LC's Crochet Lab

Tag: Right Handed

  • Pixel Stitch – Right Handed

    Pixel Stitch – Right Handed

    In this post I’ll be covering how to crochet what I call the pixel stitch. I came across a version of this stitch on Pinterest worked in the round, and modified it to be used mirrored in rows for crochet tapestries!

    If you’re not familiar with the concept of mirror crochet, I’ve done a tutorial on a mirrored single crochet stitch that you can use to learn the concept. There may be other names for this idea, but what is essentially happening is you’re crocheting as if you were working with your non-dominant hand so the fronts of your stitches are all on the same side when working in rows. You can do this without changing which hand you hold your hook in by just going in through the back of your work on wrong side rows. I’ll show you exactly how to mirror this stitch in this post.

    If you’re left handed, you can check out that tutorial here, or if you prefer a video tutorial, check that out here.

    The Pixel Stitch

    To begin with this stitch, you’re going to want to chain the number of stitches you want plus one. So if you want to work a row of 30 stitches, you’ll chain 31. You may want to size up your hook for this starting chain as well, since the first row tends to be a bit tighter than subsequent ones.

    This stitch is worked through two stitches, similar to a decrease.

    Working the first row

    The first row is definitely one of the harder parts of this stitch. I’ll show you the setup, but if you’re having trouble with the stitch I recommend looking at the next section to see how the stitch is worked into existing rows- it might make it a bit easier to understand.

    Make sure you keep track of the second chain from your hook. We’ll start by working around or under our starting chain to pull up a loop.

    Now, go into the second chain from your hook and pull up a loop. You should have three loops on your hook at this point.

    You’re now going to pull that loop you just pulled up through the middle loop on your hook.

    Now, yarn over and pull through the remaining two loops on your hook.

    That’s one stitch done! The starts of rows are the trickiest. To work the next stitch, you’re going to go back into the previous chain you worked into- the second chain from your hook. Pull up a loop.

    Now, work into the next chain and pull a loop through this chain and the first loop on your hook.

    Now yarn over and pull through both loops.

    You’ll continue like this across the row- starting in the previous stitch you worked into before going into the next, unworked stitch.

    Working at the start of a row

    I make my first stitch also a pixel stitch worked around my starting chain and into the first stitch of my row. It’s a little tricky, but it works, and it’s what makes rows of pixel stitch a consistent length since this stitch is worked through two stitches!

    This stitch has a chain one turning chain, so make sure you have that done before starting your row.

    Now, you’re going to go around and behind this turning chain to pick up a loop. This is your “previous stitch” if you were working in the middle of a row.

    Now go into the first stitch of your row and pull a loop through that stitch and the first loop on your hook.

    Pull a loop through the two stitches on your hook.

    That’s how I do the starts of my rows! It’s definitely a bit tricky, but it keeps everything looking consistent.

    Working in the middle of a row

    When working this stitch, you’ll be working into the previous and next stitch, just like we did into the starting chain with the first row. These stitches are marked on the image below.

    Start by inserting your hook into the previous stitch and pulling up a loop.

    Now insert your hook into the next stitch, and pull a loop through this stitch and the first loop on your hook.

    Finish the stitch by pulling a loop through both loops on your hook.

    That’s the stitch! You’ll always be working into the previous and the next stitch, so if you work in all stitches across the row, you’ll end up with one fewer stitch than the previous row. I make sure that I end with the same number of stitches as I started with by doing that modified stitch at the start of my rows.

    Mirroring the Stitch (Wrong Side Rows)

    When working the wrong side rows, we need to mirror the stitch to put the fronts on the same side. If this stitch isn’t mirrored, the pixels don’t work! You can find a tutorial on how to mirror a single crochet stitch here if you’re unfamiliar with the technique.

    To mirror this stitch we’re going to be following a very similar process to mirroring a single crochet. Usually when you do a yarn over and pull the loop through your work, the mouth of your hook will turn towards you, or towards the front of your work. To mirror this, we’ll be inserting our hook through the back of our work and turning the mouth of the hook away from us.

    Starting a mirrored row

    The first stitch in our mirrored rows is worked similarly to the first stitches in our non-mirrored rows. I like to turn my work so that my working yarn is on the side of my work that’s facing me- it tends to make the first loop easier to grab in my experience.

    Start by working around your turning chain to pull a loop to the back (right side) of your work. I don’t tend to worry as much about mirroring this loop properly since it’s already tricky to pull up a loop.

    Now, insert your hook through the back of your next stitch.

    Lay the yarn over your hook and turn the mouth of your hook away from you as you pull up a loop.

    Pull that loop through the middle loop on your hook. I like to do this by turning the mouth of my hook towards me since it’s more natural.

    Lay the yarn over your hook, and turn it away from you as you pull a loop through the last two stitches.

    The middle of a mirrored row

    Begin by inserting your hook in the previous stitch through the back of your work. Lay the yarn over your hook and turn your hook away from you to pull the loop through the stitch.

    Repeat that for the next stitch. Insert your hook through the back of your work, lay the yarn over your hook, and turn it away from you as you pull it through.

    Pull that second loop through the first one.

    To finish the stitch, lay the yarn over your hook one more time, and turn your hook away from you to catch it and pull it through both loops on your hook.

    And that’s how you mirror this stitch! You’ll be alternating mirrored and non-mirrored rows to ensure the fronts of your stitches are all on the same side.

    Final notes

    This stitch centers each row on top of the previous one, likely due to working in two stitches at once. This centering is most obvious when you compare a 1×1 checkerboard using single crochet and the pixel stitch (the upper right sections of the tapestries below).

    If you look at the single crochet example, you can see that although the pattern was worked in a checkerboard, the resulting design seems more like zigzags.

    The pixel stitch on the other hand actually shows the checkerboard that the stitches are actually worked in.

    I color change with this stitch in the same way I would for any other stitch- by making the last loop you pull up in your new color. This does leave some peek through of other colors, so there might be a better way to color change that mitigates this, but I think this method still works pretty well!

    These stitches are also slightly taller than square! It doesn’t tend to be super obvious, but it is something to note.

    I hope you find this stitch useful in your tapestries or whatever else you use it for!

  • Four Stitch Tube – Right Handed

    Four Stitch Tube – Right Handed

    Sometimes I like to make crochet tubes for limbs or hair, but sometimes the tube that works best is four stitches around, and kind of a pain to make. In this post, I’ll show you how I work into a four stitch magic circle while ensuring that my work is flipped right side out.

    If you’re left handed, you can find that tutorial here, or if you prefer a video tutorial you can check that out here.

    Tutorial

    Start by making a magic circle with four stitches.

    I don’t put a stitch marker in yet since it tends to get in the way. Sc 3 in your second round.

    Your tube will begin to form, but it’s likely to be inside out at this point. You can tell based on where the tail from your magic circle is- if the tail is on the outside of the tube, you’ve got your tube inside out

    This is the point where I flip my piece right side out. I’ve found that 3 stitches is the sweet spot where I can still flip the tube right side out but not have it flip itself back the other way with the next stitches worked. This may be a bit tricky, so it could help to use your crochet hook or something similar to push the tube right side out.

    The next stitch can be a bit tricky to find with how tight these rounds tend to be worked, but find it and work a final sc into that stitch.

    From here on out you’re good to go! You can place your stitch marker in if you want, but I tend to just crochet until my tube is as long as I want it and not pay attention to round starts.

    That’s all there is to it! I hope this helps you with any of your tiny tube needs!

  • Slip Stitched Joints – Right Handed

    This is a technique I’ve used for years to add built-in joints to my crochet designs. You don’t have to cut and reattach your yarn at all, which is a bonus! Everything is worked as one continuous piece.

    If you’re left handed, you can find that tutorial here, or if you prefer a video tutorial, you can check that out here.

    This technique is definitely a little funky, but is super intuitive once you understand what’s going on. Make sure to pay close attention to the instructions, and refer to the video if you need to!

    The Setup

    There are three things you need to have or do to use this technique properly:

    1. Even stitch count rounds
    2. Start at the side of the limb
    3. Face the back of the joint

    I’ve also only used this technique when working a limb bottom up (so working from hand to shoulder, or from foot to hip), but there shouldn’t be any issue with this technique being used for a top down limb.

    In the following examples, I’ll be using a leg and foot to make it clearer what parts of the limb should be facing towards or away from you.

    Even stitch count rounds

    In order to use this technique, you must have an even number of stitches in your round. We’re going to be pinching the joint shut by crocheting through two stitches at once, one in the back of the limb, and one in the front. Since these stitches get paired, we need an even number to work this properly!

    It’s likely possible to do this with an odd number of stitches in your round, but it’s definitely easier to do if your stitch count is even.

    Start at the side of the limb

    You’re going to want to make sure that when you pinch your round shut, the last stitch you worked is at the end of your pinch point. Correct and incorrect examples of this are shown below.

    Correct starting location
    Incorrect starting location

    You may have to add or remove stitches from your limb in order to start in the proper position.

    Face the back of the joint

    Before starting, make sure you’re facing the back of the joint. You want to be working facing the part of the joint that will be compressed when bent. For legs, this means facing the back of the leg, and for arms, this means facing the front of the arm.

    The joints created through this technique like to bend one way more than the other. Making sure you’re starting at the back of the joint, in the compressing section, ensures that your joint bends in the correct direction!

    Creating the joint

    Set yourself up for your joint using the setup tips above. Also, make sure to stuff your limb before starting- we’re crocheting this part shut, so you won’t be able to add stuffing later!

    I’m working a knee joint, so I’m going to start at the side of the leg, with my next stitches going into the back of the leg.

    I’ll also be placing a stitch marker in the front loop of the last stitch I worked, which will help us later.

    1. Slip stitch across in the back loops

    We’ll be closing the limb by slip stitching through pairs of stitches in their back loops. These stitches are paired up by being adjacent when the round is pinched shut

    Begin by inserting your hook into the back loop of the next stitch.

    Now, insert your hook through the back loop of the last stitch of your round- this is the stitch I marked earlier. Go through this loop back to front.

    Slip stitch through both of these stitches. That’s our first pair connected!

    Continue this process for all subsequent pairs of stitches, closing up the round. In the image below, you can see lines marking how my stitches are paired for the rest of this step.

    You’ll go through the back loop in the next stitch facing you, then the back loop of the next stitch facing away from you.

    In total, you’ll have slip stitched half the total stitch count of your round- there were 10 stitches in my round, so I had 5 total slip stitches.

    2. Single crochet in the front loops

    Now we build our round back up around this seam. There are a couple ways to figure out where your first single crochet should be.

    The easiest is to use the stitch marker and count back half your stitches in the round. For my round of 10, I’m starting with the stitch that’s marked and counting back 5 stitches. This locates the last stitch you worked into with your slip stitches, and is where we want to work.

    Once you find that stitch, work a single crochet into it. Continue working single crochets in the leftover front loops all the way around the limb. You’ll have the same number of stitches in your round as you had before working the joint.

    You can now continue the limb by working in continuous rounds!

    Final thoughts

    The major thing to note with this technique is it puts the starts of your rounds 180 degrees away from where they were before you worked the joint. This means that you may not be able to incorporate this technique into existing patterns like you can with the layered rounds technique.

  • Layered Rounds – Right Handed

    Layered Rounds – Right Handed

    In this post, we’ll cover how to layer rounds in a crochet project to add a bit of depth to a project. This technique allows a layer to be added to a crochet item without modifying the underlying pattern!

    If you’re left handed, you can find that tutorial here, or if you prefer a video tutorial, you can check that out here.

    The setup

    First, make the piece to be overlapped. Make sure you work up through the round to be overlapped. In this example, I want round 9 to be overlapped, so I make what I’ll call my “existing piece” through round 9.

    You can cut the yarn for this piece. Don’t sew the end in though- leave it free. It’ll make it easier to work through the stitches in this piece later on.

    Making the Overlapping Ring

    First, we need to make the overlapping layer. This round will have the same stitch count as the round we’re looking to overlap. In this example, we’re overlapping a round of 24 stitches, so we need this overlapping layer to be 24 stitches as well.

    Make a chain the same length as the number of stitches in the round to be overlapped (chain 24, in this example).

    Now, making sure the chain isn’t twisted, slip stitch into the back bump of the first chain, closing the chain into a loop.

    Chain 1, and single crochet into the same bump you slip stitched into.

    Now crochet around the chain loop, placing a single crochet in the back bumps of each chain.

    For this example, you’ll end up with 24 total stitches in your round.

    If you’re struggling to crochet in the back bumps of your chain, or otherwise don’t want to do that, you can always crochet into the top of your chain. I just prefer the look of working into the back bumps.

    Connecting the Pieces

    In this round, we’ll be connecting both pieces together by crocheting through both of them at once.

    Start by finding the first stitch of your ring. Insert your hook into this stitch.

    Maneuver the outer layer so that your hook is going through the middle of the ring. This makes it easier to go through the existing piece.

    Now, find the first stitch of your existing piece. Insert your hook into this stitch as well.

    Move your hook back through the middle of the outer ring. Your hook is now going through both the ring and the existing piece, with the yarn also going towards the middle of the ring. It should look like the image below. This ensures that nothing gets wrapped up incorrectly.

    Now, complete a single crochet through both of these rounds at once to connect them.

    The connecting layer

    The connecting layer that we’ve started will follow the next round in whatever pattern you’re working from. For example, in this post, the overlapping layer is round 9, so our connecting round is round 10. I’d follow the instructions for round 10 of the pattern I’m working from when connecting the two pieces together.

    If your connecting round is worked by just single crocheting around the piece, this step is really simple. Continue single crocheting through both layers at once, first inserting your hook through the outer layer, then through the existing piece.

    If your connecting layer

    Increasing in the connecting round

    If your connecting round has increases, simply do a single crochet through the same stitches as you just worked to increase. Make sure you still go through both the outer layer and the existing piece!

    Decreasing in the connecting round

    If your connecting round has decreases, what I suggest is to invisible decrease in both the outer layer and existing piece.

    To do this, first set up an invisible decrease for the outer layer (tutorial here) by putting your hook through the front loops of the next two stitches. Don’t actually stitch into this- just keep the loops on your hook!

    Now, set up an invisible decrease on the existing piece. This can be a little tricky.

    Your hook should be going through the front loops of 4 stitches at this point- first on the outer layer, then on the existing piece. Now, complete a single crochet through these loops.

    Continuing the pattern

    You can now continue your pattern as normal! In this example, my overlapping round was round 9, my connecting round was round 10, so I’ll pick my pattern back up starting from round 11.

    The fact that we’re able to follow the pattern exactly as written except for the addition of this outer round is something I think is really neat and useful for adding a little bit more detail and texture to patterns you might come across.

  • Mirrored Single Crochet – Left Handed

    Mirrored Single Crochet – Left Handed

    In this post, we’ll cover how to do a mirrored single crochet. This is a fairly niche technique that allows us to crochet as if we were using our non-dominant hand without learning to crochet right-handed. That said, this can be really awkward to do at first, but is incredibly useful when switching between working in continuous rounds and working in rows to mitigate the texture difference between the two.

    Comparison of normal sc and mirrored sc- on the right mirrored rows and normal rows alternate to keep the fronts of the single crochets on the same side.

    If you’re right handed, check that tutorial out here, and if you prefer a video tutorial, you can find that here.

    Single Crochet

    First I want to look at how a single crochet is worked in a little more depth so that we can ensure that our mirrored stitches are exactly matching how we’d work a normal single crochet.

    When we grab our yarn while working a single crochet, we turn the hook towards us, or towards the front of our work.

    This means that when we work a mirrored stitch, we want to turn the hook away from us.

    Mirroring the stitch

    Since we’re treating this as if it’s being worked with our other hand, we want to go into the next stitch through the back of our work. This will end up being the front of our mirrored stitch.

    We then lay the yarn over the hook, and grab it by turning the hook away from us.

    We pull that loop up to get two loops on our hook.

    We now do the same thing to complete the mirrored stitch. Lay the yarn over the hook, and grab it by turning the hook away. Pull this loop through both loops on your hook.

    That’s how we work a mirrored single crochet! This can be applied to other stitches as well. Pay close attention to how your hook moves while working as you normally would, and mirror it as we’ve done here. If you’re having trouble figuring out the mirrored version of a stitch, what I’ve done is taken a video from the back of my work to watch how the yarn and hook move on the back side. This allows me to see how the back of my work looks as I crochet it, and to copy that as I work facing the back in the mirrored version.

  • Mirrored Single Crochet – Right Handed

    Mirrored Single Crochet – Right Handed

    In this post, we’ll cover how to do a mirrored single crochet. This is a fairly niche technique that allows us to crochet as if we were using our non-dominant hand without learning to crochet left-handed. That said, this can be really awkward to do at first, but is incredibly useful when switching between working in continuous rounds and working in rows to mitigate the texture difference between the two.

    Comparison of mirrored sc and normal sc- on the left mirrored rows and normal rows alternate to keep the fronts of the single crochets on the same side.

    If you’re left handed, check that tutorial out here, and if you prefer a video tutorial, you can find that here.

    Single Crochet

    First I want to look at how a single crochet is worked in a little more depth so that we can ensure that our mirrored stitches are exactly matching how we’d work a normal single crochet.

    When we grab our yarn while working a single crochet, we turn the hook towards us, or towards the front of our work.

    This means that when we work a mirrored stitch, we want to turn the hook away from us.

    Mirroring the stitch

    Since we’re treating this as if it’s being worked with our other hand, we want to go into the next stitch through the back of our work. This will end up being the front of our mirrored stitch.

    We then lay the yarn over the hook, and grab it by turning the hook away from us.

    We pull that loop up to get two loops on our hook.

    We now do the same thing to complete the mirrored stitch. Lay the yarn over the hook, and grab it by turning the hook away. Pull this loop through both loops on your hook.

    That’s how we work a mirrored single crochet! This can be applied to other stitches as well. Pay close attention to how your hook moves while working as you normally would, and mirror it as we’ve done here. If you’re having trouble figuring out the mirrored version of a stitch, what I’ve done is taken a video from the back of my work to watch how the yarn and hook move on the back side. This allows me to see how the back of my work looks as I crochet it, and to copy that as I work facing the back in the mirrored version.

  • Invisible Decrease – Left Handed

    Invisible Decrease – Left Handed

    In this post, we’ll cover how to do an invisible decrease. This stitch is often used in amigurumi or other patterns worked in continuous rounds because it creates a stitch that is less visible than a traditional single crochet decrease.

    If you’re left handed, you can find that tutorial here, or if you prefer a video tutorial you can find that here.

    Working the invisible decrease

    This stitch really only works in continuous rounds due to the way the stitches overlap. We’re working into the front stitches of the two stitches we want to decrease into, marked in the image below.

    Put your hook through the front loop of the first stitch.

    Now put your hook through the front loop of the second stitch.

    Your hook is now through the front loops of the two stitches we want to decrease through. We do this by working a single crochet through them both. Yarn over and pull a loop through both of these front loops.

    Now, yarn over and pull through both loops on your hook.

    And that’s all there is to an invisible decrease! You can also do this with more than just 2 stitches if you need to- I tend to use 3 stitch decreases when I’m making a cube shape.

  • Invisible Decrease – Right Handed

    Invisible Decrease – Right Handed

    In this post, we’ll cover how to do an invisible decrease. This stitch is often used in amigurumi or other patterns worked in continuous rounds because it creates a stitch that is less visible than a traditional single crochet decrease.

    If you’re left handed, you can find that tutorial here, or if you prefer a video tutorial you can find that here.

    Working the invisible decrease

    This stitch really only works in continuous rounds due to the way the stitches overlap. We’re working into the front stitches of the two stitches we want to decrease into, marked in the image below.

    Put your hook through the front loop of the first stitch.

    Now put your hook through the front loop of the second stitch.

    Your hook is now through the front loops of the two stitches we want to decrease through. We do this by working a single crochet through them both. Yarn over and pull a loop through both of these front loops.

    Now, yarn over and pull through both loops on your hook.

    And that’s all there is to an invisible decrease! You can also do this with more than just 2 stitches if you need to- I tend to use 3 stitch decreases when I’m making a cube shape.

  • FSC Into Existing Piece – Right Handed

    FSC Into Existing Piece – Right Handed

    In this post, we’ll cover how to use a foundation single crochet (fsc) to extend an existing crochet piece. This is great for creating 90° corners on flat pieces, or creating branching in a 3D piece.

    If you aren’t familiar with foundation single crochets, you can find a tutorial for them here.

    If you prefer a video tutorial, you can find that here, and if you’re left handed you can find that tutorial here.

    Working into an existing piece

    The foundation single crochet is worked the same as normal, but the difference is where we begin the stitch. We aren’t working into a chain or into another foundation stitch, since we already have a piece we’re working on.

    To extend a piece with foundation single crochet at the end of a row, you’ll insert your hook back into the last stitch and pull up a loop, as if you’re doing an increase

    Now, you’ll yarn over and pull through just one loop on your hook.

    Then you’ll yarn over and pull through both loops.

    That point where we pull a loop through just one loop on our hook is essentially creating a chain at the bottom of the current row we’re working into. This keeps the fsc’s we’re using to extend this piece in line with the existing row. If we were to chain at the end of this row and work back, we’d be extending on the other side of our row. Using a chain at the start of a row and fsc’s at the end can allow you to make more of a T shape in your piece, with the chain and fsc’s keeping all stitches in line.

  • Foundation Single Crochet – Right Handed

    Foundation Single Crochet – Right Handed

    Foundation stitches allow you to make the first row of your crochet work without a starting chain, as well as extend an existing piece (more on that here!). They don’t always work for everything, and they don’t have as clean of an edge as if you were to work in the back bumps of a starting chain, but they’re a great tool to have in your crochet toolbelt.

    This post focuses on a foundation single crochet, but at the end we’ll also cover using this technique to do the foundation version of other stitches.

    If you prefer a video tutorial, you can find that here, and if you’re left handed you can find that tutorial here.

    Working the First Stitch

    Start with a slip knot on your hook and chain 2.

    Insert your hook into the second chain from your hook, and pull up a loop.

    Yarn over, and pull through the first loop on your hook. This step is what allows us to extend our single crochets into a foundation stitch- it sort of turns the loop we pulled up into a chain.

    Now, yarn over, and pull through both loops on your hook.

    That’s the start of our foundation single crochet!

    Working the Next Stitches

    The process for working a foundation single crochet is the same as for the first stitch, but we’re going to be working in the bottom of the previous foundation stitch.

    Insert your hook into the bottom of the previous foundation single crochet. This is the loop that I mentioned acted as a chain in our first stitch, and is indicated in the image below.

    From here on, the steps to work a foundation single crochet are the same as the first stitch. Pull up a loop.

    Yarn over, and pull through one loop on your hook.

    Yarn over and pull through both loops on your hook.

    For Other Stitches

    The process for working other stitches in a foundation-like way is the same as for single crochet. Start with a chain of length turning chain + 1, as if you’re working a row of 1 stitch. For double crochet, since it requires a turning chain of 3, this means chaining 4.

    You’ll then go into the first chain as if you’re making a row of one stitch. For double crochet, this means yarning over, inserting your hook into that first chain, and pulling up a loop.

    You’re then going to yarn over and pull a loop through one loop on your hook. Again, this is creating the “chain” for our foundation stitches. From there you complete your stitch as normal.