.5mm hook for this tutorial)
Scissors
Yarn needle for weaving in ends.

Terminology:
This pattern uses all US terminology
slst - slip stitch
ch - chain stitch
dc - double crochet
tr - treble crochet

Special Stitches:

Stacked Standing Double Crochet - sc into target stitch. Insert hook under two leftmost strands of sc, yarn over hook to do a second sc.

No Slip Magic Circle - I prefer this double loop to a single loop magic circle as I found I was weaving ends in with an extra circle before doubling back with the single loop - this cuts out one extra weaving step! Nerdifacts has an excellent picture tutorial on the No Slip Magic Circle :)

Working into the Third Loop- You will need to familiarise yourself with the construction of the dc and tr stitches to be able to find the "third loop". This is the horizontal bar that goes across the back of each stitch, just under the back loop. In this image from the Craft Yarn Council's page on how to do a double crochet, I've labelled the back loops and third loops for you :) The theory is much the same for the treble crochet - it has the same third loop behind the back loop at the top of the stitch.

STEP 1 - HEART CENTRE

Into a magic ring, (3ch, 3tr, 3dc, 1ch, 1tr, 1ch, 3dc, 3tr, 3ch) and then slipstitch back into the magic ring. Pull on the end to tighten the magic ring. This forms the central heart.

STEP 2

Have a look at the back of your heart, and find the 3rd dc you made. 

We're going to use the back loops of this stitch to move our working yarn up to the edge of the heart. Ch1, then slst into the first loop of that 3rd dc, then into one of the next loops, then ch1 again. The arrows in the picture below show the slip stitches. There isn't really a wrong way to do this, you just want to get your yarn up towards the top of the stitch without using either of the top loops of the stitch or the third loop.

STEP 3

Once you've found the third loop of the third DC, do a stacked standing dc into that loop. Ch1.

STEP 4

Now we need to find the next loop, which is the 3rd loop of the 4th dc, so skip
(1ch, 1tr, 1ch) and locate that third loop.

Into this loop do (3dc, 2ch, 3dc, 1ch). One corner made!

STEP 5

Now comes the tricky part! Locate the second last tr of the heart:

and then find the 3rd loop of that tr:

Do another (3dc, 2ch, 3dc, 1ch) into that loop.

STEP 6

Find the FIRST TREBLE stitch that you made. It might seem like we're making the heart square asymmetrical, but I promise it's this that makes the heart look straight on the square! Locate the 3rd loop of this stitch, and do (3dc, 2ch, 3dc, 1ch) into that loop.

STEP 7

Now we're back to where we started, woohoo! You need to be careful that you use the same loop that you did to start... 

... and that you insert your hook to make the stitches in such a way that your first stacked dc and the trail of slip stitches and chains behind it are all to the left of your hook.

Make (3dc, 2ch, 2dc) in that loop, and then slst to the top of your first stacked standing dc. Finish off, and weave in your ends.

Tadah! A Mini Heart Square, the same size as 2 rows of granny square, all in one colour :) 

FRONT:

BACK: 

Of course, if you want to make your heart a different colour to the background, you can either use Mollie Makes's pattern linked at the top, or this pattern and simply finish off the heart, and start your new colour afresh at Step 3 of this tutorial :) 

PATTERN: Twist and Turn Bargello Afghan

Ta dah! My Rainbow Twist and Turn Bargello Afghan is finished! 

I loved making it so much - the small squares and join-as-you-go technique meant that I felt like I was working very fast! Plus, only two ends to weave in for each square, and no growing pile of little squares to join at the end. Overall it took me 16 days of holidays when I was doing very little else (other than watching Downton Abbey). This project would be very easy to do a little and then pack away with the chart and pick up again later.

I am full of dreams about my next bargello-style afghan now... watch this space!

You can bookmark or favourite this pattern on Ravelry for later here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rainbow-twist-and-turn-bargello-afghan

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PATTERN: RAINBOW TWIST AND TURN BARGELLO AFGHAN 
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Finished Size: 125cm x 125 cm / 49" x 49"

This pattern uses simple 2 row granny squares, joined with slip stitches during the second row in place of chains. It is very simple to make - the beauty is in the arrangement of colours to imitate the well-known patchwork bargello pattern, Twist and Turn. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Materials:

2 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK in each of:

Matador (red)
Jaffa (orange)
Saffron (light orange)
Citron (yellow)
Spring Green (pale green)
Green (dark green)
Petrol (dark blue)
Cloud Blue (light blue)
Lavender (blue-purple)
Violet (red-purple)

(total: 20 balls)

3.5mm/E hook

Yarn needle

Scissors

Terminology:

This pattern uses US terminology. 

sl st = slip stitch
ch = chain stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet

Special stitches:

Stacked Standing Double Crochet - sc into target stitch. Insert hook under two leftmost strands of sc, yarn over hook to do a second sc.



I prefer this stitch to other forms of standing dc, and it looks much better than chains. Replace with 3ch if you prefer not to use this stitch.

No Slip Magic Circle - I prefer this double loop to a single loop magic circle as I found I was weaving ends in with an extra circle before doubling back with the single loop - this cuts out one extra weaving step! Nerdifacts has an excellent picture tutorial on the No Slip Magic Circle :)

CHART

Work from the top left corner in rows from left to right. I recommend stopping to weave in the ends every 10 squares or so. 

INSTRUCTIONS - 2 ROW GRANNY SQUARES - JOIN AS YOU GO:

First square:

1. Start with a No-Slip Magic Circle. 

2. Do a stacked standing double crochet into the magic circle, then (2dc, 2ch), (3dc, 2ch)x3 all into the magic circle, and join into standing dc with a slip stitch. Tighten up the circle so there is no visible hole in the centre.

3. In the 2ch space you just made, do another stacked standing double crochet followed by 1ch, then (3dc, 2ch, 3dc, 1ch) into each of next three 2ch spaces. In the final 2ch space, do (3dc, 2ch, 2dc) and then join with a slip stitch to the standing dc. Finish off.  

Joining squares on one side only:

1. Complete steps 1 and 2 as for the first square. 

2. Do another stacked standing double crochet followed by 1ch, then (3dc, 2ch, 3dc, 1ch) into the next two corner 2ch spaces. In the next 2ch space, do 3dc, 1ch. In place of the second corner chain, slip stitch into a 2ch space of the square you want to join to (the red square in the picture). 

Continue with 3 dc. In place of the next chain, slip stitch into the corresponding 1ch space of the red square. 

Do another 3dc. Slip stitch into the corner 2ch space of the red square. 

Ch1, then 2dc and slip stitch into the top of the standing dc. Finish off.

Joining squares on two sides.

1. Complete steps 1 and 2 as for the first square. 

2. Do another stacked standing double crochet followed by 1ch, then (3dc, 2ch, 3dc, 1ch) into the next corner 2ch space. In the next 2ch space, do 3dc, 1ch. In place of the second corner chain, slip stitch into the adjacent 2ch corner space of the first square you want to join to (orange square A in the picture). 

Continue with 3 dc. In place of the next chain, slip stitch into the 1ch space of the orange square. 

Do another 3dc. Slip stitch into the corner 2ch space of the orange square A, and then slip stitch into the corner 2ch space of the green square B. Ignore the red square B altogether! 

Continue with 3 dc. In place of the next chain, slip stitch into the 1ch space of the green square. 

Do another 3dc. Slip stitch into the corner 2ch space of the green square. Ch1, then 2dc and slip stitch into the top of the standing dc. Finish off.

INSTRUCTIONS - BORDER

The border is a simple tweed stitch (1sc, 1ch). I did a row of each of the rainbow colours, starting with Matador and ending with Violet (10 rows).

Row 1: The first row is all worked into the tops of the stitches and chains of the squares below. Start by joining the yarn with an sc on any corner into the second corner chain.

*Ch1, skip one stitch and sc into the next stitch*. Repeat until you get to the next corner. You should end up with 5sc in one square and 4sc in the next, repeating along the row. 

After you sc into the second corner chain, 2ch and sc into the same stitch. Then continue along as before. Repeat until you get back to the stitch where you first joined the yarn. 2ch, sl st into top of the first sc. Finish off and weave in ends.

Subsequent rows:

Join yarn with an sc into any ch1 space. *ch1, skip sc and sc into the next ch1 space*. Repeat until you get to a corner. In the corner ch2 space, do 1sc, 2ch, 1sc. Continue to repeat * * until you get back to your starting stitch. Ch1, sl st into the first sc. Finish off and weave in ends.

We'd love to see your finished blankets, and answer questions you have on our Facebook page!

Top 5 Crochet Techniques and Tricks

Although I've had a very long crochet career, learning how to do chains almost as soon as I could hold a hook, for most of that time my repertoire has been limited to granny squares. These poor old afghans are now coming apart due to bad knots, wonky joins and of course heavy use.

In the last year or so, my crochet capacity has exploded! I can do all sorts of crazy things, and with the help of the internet, I can make my crocheted items look neater and last longer :) For today's blog post, here is a roundup of my 5 top Crochet Techniques and Tricks (in no particular order) that have made all the difference to my work over the last year!

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TOP 5 CROCHET TECHNIQUES AND TRICKS

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#1

Standing Stitches for Starting New Colours

Hate that "Join new colour, 3ch (counts as first dc)" instruction? Me too. Discovering the Standing Stitch technique has made my work so much neater and with fewer knots, and it can be adapted to ANY stitch! Need to start with a triple treble crochet? No problem! 

Here's an excellent tutorial from Moogly on how to do a standing dc stitch: 

http://www.mooglyblog.com/standing-double-crochet-joining/

#2

Invisible Join for Crochet in the Round

To me, the obvious "slip stitch into first dc, cut yarn and pull through" joining in work just looks so ugly now that I've learned how to do an invisible join. I still do that where a piece might come under strain (and when I'm too lazy to finish off ends properly and securely), but for anything on display? This is the way to go!

Dedri at Look What I Made has an excellent tutorial:

http://www.lookatwhatimade.net/crafts/yarn/crochet/crochet-tutorials/crochet-invisible-join-vs-slip-stitch-join/

#3

Invisible Decrease

I'm sensing a theme here... but the invisible decrease is just so wonderful for anything amigurumi (including the little giraffe ears and horns for my Heidi Bears animals)! No more weird stretchy holes for me!

For a fantastic tutorial (pictures, words, videos, right handed and left handed), head over to Planet June:

http://www.planetjune.com/blog/amigurumi-help/invisible-decrease/

#4

Zipped Ladder Stitch Join

If you're looking for a way to join squares for an afghan (or anything else really) where you want to almost pretend that they are joined by magic, this is the join to use! I use this for my Chunky Fitted Wristwarmers pattern, as it makes the join look so neat, and it's reversible! 

Linda Davie has an excellent free tutorial available on Ravelry, and it even covers how to cope with corners!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/zipped-ladder-stitch-tutorial---invisible-join-technique

#5

Chainless Foundation Stitches

I know this is my tutorial, but this way of starting a project was just such a revelation and improvement on trying to work in tiny chains, and managing tension, and blah blah blah. You can do any stitch using the same method, and even irregular starting rows such as for a ripple afghan!

I have a tutorial for half double crochet, but as I said above, the same technique can be used for any starting row stitch!

http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/tutorial-foundation-half-double-crochet.html

Do you have any crochet techniques that you just couldn't live without? Let us know in the comments!