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Please note that this text is written in "chat format," although I've edited some of it out. Therefore, there are several conversational, rather than instructional, elements.
Kim> If you will be participating in the class, you will need two balls of yarn, same yarn, but two different colors and a cro-hook (double-ended afghan hook). The cro-hook should be two or three sizes larger than the recommended hook size of the yarn. You might also want to grab a regular crochet hook in the recommended hook size of the yarn, just in case you need it
Karen Caprioni> got it, got it got it
Kim> So, it is now 6:05 and I'd like to take a head count of all people who will actually be doing the class while I teach. I know I made this open to anyone who would like to simply peek in and take a look. So, if you are ready to participate and will be participating, simply type "K"
Karen Caprioni> K
Ruth> k
blondi> K
YarnBox> k
joanne rosen> i am watching
Kim> Okay, it looks like I've got four
YarnBox> I may just watch?
Kim> Of course you can! :-)
Kim> Completely up to you
Kim> I just need to know ahead of time which you'd like to do
YarnBox> Thanks
Kim> So, YarnBox, you'll just be watching then?
YarnBox> Watch and wait for C-ville
Kim> Okay
YarnBox> Yes
Kim> So, I've got Karen, Ruth and Blondi. You three will be the ones to tell me it is safe to move to the next instruction
Kim> At the end of each instruction, when I type "say K when ready," you will complete the instruction and then simply type "K"
Karen Caprioni> k
Kim> Once each of you have typed K, I will then move to the next instruction
blondi> K
Kim> There is no one timing you. And, you don't have to feel like this is a race, so don't get nervous or anxious thinking you're not finishing quickly enough
Kim> So, let's get started
Kim> First, you'll make 20 chains with your cro-hook
Kim> Say K when ready
Karen Caprioni> k
Kim> You will not actually be making anything tonight. You will simply be learning the cro-hook technique and two stitches
Ruth> ruth K
blondi> K
Kim> Those two stitches will be Reverse Afghan Stitch and Afghan Stitch
Kim> We will begin by looking at our chain. You will see to vertical bars that form an oval on the front
Kim> Now, turn it over. You will now see what is called the "back bump"
Kim> It is under that back bump that you will insert your hook in order to pull up loops on the initial row
Kim> If you have a problem getting your hook under the back bump, use your non crochet hook hand to pull it up a little with your thumb and index finger
Kim> Skip the first chain
Kim> Insert your hook under the next back bump, yarn over and pull up a loop
Kim> You will now have two loops on your hook
Kim> You will notice right away that you need to hold your hook like a bicycle handlebar
Kim> Any other way isn't comfortable
Kim> Continue to pull up loops all the way across in each remaining back bump
Kim> Count!
Kim> You will have the same number of loops as your initial chain
Kim> Say K when ready
Karen Caprioni> K
blondi> K
Kim> Alright, when you have all your loops on your hook and you've counted them, your hook is LOADED
Kim> It is very important to remember this term. When your hook is LOADED, it means that you will turn and begin using the next color. This is the only time you turn and use the other color, only when your hook is LOADED.
Kim> Now, turn your hook, push your loops to the other side and grab Color B
Kim> Make a slip knot of Color B on this side of the hook. Now, pull that slip knot right through one loop of Color A that you have on your hook
Kim> You will have successfully closed one of your loops.
Kim> Say K when ready
Kim> Now, you will yarn over and pull through two loops on the hook. One will be Color A and one will be Color B.
Kim> You will continue to pull through two loops all the way across.
Kim> You will end with one loop on your hook
Kim> Say K when ready
Kim> Okay, don't get confused here. You ONLY turn when the hook is LOADED and you're not.
Kim> I want you to pull that one loop up a little so that you can safely remove your hook and set it down
Kim> I want you to separate the stitches well because we're going to look at the anatomy of your work
Kim> First, you will see that top horizontal bar
Kim> It is nothing more than a chain that's turned upside down
Kim> Next you will see the vertical bars (there are 20 of them)
Kim> Look at that vertical bar. See how it goes up into the top horizontal chain, then it come back down the back side
Kim> So, what you really have is an inverted "U" consisting of the FRONT vertical bar and the BACK vertical bar.
Kim> The afghan stitch and reverse afghan stitch are basically the same. The only difference is that the regular afghan stitch is made through the FRONT vertical bar and the reverse afghan stitch is made through the BACK vertical bar
Kim> Now, you can pick up your cro-hook and insert it back into your loop
Kim> We are going to do reverse afghan stitch first
Kim> It helps combat any curling that Tunisian tends to do
Kim> So, skip the first vertical bar
Kim> You can't use it no matter what you try
Kim> Skip the first, now place your hook in the BACK of your work, insert your hook from side-to-side under the next BACK vertical bar
Kim> Your hook will never exit into the front of your work
Kim> It constantly stays in the back and it's just a side-to-side motion
Kim> Yarn over and pull up a loop
Kim> You will continue doing this in each remaining BACK vertical bar
Kim> You will see that the top horizontal chain is being pushed toward you forming a large ridge looking very much like a knitted purl
Kim> If you see this, you are doing it correctly
Kim> Say K when you've completed pulling up all loops and you have 20
Karen Caprioni> we are to be using color b right?
Kim> Yes, you are using Color B at this point
Kim> But, now, you'll be going back to Color A because your hook is LOADED
Kim> Turn it, push the loops to the other side
Kim> With Color A, yarn over and pull through ONE LOOP on the hook. Then, yarn over and pull through TWO LOOPS all the way across
Kim> Each of these two stitches are closed the same way.....
Kim> First you yarn over and pull through ONE loop, then you yarn over and pull through TWO loops the rest of the way
Kim> You will end with one loop remaining on your hook
Kim> Say K when ready
Kim> Alright, now we'll be doing the regular afghan stitch
Kim> With Color A, skip the first vertical bar, in the next FRONT vertical bar, insert your hook in a side-to-side motion, yarn over and pull up a loop
Kim> Continue to pull up a loop all the way across. However, STOP before you get to the last one
Kim> You will have 19 loops on your hook
Kim> I will be showing you a tip to keep the edge from getting floppy....a normal complaint in Tunisian
Kim> Say K when you have 19 loops on your hook and you're ready to complete pulling up the last loop
Kim> Okay, now take a look at that last vertical bar. You're going to see that it's actually three bars instead of the normal two
Kim> There will be two bars in one color and one bar in the other
Kim> Rather than placing your hook under one vertical bar
Kim> You will place your hook under the two furthest to the front vertical bars
Kim> Under both of them, yarn over and pull up a loop
Kim> No matter what a pattern says, always try to insert your hook this way for Tunisian
Kim> It makes a firmer edge and you will be much happier with it, especially when you need to crochet a border around it later
Kim> Okay, say K when you have that last loop
Kim> And, our hooks are now LOADED. And, I know you know what to do. :-)
Kim> You will now remove the loops with the next color
Kim> Remember to yarn over and pull through ONE loop on the first stitch then TWO loops on each remaining
Kim> You will end with one loop remaining on your hook. Say K when ready
Kim> Alright, we're back to Reverse Afghan Stitch
Kim> Skip the first loop, insert your hook under the next vertical bar in the BACK, yarn over and pull up a loop
Kim> Continue pulling up loops all the way across, remembering to work the last loop in the special way I've taught you
Kim> Say K when ready
Kim> Are we all LOADED? Time to turn and work them off with the other color
Karen Caprioni> hmm could you repeat that "special way" again for the reverse stitch please
Kim> Oh, sure
Karen Caprioni> ty
Kim> Even though you've been pulling up loops in the back, for the last stitch, you're going to move your hook back to the front and insert your hook under the two closest front vertical bars since there are actually three there
Kim> No matter what the pattern says, even if it's one of my pattern leaflets, I always do the last stitch this way. It may not show up in the final print, but I still did it and wrote it. It just sometimes gets edited out
Karen Caprioni> ok TY
Kim> So, close all your stitches, ONE LOOP then TWO LOOPS
Kim> Say K when ready
Kim> Do you start seeing a pattern?
Kim> There are mini-stripes of color on one side
Kim> The other side is just a bunch of vertical bars all over the place and a largish ribbing
Karen Caprioni> awww it looks so cute
Kim> Now, THAT'S a truly reversible stitch pattern!
Kim> Go ahead and do the regular afghan stitch across
Kim> Remember the special last loop
Kim> Say K when ready
Kim> Thank you, Karen.....it's my all-time favorite and I have designed many things with this stitch pattern
Kim> Isn't this fun?
Karen Caprioni> yes it is
Kim> How many were skeptical about learning this online like this? Hmmm?
Ruth> yes
Karen Caprioni> uhh me
Kim> Can I see a show of hands. :-)
Karen Caprioni> lol
blondi> ME
TurquoizBlue> Hello everyone. Late :(
Karen Caprioni> hi
Karen Caprioni> may I ask you a question Kim?
Kim> Hi there! Glad you could make it. :-)
Kim> Of course you can
Karen Caprioni> do you always use 2 colors
Kim> But we've actually just finished the stitch pattern
Kim> And, I'm going to teach binding off after the questions
Karen Caprioni> ooops shhh lol
Kim> No, you absolutely do not have to use 2 colors
Kim> Oh, no! You can ask something anytime. :-)
Karen Caprioni> but you still use 2 skeins?
Kim> Yes, always two skeins for cro-hook
Karen Caprioni> ohhh ok got it now
TurquoizBlue> Kim are you sharing the transcript? I'll catch that if you are
Kim> Are you from C'Ville Turquoiz?
TurquoizBlue> I'm over there every blue moon, but I'm on Tunisian Crochet and a few other groups too
Karen Caprioni> what is C'ville
Kim> Oh, okay, everyone who is on C'Ville will have to email me for a transcript
TurquoizBlue> Crochetville
TurquoizBlue> Okay, Kim
Karen Caprioni> hmmm ok lol
Kim> Everyone who is in mine and ARNie's Tunisian email group will find the transcript later in the YahooGroups files once I've had a chance to edit it
Kim> http://www.crochetville.org
Kim> Another email group
Kim> But, with nifty icons. :-)
TurquoizBlue> Great!
Karen Caprioni> lol
TurquoizBlue> Kim, I love this Zara yarn
Kim> Oh, you got the Zara? It IS fantastic, isn't it?
TurquoizBlue> Yes, I'm getting more of this. So soft!
Kim> Now, I'm going to go ahead and continue with binding off instructions
Kim> For this, you will need to turn your LOADED hook and close your stitches normally
Kim> Say K when ready
Kim> Now, following the stitch pattern, insert your hook into the second vertical bar in the BACK or the FRONT depending on which row your on
Kim> I believe you're now on the Reverse Afghan Stitch side unless you moved ahead
Kim> Insert your hook under the second vertical bar, yarn over and pull up a loop
Kim> Now, pull that loop THROUGH the loop on your hook
Kim> Just pull it right on through
Kim> It's really not that difficult
Kim> You're only doing a slip stitch
Kim> Sounds funny at first
Kim> Say K when you get that
Kim> Now, you will continue working these slip stitches all the way across
Kim> At the end of any Tunisian or Cro-hook project, you must do some sort of bind off
Kim> Or, you will be left with a bunch of longish vertical bars
Kim> Go ahead and bind off all loops
Kim> Say K when ready
Kim> For any project in this stitch pattern, I prefer to end with the bind off on the Reverse Afghan Stitch row
Kim> And, you can call either side the front. Depending on which side you like better
Kim> Now, you can go ahead and pull out the bind off so that you can continue practicing if you like
Kim> It's easy to miss loops when you are first learning
Kim> So, I recommend that you count all the loops when LOADED at least until you feel comfortable
Kim> So, that's it. :-)
Kim> Questions?
Karen Caprioni> Thank you so much
Karen Caprioni> This is so cool
Kim> And, Karen, in answer to your question about the colors
Kim> I have used two skeins of the same color many times
Karen Caprioni> oh ok
blondi> That was great. Thank you.
Ruth> Thank you, I am proud of myself. Ive had my hook for a good year.
Kim> It makes a really neat finished project and I use it sometimes as ribbing for garments
Kim> If you use the same color, that is where the LOADED part comes in very handy
Kim> You'll always know when to turn and begin using the other skein
Karen Caprioni> I can see that but I like the two color effect
Kim> Yes, I love those little mini stripes
Karen Caprioni> so you can use strictly the reverse or strictly the front one?
Karen Caprioni> or do you have to always alternate?
Kim> You don't have to alternate between reverse afghan stitch and afghan stitch. You can do your entire piece in afghan stitch, for instance
Karen Caprioni> ok thank you
Kim> But, this is just the stitch pattern I am teaching in this class
Kim> There are many more
Karen Caprioni> I cant wait
Kim> In fact, you can check out my website just to have a look at a couple of different projects I've done with cro-hook
Karen Caprioni> I was thinking cro-hook was the same as using an afghan hook
Kim> And, on my Tips page, I have links to other cro-hook projects on the internet
Kim> They are very similar
Kim> Regular Afghan hook is more limited.
Kim> You don't turn at all
Kim> Same thing, only different, I guess
Karen Caprioni> I really like this more I think
Karen Caprioni> thank you so much
Kim> You're most welcome. :-)
Karen Caprioni> what do I do with the other color
Kim> You will like regular Tunisian as well, once you see the many different stitches you can do
Karen Caprioni> to finish it off
Kim> Many people are only familiar with the one stitch and find it boring
Kim> But, once you discover the many different stitches, it starts to get more interesting
Kim> I just cut it off and weave it in
Karen Caprioni> I didnt even know what Tunisian was and I'm still not sure but I like it lol
TurquoizBlue> true Kim. Tons of things to do with Tunisian
Kim> So, does anyone have any other questions?
blondi> Enjoyed it very much.
TurquoizBlue> TY, Kim. I look forward to reading the transcript
Kim> No more questions?
YarnBox> Thanks for class
Kim> You're welcome
