Chaos Blanket Stitches

 

Your Refined 10-Stitch "Chaos Pool"

Stitch	Visual Character
Double Crochet (DC)	Flat & classic
Half Double Crochet (HDC)	Short & solid
Cross Double Crochet	Subtle "X" openings (Standard height)
Granny Stripe	Classic open clusters
Classic V-Stitch	Airy geometric lattice
Spider Stitch	Fine lacy eyelets
Blueberry Puff	Round, cheerful bumps
Lemon Peel Stitch	Fine pebbled, solid texture
Moss Stitch	Fine woven weave
Suzette Stitch	Diagonal textured ridges

 Here are straightforward, row-by-row instructions for each stitch, designed so you can pick up your hook and stitch without overthinking.

Moss Stitch

• Row 1: sc in 4th ch from hook, *ch 1, skip 1 ch, sc in next ch; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 2, sc in the first ch-1 space, *ch 1, sc in next ch-1 space; repeat from * across, working your last sc into the turning space. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Suzette Stitch

• Row 1: [sc, dc] in 2nd ch from hook. *Skip 1 ch, [sc, dc] in next ch; repeat from * across until 2 ch remain. Skip 1 ch, sc in last ch. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, [sc, dc] in first stitch. *Skip next stitch (the dc), [sc, dc] in next stitch (the sc); repeat from * across until 2 stitches remain. Skip 1 st, sc in last st. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Lemon Peel Stitch

• Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, dc in next ch. *sc in next ch, dc in next ch; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, *sc in the dc from row below, dc in the sc from row below; repeat from * across, ending with a dc. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Waffle Stitch

(Best worked over a multiple of 3 stitches + 2)

• Row 1: dc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 2 (counts as dc), *fpdc in next st, dc in next 2 sts; repeat from * across until 2 sts remain. fpdc in next st, dc in last st. Turn.
• Row 3: ch 2, *dc in next st, fpdc in next 2 sts; repeat from * across until 2 sts remain. dc in last 2 sts. Turn.
• Repeat: Rows 2 & 3.

Houndstooth Stitch

(Uses 2 alternating colors: Color A and Color B)

• Row 1 (A): With A, sc in 2nd ch from hook, dc in next ch. *sc in next ch, dc in next ch; repeat from * across. Switch to B on the final pull-through of the last st. Turn.
• Row 2 (B): With B, ch 1, *sc in dc below, dc in sc below; repeat from * across. Switch to A on the final pull-through of the last st. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2, swapping colors at the end of every row.

Star Stitch

(Best worked over an even number of stitches)

• Row 1: Insert hook in 2nd ch from hook and pull up a loop (2 loops on hook). Pull up loops in next 4 chs (6 loops on hook). yarn over and pull through all 6 loops, ch 1 to close (creates the eye of the star). *Pull up loops in: the eye, the side of the last star leg, the chain base of the last leg, and the next 2 chs (6 loops on hook). yarn over, pull through all 6, ch 1; repeat from * across. dc in last ch. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 2, work 2 hdc into the center eye of every star across. End with 1 hdc in the top of the turning chain. Turn.
• Repeat: Rows 1 & 2 (for Row 1 repeats, pull up loops across the hdc stitches below).

Spike Stitch

(Worked on a base of single crochet rows)

• Row 1: ch 1, sc across as normal. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, *sc in next 2 sts, insert hook into the st 2 rows below the next st, pull up a long loop to current height, yarn over and pull through both loops (spike st); repeat from * across. Turn.
• Row 3: ch 1, sc in each st across. Turn.
• Repeat: Rows 2 & 3 (stagger the spike placement every few rows for a scattered look).

Spider Stitch

(Creates a delicate, fine-lacy texture using simple sc and chains)

• Row 1: Work [sc, ch 1, sc] all into the 3rd ch from hook. *Skip 1 ch, [sc, ch 1, sc] in next ch; repeat from * across. sc in last ch. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, skip first 2 sts. *Work [sc, ch 1, sc] directly into the next ch-1 space, skip next 2 sts; repeat from * across. End with 1 sc in the turning chain. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Classic V-Stitch

(Open and breezy with a speed pattern repeat that works up quickly)

• Row 1: Work [dc, ch 1, dc] into 4th ch from hook. *Skip 2 chs, [dc, ch 1, dc] in next ch; repeat from * across until 2 chs remain. Skip 1 ch, dc in last ch. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 3 (counts as dc), *[dc, ch 1, dc] directly into the ch-1 space of the "V" below; repeat from * across. End with 1 dc in top of turning chain. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Sedge Stitch

(A plush, diagonal shell look that stays completely flat and doesn't pull in)

• Row 1: Work [sc, hdc, dc] all into 2nd ch from hook. *Skip 2 chs, [sc, hdc, dc] in next ch; repeat from * across until 3 chs remain. Skip 2 chs, sc in last ch. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, [sc, hdc, dc] in the first sc. *Skip next 2 sts (dc and hdc), [sc, hdc, dc] in next st (the sc); repeat from * across until 3 sts remain. Skip 2 sts, sc in last st. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Block Stitch (Elizabeth/Parrish)

(Creates crisp, square graphic grids that match granny stripe rows perfectly)

• Row 1: ch 1, sc in first st. *ch 2, skip 2 sts, sc in next st; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 3 (counts as dc), work 3 dc into each ch-2 space across. End with 1 dc in last sc. Turn.
• Row 3: ch 1, sc between first dc and the 3-dc block. *ch 2, sc into the space between 3-dc blocks; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Repeat: Rows 2 & 3.

Cross Double Crochet (Criss-Cross Stitch)

(Creates subtle "X" motifs across the row with standard double crochet tension)

• Row 1: ch 3 (counts as dc), skip first st. *Skip next st, dc in following st, dc in the skipped st (crossing over the front of the st just made); repeat from * across until 1 st remains. dc in last st. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 3, skip first st. *Skip next st, dc in following st, dc in skipped st; repeat from * across until 1 st remains. dc in top of turning chain. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Herringbone Half Double Crochet (HHDC)

(A slight twist on regular hdc that tilts the stitch to make a woven herringbone texture)

• Row 1: Insert hook into 3rd ch from hook, yarn over and pull up a loop, pull that first loop straight through the second loop on your hook (2 loops remain), yarn over, pull through remaining 2 loops (hhdc made). Work hhdc in each ch across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 2, hhdc in each st across. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Extended Single Crochet (ESC)

(Slightly taller than a single crochet, producing a remarkably soft, drape-friendly row that matches your hdc rows)

• Row 1: Insert hook in 2nd ch from hook, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through 1 loop (creates a chain base), yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops (esc made). Work esc in each ch across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, esc in each st across. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Rice Stitch

(Combines front-post single crochet with standard double crochet for a tiny textured seed pattern that stays totally flat)

• Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, dc in next ch. *sc in next ch, dc in next ch; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, *fpsc (front-post single crochet) around the sc below, dc into the dc below; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Griddle Stitch (Lemon Peel Var. / Alternating SC/DC)

(Works as a straight grid pattern rather than staggered, giving a clean textured stripe)

• Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, dc in next ch. *sc in next ch, dc in next ch; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, *sc directly into the sc below, dc directly into the dc below; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Mini Berry Stitch

(Creates tiny, dense bumps that stand out against flat rows without pulling in like heavy bobbles or puff stitches)

• Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, *sc in first st, work berry st in next st [insert hook, YO, pull up loop, ch 1, YO, insert in same st, YO, pull up loop, YO, pull through all 5 loops boundary]; repeat from * across, ending with sc. Turn.
• Row 3: ch 1, sc in each st across. Turn.
• Repeat: Rows 2 & 3.

Shell Stitch (5-DC Shell)

(Creates rhythmic scalloped waves that match the exact height and width of double crochet rows)

• Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook. *Skip 2 ch, 5 dc in next ch, skip 2 ch, sc in next ch; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 3 (counts as dc), 2 dc in first sc (half shell). *sc in center dc of next shell, 5 dc in next sc; repeat from * across, ending with 3 dc in last sc. Turn.
• Row 3: ch 1, sc in first dc. *5 dc in next sc, sc in center dc of next shell; repeat from * across, ending with sc in top of turning chain. Turn.
• Repeat: Rows 2 & 3.

Alternate Single Crochet (Flax / Granule Stitch)

(Worked entirely in single crochet by alternating front-loop and back-loop placements to build subtle horizontal ridges)

• Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, *sc in front loop only (FLO) of first st, sc in back loop only (BLO) of next st; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Row 3: ch 1, *sc in BLO of first st, sc in FLO of next st; repeat from * across. Turn.
• Repeat: Rows 2 & 3.

Wide Half Double Crochet (HDC Between Posts)

(Looks like standard hdc, but working into the space between stitches instead of the loops creates a rich, woven weave that doesn't cinch)

• Row 1: hdc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 2 (counts as hdc), *hdc into the space between the next two hdc posts (below the top loops); repeat from * across, working last hdc between final st and turning chain. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

Trinity Stitch

(Creates star-like clusters by working a single sc3tog across three stitches, maintaining a perfectly flat baseline)

• Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook. Insert hook into same ch and pull up loop, pull up loop in next ch, pull up loop in following ch (4 loops on hook), YO and pull through all 4 loops, ch 1 to close. *Insert hook in same ch as last leg of previous st and pull up loop, pull up loop in next 2 chs (4 loops on hook), YO, pull through all 4, ch 1; repeat from * across, ending with 1 sc in last ch. Turn.
• Row 2: ch 1, sc in first st. Work Trinity cluster starting in same st as first sc, pulling up loops across next 2 sts, ch 1 to close; repeat across, ending with 1 sc in last st. Turn.
• Repeat: Row 2.

 

October 2024 Handwork

Completed Projects: 

Groovy Gert

for Homeless Blanket Project

Finished afghan:  

129 sts. per row/ 53 stripes in length

.

Marigold Blanket with Larksfoot Crochet Stitch

 Marigold Blanket - I Like Crochet

Looks like a great pattern to try for my next Homeless Blanket!

I've saved the printed pattern on my home computer under "Patterns."

Homeless Afghan/Blanket #11 - The Kandinsky

I was "on the road" and only had bits of yarn and some light gray.  So I started crocheting 2-rounds of light gray, adding small balls (to use them up) of colors, 2 rows, then 2 more rows,

Decided I didn't want to finish with gray, I'd replace with putty, which I think I like a bit better.  The rest of the squares will have putty centers.  Oh well, won't be very noticeable, I'm thinking....

Michael's Putty

Amigurumi Octopus

Well...I have three buddies who are all learning to crochet.  All are super animal lovers and want to learn how to crochet little animals.  So I told them I'd teach them!

On Ravelry, I looked for a simple pattern that wouldn't frustrate anyone, and found this adorable octopus pattern by Sarah Hearn, found free on her blog!  Her blog is Esshaych.com and the pattern is found there. 

It calls for double knit, or light worsted weight yarn and a size E hook.  Easy peasy!  Our lesson/get-together will be a week from Tuesday, and hopefully I'll have some photos to show afterwards!  All I need to find are the buttons for eyes.

37. Hot as Puck by Lili Valente

listened to audio on Chirp
narrated by Tyler Donne & Summer Roberts
Unabridged audio (6:39)
2017 Self-taught Ninja
330 pgs.
Adult Steamy Romance
Finished 2/25/2020
Goodreads rating:  4.04 - 4722 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Contemporary Portland,Oregon

First line/s:  "This is it, the night I'll look back on in fifty or sixty years and stab a finger at as the moment my life changed forever."

My comments:  This book was just plain fun.  A compassionate kindergarten teacher and a crocheting pro hockey hunk who have grown up next door to each other finally get together.  Lots of story and lots of super steam, a really cute book.  It's certainly not an Amish tale!!!  Would never be considered great literature, but it gets a five for entertainment value...and ooh la la, the cover!

Goodreads synopsis: The NHL's biggest bad boy is about to fall for the virgin next door...
          I am the world's biggest dating failure. We're talking my last date went home with our waitress kind of failure.
          But I have an ace in the back pocket of my mom jeans--my sexy-as-sin best friend, NHL superstar forward, Justin Cruise.
          Justin owes me favors dating back to seventh grade, long before he became a hotshot with a world famous...stick. So in return for my undying platonic loyalty, all I want is an easy-peasy crash course on how to be a sex goddess.
          How hard can it be?
    ***
          I have never been so hard in my life.
          The things I want to do to my sweet, kindergarten-teaching, mitten-crocheting best friend Libby Collins are ten different kinds of wrong. Maybe twenty.
          But I'm a firm believer in teaching by example, and by the end of our first lesson, we've graduated to a hands on approach to her education: my hands all over her, her hands all over me, and her hot mouth melting beneath mine as I prove to her there isn't a damned thing wrong with the way she kisses.
          Give me a month, and I'll transform Libby from wall flower to wall banger, and ensure she's confident enough to seduce any guy she wants.
          Problem is... the only guy I want her seducing is me.
          Hot as Puck is a sexy, flirty, friends-to-lovers Standalone romantic comedy from USA Today Bestseller Lili Valente.

Projects - Using Up Leftover Yarns

     I'm trying to greatly reduce my yarn collection - it takes up one complete wall in my junk room.  I filled one huge garbage back with stuff that I knew I'd never use and gave it to Tucscon Yarn Shop during their  Dollar a Pound in March.  But I still had lots and lots of great  yarn left; single balls, big and little, of all sorts of yarn - specialty yarn, fuzzy yarn, thin yarn, fat yarn.  What should I do with it all?
     I came up with a brainstorm that has really worked for me, and for my fourth graders who love love love to work with their hands. So many kids try to learn to crochet, but their fine motor skills and low frustration levels keep them from persevering until they've learned it.  However, I've discovered through the years that the kids can learn to chain.  And chain.  And chain some more.  But I've never come up with a decent way of USING those miles of chains.  Until this year.
   

     Rugs.  We make rugs.  We've completed four rugs - bathroom rugs - for Ronald McDonald House.  First I tie pieces of yarn together - pieces that range in length from 12 inches to 12 yards.  I tie them with a triple knot, leaving about a 1-inch end.  We don't do anything with those ends, they stick out and look just fine (thank goodness).  If the yarn is thinner than worsted, I add something to it.....another skinny yarn, crochet cotton, even thick threads.  It doesn't really matter, that's the great thing about these rugs.
     Then the kids take the balls of yarn I've wound and chain using an H hook.  Some of them chain really (REALLY) tightly.  Some chain very loosely.  Some learn to chain to gauge!  It doesn't matter, it all works!
     And what's the final step?  It's fast and easy, and the perfect thing for me to do during recess duty or staff meetings.  I knit the rugs using the crocheted chain and a size 19 circular knitting needle.  The knit up fast.  They are ultra-soft and pretty darn cool to look at.  We've even had requests to sell them!
     Some are totally multi-colored, some are cut bits and pieces from just three or four skeins. Some are all done in a coordinating colorway.  I'm currently knitting my 10th rug and am getting low on yarn (I never thought that would happen!)  But parents are so happy to see their kids crocheting, that they've been happily donating more yarn.
     I'll take some photos on Monday of some of the kids crocheting and add them to this blog.  Yee ha, what fun!

65. Yarn Bombing - Mandy Moore & Leanne Prain

The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti
Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, 2009
paper, $19.95
(TPPL 746.43 M7851y)
230 pages

I stumbled across this book last Sunday as I wandered through the Valdez/Main Library in downtown Tucson. I don't go there much, you have to park underneath in this huge echoing parking garage. But I do love, on an occasional Sunday, to drive up and down the uncrowded-Sunday-downtown-Tucson streets, not worrying if you make a wrong turn, and watching the oneway signs with a little more ease since it's not as busy as other times.

That being said, this book fit perfectly with my mood. And I've taken all week to read through it and check it out. This is all new to me. And newS to me. I want to see this myself! How could I possible have been missing it? I KNOW I would notice knit or crocheted pieces decorating a lamp pole, or car antenna, or chain-link fence. And sure, I've never been to Sweden (where it appears a lot of this takes place), but I have been all over the U.S., where it looks like it's been happening, too. I think it's time for me to begin a Tucson trend.....

What is yarn bombing? What is crochet and knit graffiti? Just what it sounds like! The easiest way to explain is to quote directly from the book:

On city street corners all over the world, yarn graffiti artists snake their work around telephone poles, wrap it through barbed wire, and flip cozies onto car antennas. Originally started in Houston, Texas by a crew named Knitta Please (a.k.a. Knitta), there is now an international guerrilla knitting movement embraced by artists of all ages and nationalities. Knit and crochet graffiti has been seen in countries from Canada to Chile to China. This book has been written to inspire you to take up the needles (or hooks) and join us in world yarn domination!

Merging the disciplines of installation art, needlework, and street art, yarn bombing takes many forms. It generally involves the act of attaching a handmade item to a street fixture or leaving it in the landscape; however, this varies from artist to artist. Yarn graffiti can be aw complex as a sweater that has been created to cover a statue or as simple as a crocheted rectangle wrapped around a lamp post. Some artists tag items as tiny as door handles, others create works large enough to cover a public monument.

Yarn Bombing blog (written by the authors of this book).
An austratlian fiber artists "bombs" a VW bug!
The Knitted Mile - installed in Dallas, Texas this very weekend, 9/25 & 26, I think....