Soooo it’s time to start joining our blocks together for the 2015 CAL! For my joins I really wanted something that would create a ‘frame’ for each of our unique squares. I wanted something that was slightly raised (to compliment the 3-D blocks we’ve used) and something that would add a bit of texture (because you can NEVER have too much texture!).
So I started looking around and there are some really lovely joins out there, (check out Moogly’s round up of joins here and some ideas from Craft Passion here), but they just weren’t right for the idea I’d got in my head about how I wanted my end blanket to look.
Now I’m a big fan of crab stitch (or reverse UK double crochet / US single crochet) it is definitely my go to edging because I just love how it looks! So I wondered about using crab stitch to join my blocks and once I’d tried it I absolutely LOVED it as a joining method!!! The nice thing about a crab stitch join is that, as with single crochet join, it doesn’t matter if you have an odd or even number of stitches on the sides of your blocks – plus it’s really quick to join blocks with too.
See below my tutorial on how to do crab stitch and how to use it to join your afghan blocks together. For anyone who just can’t get along with crocheting backwards you might want to try this tutorial I have seen on My Hobby is Crochet for a Twisted Single Crochet. This stitch is like crab stitch, but moving forward instead of backwards.
Crab Stitch Tutorial
Crab Stitch (or reverse UK double crochet / US single crochet) is made by doing dc/sc crochet stitches backwards! If you are right-handed you will work the crab stitch from left to right, and if you are left-handed you will work from right to left.
- Sl st your yarn into your first st,
2. Insert hook into stitch to the right (or left) then yarn over once (just like a dc/sc)
3. Pull the yarn through the st (you should now have two loops on your hook).
4. Yarn over again, and pull through both loops on your hook – and that’s it, your first crab stitch made.
5. Keep working in this manner to make your edge (or in our case in a moment your join). Nice and simple and absolutely yummy in it’s textural glory!
Crab Stitch Join
You will need to have already made your preparations for joining up your blocks which I talked about here.
Tip 1: Use stitch markers or knit clips to hold your squares steady and lined up whilst you join them together.
Tip 2: Do not pull your yarn too tight when working your joins. Generally you should have the same sort of stretch that the crochet squares have.
- With the right sides of both your blocks facing outwards, line up your blocks so the edges and stitches match then start your crab stitch along one edge, working the stitches through both squares, to join.
2. When you get to the end of the row hold your next two edges together and continue to work your crab stitch straight across. Continuing working in this way until you have joined eight squares together in a long row. At the end of the row, fasten off and weave in your ends. Do the same for all your horizontal rows.
3. Next work the vertical rows in the same way.
So that’s the join! I’m not going to show you the whole of my blanket yet…I’m saving it for the big reveal! Next week though we’ll look at adding our border – don’t forget to check back on 9th December.
