Quick tutorial 1: Chainless Foundation Stitch

(Single crochet US/Double Crochet UK)

Grrrrrr. I HATE working the foundation row into a starting chain.

Sometimes it twists, or I miss a chain completely, or the tension's wrong and often it looks a bit odd.

Well not any more.

Not since discovering the Chainless Foundation Stitch.

With this stitch, you make the chain AND the first foundation row together.

I find it quicker, neater and less prone to buggering up. It also gives a good edge to your work and can be easily worked into if you want to add a border.

Saying that, it won't be suitable for everything you make, but do try it.

This stitch works on making a mock-'chain' stitch and then a mock-'single crochet' on top of it.

1. Slip stitch on hook

2. Chain 2 

3. Hook through 2nd chain from hook [see pointy finger in pic 2] making sure you hook through 2 strands. Yarn over, pull up loop. (2 loops on hook)

4. Yarn over, pull through loop ('chain' made) 

5. Yarn over, pull through loop ('single crochet' made)

6. Hook through 2 strands of previous 'chain' stitch [see pointy finger in pic 5] . Yarn over, pull up a loop. 

7. Yarn over, pull through loop ('chain' made)

8. Yarn over, pull through loop ('single crochet' made)

9. Continue from 6-8 until desired length achieved.

It takes a bit of practise to get the hang of it - there are some great video tutorials on YouTube too.

Let's get cosy

Well, eerrrrm, tea-cup cosy to be exact:



Not original, as I have seen this sort of thing on t'internet before, but hopefully, a bit different.

As with all my crochet projects, dead easy to do:
Chain the right number of stitches to nearly fit around the cup .....

....sorry, I have to interrupt myself here as I have, this week, stumbled upon the most amazing thing:
Now girls, please do bear in mind that I am still relatively new to this crochet-malarky, and so still struggle MASSIVELY with crocheting into the chain - (imagine wonky edges, dreadful tension and lots of swearing, and you'll be somewhere close).

Sooo, imagine my absolute joy to discover the art of chainless foundation- yes, it's a marvellous thing whereby you crochet the chain and the next row all in one! See here.
[I tried taking photos of the process, but you really need to see it in action- what did we do before the days of YouTube?]

Here's what it looks like:



Not bad, methinks- no more faffing around, trying to get the bloomin' hook or wool to behave.
Egad, it's a revelation (to me, at least).

Ok, back to where I left off with the cup cosies- once you've made your chain, you then just crochet your chosen stitch forwards and backwards until the correct height is reached.



From left to right:
The grey was the same version of the grit stitch that I used for my Vintage Phone case, in the middle, the granny stripe from here and the pink was a version of the pattern for Chloe's dress from here.

I then edged the pieces with single crochet to neaten them up, added a couple of buttons on one side and chain-stitched loops to fasten them on the other.



Job done.



Feeling cosy, with warm cuppa, but not burning hands on a freshly-poured cup?

Marvellous.

Enjoy your week.
Xx