It’s simple, honestly!

I am here to show you today that it’s not that hard at all to make a magic ring in just a few steps. Promise, I got you. I am going to show you how to make a magic ring in crochet.

Materials Needed

1. Yarn. Worsted-weight (Medium 4) yarn is a great yarn to practice on.
2. Crochet hook. 5mm works with a worsted-weight yarn.
3. Tapestry needle for weaving in your ends.

How to Make a Magic Ring: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Loop your yarn with the end in the front. For now, just make sure you have the right set-up. It’s okay if you do it wrong the first time! I usually have to do this part at least twice.

Step 2: Pinch the yan between your thumb and your middle finger where the yarn crosses over itself.

Next up, Step 3: Push the crochet hook through the center of the ring and bring a loop up. It will be loose at this point. You’re going to secure the loop with the next step.

Step 4: Chain one to lock in the ring. If your Magic Ring’s first round is double crochet, you’ll want to chain two.

Step 5: Now you’ll crochet your first round. Crochet into the loop made by securing the loop, that’s your magic ring. Make sure your stitch encases both strings. The example is 8 single crochets.

Step 6: Join your stitches to the first stitch with a slip stitch. You might have to pull the short string a little so it can easily be joined.

It should look something like this. There is a noticeable hole in the middle, but that’s where the magic part of the magic ring comes into play.

Step 7: The magic! Pull the short string taut so the hole in the center disappears. This is the magic of the magic ring.

Step 8: Weave in ends. With a tapestry needle, thread the short string. Weave through the entire hole and then back the other way to really lock the end in place. You want to really secure this end. Otherwise, the hole could start to come open in the future.

Et Voilà!

And there you have it. Magic Ring, done! Hopefully, this technique tutorial will help you if you’re just learning to crochet or just branching out into crocheting things that require magic ring! There are other methods. But this way works and it’s easy. The magic ring sounds harder than it actually is. If you want to crochet amigurumi you’ll need to know how to make a magic ring in crochet, so practice until you have this down! You can do it!

Crochet Techniques

I post about crochet techniques that have given me trouble in the past, and I’m hoping my experience can help you to learn and perfect your skills as a crocheter.

Crochet Patterns

I also have a few crochet patterns that you might want to look through. Crochet is my passion!

The post How to Make a Magic Ring in Crochet appeared first on Fae’s Journal.

What was happening?

The herringbones in my Raised Herringbone crochet stitches kept ending up off-center. I thought I was following the pattern correctly. I finally found my error. Usually, when I encounter a difficulty like this I figure I cannot be the only one who has had this issue.

User Error

Sometimes, the creator writes patterns that are clear to them but they still give me trouble. It’s a user error, 100%. I have only been crocheting more complicated things for a few years. Sometimes, no, let’s be honest. A lot of times, I need crochet patterns to be written out extremely clearly.

YouTube Can Help…

YouTube can help, and there’s no lack of crochet tutorials on YouTube. But, I dislike that many crochet tutorials on YouTube lack written instructions. Sometimes I need to see both visual and written instructions. I benefit from seeing someone working the pattern visually. I also benefit from written instructions that confirm if everything is correct.

Raised Herringbone Crochet Video Tutorial

Raised Herringbone Crochet Stitch

Terminology

• ch: chain(s)
• sts: stitches
• yo: yarn over
• sc: single crochet
• hdc: half-double crochet
• fpdtr: front-post-double-treble-crochet. See how to make this stitch below.

Notes

• leave stitch(es) behind fpdtr(s) unworked.
  • This is what tripped me up. Sometimes this pattern calls for working TWO fpdtr in a row. When you do this, leave TWO stitches behind the fpdtrs unworked.  
• All front post double treble stitches are made 2 rows below the current row.
• To make the front-post-double-treble stitch:
  • Wrap yarn three times. Insert behind stitch 2 rows below so it is a front post. You should have 5 loops on your hook. Yo pull through 2, yo pull through 2, yo pull through 2, yo pull through last 2. This is a very tall stitch.

Method

Your starting chain should be a multiple of 6 plus 3 stitches.

Row 1: Hdc in 2nd ch from hook. Hdc across.

Row 2: hdc in same st as ch 1. Hdc across. Turn. 

Row 3: Ch 1, turn. Hdc in 1st st. Skip 3 hdc 2 rows below. *Fpdtr in the next st 2 rows below. Skip 1 st, hdc 4. Fpdtr 2 rows below around stitch directly to the left of the previous Fpdtr. Skip the next 4 sts that are 2 rows below after the Fpdtr just made.

Repeat from * across ending the last repeat after your final Fpdtr. Hdc in the final stitch. Ch1, Turn.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until your project is as big as you want. This pattern would look great as a blanket or as the motif on a warm winter sweater.

I post about my own crochet adventures on my blog, including tutorials for crochet techniques and crochet patterns I have written.

The post Raised Herringbone Crochet Stitch appeared first on Fae’s Journal.

So I hope this helps!

Leafhopper Stitch

The Leafhopper stitch is made over three stitches, with two clusters of front post double crochet worked into the row below split between the three stitches. It’s a cute stitch with a nice texture, which is why the Unraveled Mitten creator has included it in the CAL for this year, as the focus is on dramatic textures for each square.

Leafhopper Stitch Tutorial

Abbreviations

US Terminology
Ch: chain
St: stitches
Sc: single crochet
Dc: double crochet
Fpcl: front post cluster
LCL: leafhopper cluster (see instructions above)

Instructions

The Leafhopper stitch requires you to chain a multiple 4 +3 to start with. (So just for the example (4*5)+3= 23 st. or (4*6)+3=27

Row 1: Dc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn.
Row 2: Ch 2, 2 dc. * LCL over next st, dc in next 3. Repeat from * across omitting 1 dc from the last repeat.
Row 3: Ch2 turn, dc across.
Row 4: Ch2 turn, 3 dc, *LCL over next stitch, dc in next 3 st. Repeat from * until 4 st remain. Dc in last 4 st. Row 5: Ch 2 turn, dc across.

LCL Leafhopper Cluster

This cluster stitch is a a split cluster that is worked over three stitches. To start, you’ll work around the post of the stitch directly under the stitch you just made in thee previous row. Then you skip 1 stitch. And lastly you’ll finish around the post of the next stitch in the previous row.

Step 1: yo, work a front post dc into the st directly below the dc you just worked, yo, and pull up the loop twice. Keep these loops loose and make sure to pull them up tall. There should be five total loops on your hook.

Step 2: Yo one more time and pull through 4 of your loops. That is the front post cluster stitch (fpcl). There will be two loops that remain on your hook.

Step 3: skip the dc next to the one you were just working in and work into the stitch next to the skipped stitch. Yo, work front post dc around the post of the next stitch from the previous row, yo, and pull up loop twice. Once again, it’s important to keep these loops that you pull up loose. There should be 6 total loops on your hook.

Step 4: yo, pull through 4 loops. There should be 3 stitches remaining

Step 5: yo and pull through the remaining stitches.

There’s a VERY IMPORTANT detail next. So pay attention.

To continue, work your next dc into the stitch BEHIND the last post of the leafhopper cluster. It’s easiest to look at your work from the top so that you can see the stitch you need to work into.

That’s what I kept doing wrong. I was not working into the correct stitches from the previous row and then I was not making the dc into the stitch behind the fpdc and it was driving me round the bend when I wasn’t ending up with the right amount of stitches.

Finally, one YouTube tutorial made it make sense to me. What I was doing wrong is something that I am almost certain other people will do wrong because of the way the pattern is written it doesn’t say anything about working into the stitch behind the last part of the Leafhopper cluster. But that’s what you have to do.

Leafhopper Cluster YouTube Tutorial

I post crochet patterns sometimes, as well as how-to posts for crochet techniques. I suppose this post falls somewhere in both of those categories.

The post Leafhopper Crochet Stitch appeared first on Fae’s Journal.

SCBLO, or Single crochet in back loop only, is a crochet technique that creates a stitch that creates a ribbing effect when done over multiple rows. To make this stitch, one works a single crochet but only into the back loop of the work.

What is SCBLO Used For?

SCBLO is used frequently in projects to form the brim of a hat or the wrist for a pair of fingerless gloves, for example. SCBLO can be used anywhere where a ribbed effect is needed.

How Will It Look In a Pattern?

When called for, the pattern will read (just an example): scblo 10, turn work. Continue until your work measures 22″.

Next, the pattern will tell you to turn the project so the rows you have worked on are on their side. And the pattern will continue (again, just an example): Pick up xx stitches along the edge of the worked rows.

Then you pick up stitches from the side of the worked fabric and continue working from there.

Ribbing Effect

SCBLO worked in this manner creates a ribbing effect that is otherwise hard to achieve in crochet with other single crochet or double crochet techniques.

The results look more complicated than it is! Which makes this a really nice technique to incorporate into your projects.

Stacked Ladder Fingerless Gloves

My pattern, the Stacked Ladder Fingerless Gloves uses the scblo stitch to form the cuff of the gloves, and then the pattern is worked from stitches picked up from the edge of the cuff, just like I outlined above. Check them out if you would like to practice the scblo stich for yourself.

More pictures are forthcoming, I don’t have a good way to take good pictures of my crochet yet.

The post How to do scblo in crochet appeared first on Fae’s Journal.