Clock Hotpad - part 1

a circular dc hotpad

For this hotpad, I'm going to break a rule of thumb -- the one on how to substitute for a dc. Usually one substitutes a ch3 for the first dc of a round. I find it nicer in cases like this to substitute "sc1, ch2" instead -- for the simple reason that it looks more like a dc.

This hotpad begins just like the last dc hotpad -- with a ch-4 loop. The increase scheme is exactly the same as before. The "magic" number is still 12. The big difference is that this one is knit circularly instead of in a spiral.

Materials:
size 7 hook (4.5 mm)
2 skeins worsted-weight yarn (I used leftover Peaches & Creme white for the main color and burnt orange for the contrasting color.)

Finished size: 6 1/2" in diameter

Directions:
Using main color, make a ch-4 loop.

(Make a slip knot. ch 4. Slip stitch into 1st chain -- the slip knot -- to complete the loop.)

Rnd 1: sc1, ch2, dc11 into loop. Slip stitch into second ch st of rnd.

In other words, sc1 in the loop. Then ch2. Then dc11 in the loop. As before, when coming to the end of the round, hold the tail next to the chain sts and dc around both the tail and the chain sts to hide the tail.

Finally, since this is circular, make a slip stitch -- to end the round. The first picture show a completed first round.

Round 2: sc1, ch2, dc1 into same st, dc2 into next st 11 times. Slip st into 2nd ch st to end round. (24 sts)

For Round 2, sc1 into the next st. Then ch 2. Then dc into the same st as for the sc. (The second picture shows this.) Then, dc2 into each of the next 11 sts. The round ends as before with a slip stitch.

Round 3: sc1, ch2, dc1 into same st, dc1, * dc2 into next st, dc 1 * 11 times. Slip st into 2nd ch st to end round. (36 sts)

"sc1, ch2, dc1 into same st" is a substitute for dc2 into the same st.

Round 4: sc1, ch2, dc2 into next st, dc 1, * dc 1, dc2 into next st, dc 1 * 11 times. Slip st into 2nd ch st to end round. (48 sts)

"sc1, ch2, dc2 into next st" is a substitute for dc1, then dc2 into next st.

Cut yarn. Weave in loose end.

Next time, we'll start crocheting with a contrasting color, burnt orange. In crocheting, it's often easier to cut the yarn and weave in the end than try to try to hide the yarn when starting a contrasting color.

Spiral DC hotpad -- part 2

-- with a "faux slip stitch" --
(The French word "faux" is pronounced like the English word "foe". And, it seems to me, in some cases such as the one here, the imitation is better than the original.)

In the last post, we worked the spiral dc hotpad to the end of the sixth round.

The yarn I was using was left over from a knit dishcloth. So, I decided to crochet this one until running out of yarn.

I did a couple repeats of the pattern for Round 7:

Round 7: * dc twice into same st, dc 5 * 12 times (84 sts)

Then to make the hotpad more circular and less "spiral-ry", I did essentially what I did at the beginning of the spiral (though in the opposite order) -- one half double crochet, two single crochet, and finally a slip stitch.

The first picture shows these stitches plus the beginning of what I'm calling a faux slip stitch -- for lack of a better term. The first time I saw the stitch was at the end of Cat Bordhi's video on Jeny's bind off (knitting).

To work the "faux slip stitch", first cut the yarn. Then draw the yarn through the top of the next stitch (as in the first picture).

After that, draw the loose end through the back loop of the previous stitch (second picture).

Finally, weave in the loose end.

Spiral DC Hotpad - part 1

Double crochet stitches give a hotpad a different look. This hotpad is worked with a size 7 hook (4.5 mm) and leftover Peaches & Creme yarn (Mar-Di-Gras). It's 7" in diameter.

12 is the "magic" number here. We'll be starting with 12 sts for the first round and increasing by 12 stitches for each round after that.

Directions for the hotpad are in bold. The hotpad starts with a chain loop.

Make a ch 4 loop.

In other words, make a slip knot. ch 4. Slip stitch into 1st chain (ie, the slip knot) to complete the loop.

Then since a dc st is fairly tall, we'll start the first round with a sc and then a hdc. (A hdc, half double crochet st, starts out just like a dc. But, instead of pulling the yarn through 2 loops at a time, one pulls the yarn through all 3 loops to end the stitch. NexStitch has a video of the hdc st.)

Round 1: sc1, hdc1, dc10 in ch loop. (12 sts)

The second picture shows the first 3 sts of the round. When coming to the end of the round, hold the tail next to the chain sts and dc around both the tail and the chain sts in order to hide the tail.

Round 2: dc twice into same st 12 times. (24 sts)
Round 3: * dc twice into same st, dc 1 * 12 times (36 sts)

The third picture shows the hotpad after Round 3. Notice the difference in height between rounds.

Round 4: * dc 1, dc twice into same st, dc 1 * 12 times (48 sts)

Round 5: * dc twice into same st, dc 3 * 12 times (60 sts)

Round 6: * dc 2, dc twice into same st, dc 2 * 12 times (72 sts)

We'll finish the hotpad in the next post.

Spiral Hotpad

-- or "6 is a perfect number"

My aunt Ila was my first crochet teacher. And the first thing I ever crocheted was a hotpad. (I didn't start out with long chains of chain sts but rather with something to use in the kitchen.)

A single crochet spiral hotpad starts with 6 sc sts in the center loop. Then each round after that has an increase 6 sc sts. If you make fewer than 6 increases per round, you'll end up with a cup or bowl shaped object. If you make much more than 6 increases, you'll end up with ruffles.

Something similar holds true for double crochet. A dc st is twice the height of a sc st. To make a circle in dc, start with 12 dc sts in the center loop and then increase 12 dc sts per round. For triple crochet, the "magic" number is 18.

It's difficult to get 12 or 18 sts in a center loop. There are two main ways around the problem. The first is to start with a bigger loop. Instead of crocheting into a ch st, crochet into a 5 or 6 st chain loop. The other method is to replace some of the dc's (or tr's) with ch sts -- ie, work * dc1, ch1 * 6 times in place of the first dc12 (or * tr1, ch2 * 6 times in place of the first tr18).

A Simple Spiral Hotpad
I used Peaches & Creme worsted weight cotton yarn and a size 7 (4.50 mm) hook.
The finished hotpad is almost 7" in diameter.

Rnd 1: Ch 2. Sc 6 in 2^nd st from hook. (6 sc)
-- (in other words) Make a slip knot around the hook. Chain 2. Insert the hook into the second st from the hook (ie, the slip knot) and sc. Make 5 more sc's in the same st (ie, the slip knot).
The out-of-focus photo shows the start of the 4^th sc.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in same st 6x (ie, sc twice in each sc from the previous round). (12 sc)

Rnd 3: * 2 sc in same st, sc 1 * 6x (18 sc)

Note: If you wish, you can place a stitch marker on the first st of a rnd to let you know when you're about to start a new rnd.

In the photo, you can see that at the end of rnd 3, there are 18 sts on the outside (by counting the top loops) and that there are 3 rows of sc's.

A lot of patterns for simple spiral hotpads have for the next few rounds:
Rnd 4: * 2 sc in same st, sc 2 * 6x (24 sc)
Rnd 5: * 2 sc in same st, sc 3 * 6x (30 sc)
Rnd 6: * 2 sc in same st, sc 4 * 6x (36 sc)

This produces a hexagon with rounded corners. To get something circular, one needs to vary where one places the increases. Here's a way to do that:

Rnd 4: * sc 2, 2 sc in same st * 6x (24 sc)
Rnd 5: * 2 sc in same st, sc 3 * 6x (30 sc)
Rnd 6: * sc 2, 2 sc in same st, sc 2 * 6x (36 sc)
Rnd 7: * sc 4, 2 sc in same st, sc 1 * 6x (42 sc)
Rnd 8: * sc 6, 2 sc in same st * 6x (48 sc)
Rnd 9: * 2 sc in same st, sc 7 * 6x (54 sc)
Rnd 10: * sc 2, 2 sc in same st, sc 6 * 6x (60 sc)
Rnd 11: * sc 4, 2 sc in same st, sc 5 * 6x (66 sc)
Rnd 12: * sc 6, 2 sc in same st, sc 4 * 6x (72 sc)
Rnd 13: * sc 8, 2 sc in same st, sc 3 * 6x (78 sc)
Make loop: Ch 10 (or more), attach to top of last sc as you would a picot.
Rnd 14: * sc 10, 2 sc in same st, sc 2 * 6x (84 sc), ending with a slip st into the base of the picot-like loop.

For added sturdiness, slip stitch along the chain sts also.

Cut yarn. Weave in loose end.

A final word:
As you work around, you'll find that just before it's time to make an increase, the sts are slanted to the right. After the increase, the sts are slanted to the left.

The way I learned to make hotpads was not to follow a pattern -- but to make an increase when the sts start pulling to the right. (This did work out to about 6 increases per round). Also, if there was a choice about where to place the increase, I learned place it in the middle of a flat edge.

Picot Edging

First of all, I want to say that I've made this hanging kitchen towel thingie many times and have never given it a picot edging. I've never started and ended the edging with a slip stitch before either. But, there's always a first time for everything.
-- I have always made it with an edging, though.

---

After finishing the buttonhole and weaving in ends, start with thread in the same or a different color. As usual, for starting any crochet project, make a slip knot around the hook. Then to get an almost invisible start to the edging, slip stitch into the bottom of the first sc in the project.

The picture shows the thread after it has been pulled through the bottom of the sc but before it's been pulled through the starting loop. To get the yo through the starting loop more easily, hold one edge of the loop (the part of the loop with the loose end) with your left hand as you pull the thread through. That completes the slip stitch.

Then, sc into the edge of the next row, a sc row.

Make a picot into that sc.

I used the first method of making picots (as described in the American Thread Company brochure excerpt). I chained 3 and then did a slip stitch into the top of the last sc. NexStitch has a nice video of the stitch.

As you can see, it is a bit tricky. That's probably why there is an alternative way to do the picot (as mentioned by both the booklet and NexStitch) -- namely, instead of doing a slip stitch, make another sc (or whatever stitch the picot is on top of) "in the same space" or, in other words, as if one were doing an increase.

Just doing a sc without either the slip stitch or the "increase" would make the picot too open.

One isn't limited to doing just 3 or 4 chains for a picot. It just depends on how large you want it to be. However, with more chain stitches, the inside of the loop of chain stitches becomes more visible, and it comes closer to being a chain loop. One is also not limited to doing picots on top of sc's. It can be done on top of most any stitch. Picots also don't have to be restricted to edgings.

To finish this edging, repeat *sc 4, picot* around.

When adding an edging in knitting, one has to be careful about row and stitch gauge. A knit stitch is about 1 1/2 times wider than it is tall (at least for a gauge of 4 sts and 6 rows per inch). So, the number of stitches to be picked up along a vertical edge is different than the number of rows along that edge. Although, when crocheting along a knitted edge, one generally crochets one stitch for every two knitted rows.

On the other hand, a single crochet stitch is pretty much as tall as it is wide. When crocheting along a vertical edge, crochet 1 st off of a row of sc's and 2 sts off of a row of dc's and 3 sts off of a row of tr's (triple crochet sts), etc. (A dc is about twice as tall as a sc, and a tr is about 3 times as tall.) The picture shows a crocheted edge (plus some picots).

For the buttonhole, crochet as many stitches as were skipped at the bottom of the buttonhole. End the edging with a slip stitch.

To finish, sew on a button. And you have the finished product.

sc edging

The project we're working on has an (sc1, ch2) edging on one edge of a terrycloth dishtowel. And, we'll finish by working an edging around the part we just crocheted.

But before we work on that, let's look at a knit blanket with a single crochet edging.

To make it easier to add a crocheted edging, I used a chain stitch selvage when knitting. -- I.e., knit the last stitch of every row and slip the first stitch of every row purlwise with yarn in front -- on both right and wrong side rows.

To make the single crochet edging:
Start with a single loop on the hook, just as you did when starting the edge for the terry towel dish towel. I used a size 10 needle for the knitting part and a size H crochet hook for the crochet part. (Though .... a size J crochet hook might have been more appropriate since a J hook is the same size around as a size 10 knitting needle -- both 6mm.)

Make a single crochet into each (double) loop of the chain stitch selvage and a single crochet into the bottom/top of each stitch from the cast on/bind off edge.

To turn a corner and make it lay flat, single crochet 3 times in the same place. The first picture shows a corner with the extra stitches and also a sc in the process of being created later in the round.

When you get back to the first stitch worked, you need a way to join the edge together. The answer is the slip stitch. (The slip stitch can also be used as an invisible stitch.)

Most stitches are worked by slipping the hook under both loops at the top of a stitch (unless you want a ribbed effect). For a slip stitch (sl st), place the hook under the back loop only as in the pic. Yarn over. Then draw the yarn through both loops. NexStitch has a video of the stitch plus other uses for the slip stitch.

In England, the slip stitch is sometimes called a single crochet stitch.

Finish off the piece essentially as you would a piece of knitting or crocheting. Elongate the last loop and snip the loop in half. Then weave the loose end in. NexStitch has a video on weaving in ends. I dislike needles and so use a crochet hook to pull the yarn through.

If this were crocheted back and forth, I would do exactly as the video shows (except for using a hook instead of a needle). Since this is crocheted in the round, I wove the yarn under the first few stitches of the round instead of the last few.

Here is the finished piece, not yet blocked. The slip stitch join is in the upper right hand corner. The bottom of the picture shows what the wrong side of a single crochet stitch looks like.

Finally, here is an excerpt from the American Thread Company booklet describing the slip stitch.

a buttonhole

A horizontal crocheted buttonhole is generally made in a row of sc's simply because sc's have a little height but not much. And so, the buttonhole would have a little height but not much. The bottom of the buttonhole is the top of the last row. (Skip as many sts as the buttonhole is wide.) It doesn't have to be a row of sc's as it is here. It could be a mesh or a row of dc's or ....

The top of the buttonhole is made with ch sts.

Here's what the mesh from last week looks like -- unstretched and unblocked. I ended up with 15 sts across. My button is just over 5 sts in width. Then, for this go-around, this is what I did next:

Turn, ch2, sc across.
Turn, ch1, sc4 (I did ch 1 instead of ch 2 to give the edge a more rounded look - a decrease at the beginning of the row as discussed in the previous post. I'm going to end the row with another decrease, sc2tog, to give the other corner a rounded look as well.)

The next question is how many ch sts to make to create a buttonhole.

The general answer is "however many sts skipped". However, at least for me, ch sts stretch more than sc sts. The second picture shows this.



For the third picture, I did 1 fewer ch st than I skipped in the previous row.





And here's the final picture.

The final row is:

Turn, ch 1, sc 4, ch 4, skip 5, sc 4, sc2tog.



However, I want the top narrower. So I frogged the buttonhole row and the sc row before that and worked another mesh row (to take the st count down to 9 from 15.):

Turn, ch2, skip 1, *skip 1, dc, ch1* across, ending with skip 1, double crochet together next st with the third st after that.

(The last step in the dc2tog is shown in the pic.)

Then, the final two rows are
Turn, ch 2, sc across
Turn, ch 1, sc 1, ch 4, skip 5, sc2tog.

After finishing the buttonhole row, it's time to cut the thread and weave in loose ends. NexStitch has a video illustrating this. (I use a crochet hook instead of a needle to draw the yarn or thread under the tops of stitches or through their posts.)

The next step is an edging, to give it a more finished look. The next post is on edging, in general, and also the slip stitch.