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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.
> I think I will cover sewing squares together first since a lot of people
make
> afghan squares
> So, when I make a square, I usually cut the yarn, leaving a LONG tail
> Something like 15"
> I use that tail to sew them together
> So, when you have that long tail, you'll be able to sew the squares
together
> with a yarn needle
> But, there are several different ways to go
> First, the most common is to put two squares together with right sides
> facing and whipstitch the back loops
> If you're not familiar with the term back loops only, when looking at an
item,
> there are two top loops to every stitch
> The back loop is the one furthest away from you
> So, that's the most common technique
> Everyone familiar with whipstitch? Or, would you like me to cover that?
> Okay, to whipstitch is very easy....you place the squares together
> with right sides facing
> insert your needle through one of the back loops and also through the
> cooresponding back loop of the other square
> pull the yarn through with the needle
> Now, you'll place the needle in the next back loop and also through the
> corresponding back loop of the other square
> and pull the yarn through
> It makes lines across
> When you sew, you go in one side and out the other. When, you come
back
> you go in from the back and out to the front
> You DON'T do that with whipstitch
> Everyone understand that? It's a bit difficult to explain on screen
> So, if I'm holding the two squares in front of me, with right sides facing
> I insert my hook from the back to the front, catching both back loops of
both
> squares
> Then, you insert my hook again from the back to the front in the next
two
> back loops
> It's a sort of rotating motion
> Questions?
> Now, there is another technique I like to use. It's also whipstitch
> The only difference is that I lie the squares down on the floor with the
right
> sides facing up
> Then, I whipstich in the back loops only, but this time, it's from the top
instead of
> from the back like before
> This also makes little lines across, but it looks more like a tiny braid to
me
> and really adds to the beauty of the afghan, I think
> And, here's another technique of whipstitching......
> You can whipstitch through BOTH loops....either with right sides facing
> or lying them on the floor and whipstitching them
> I like to lie them on the floor because I usually have a bunch of different
> squares and I like to arrange them first
> If you go through both loops, the stitches sort of stack on top of each
other
> and it's a nice flat surface with barely anything in between
> Okay....any questions on any of those 4 techniques?
> Oops....forgot to tell you.....when you sew squares together, don't use
a piece
> of yarn larger than about 18"
> The yarn gets rather ragged if you use more than that....and if it starts
to
> deteriorate, then cut if off and start another
> Okay....now, crocheting them together
> The most common would be slip stitching them together
> You can hold the squares with wrong sides facing and slip stitch
through
> the back loops only or through both loops
> That will produce a very small ridge between your squares
> If you'd like a larger more pronounced ridge, you can single crochet
them
> together
> If you'd prefer no ridge at all, I would suggest sewing them together,
but I
> believe you can also slip stitch them together with right sides facing as
well
> Any questions on that technique? Still have the join-as-you-go
technique to go
> Now, join as you go is the technique most commonly used for thread
motifs, but
> it's used for yarn projects as well
> I really prefer it to the other techniques, but I don't think the publishers
> use it as often because the directions take up a lot of space
> Let's say you're on the final round of a square
> You can either fasten off that color, or you can join with the same color
> as the last row
> I like to start in the corner with a (sc, ch 3, sc)
> The chains should always be an odd number
> That's the first corner
> Now, you will work (ch 3, sc) skip ____ sts
> The blank is there because I don't know what type of yarn you're using
> And, I don't know how lacy you want it
> I would usually skip 3 stitches
> 2 will work as well
> If you want it really lacy, ch 5 between the sc
> So, you will work these chain loops across to the other side
> Then, work the corner (sc, ch 3, sc) in the corner
> And, continue all the way around, making sure you have the same
> number of chain loops on each side
> Then, fasten off
> It may take some "playing" around in order to get the chain loops right
> The reason is because I don't know how many stitches you will end
with
> on your final row
angie: IF I AM USING 5 CHAIN BETWEEN SC...
angie: WOULD I USE 3 OR 5 CH IN CORNERS?
angie: oops, sorry, caplock :)
> No, chain 5 in the corners as well
angie: k
> If you make your chains especially tight, you may want ch-3 along the
> sides and ch-5 at the corners
> It all depends on how your finished item looks
> Everyone let me know if they're ready to continue with the second
square
> of the join as you go technique
> For the second square, you'll do the corner (sc, ch 3, sc) the same as
> before
> Then, you'll work down one side
> When you do the second corner, you'll begin joining the squares
together
> Hold the "first" square next to the "second" square with wrong sides
> facing each other
> Now, work the sc in the corner of the SECOND
> Ch 1 (or 2, if you're working with 5 chains)
> I'll be using ch 1.....so, if you've done 5 chains, then when I say ch-1
> you will do a ch-2
> Okay, you've got a sc and a ch 1
> Hold the FIRST square up to the SECOND square with wrong sides
facing
> Slip stitch to the ch-3 (or ch-5) of the corner
> Ch 1 (or 2)
> Sc back in the same corner of the SECOND square
> Now.......
> ch 1
> slip stitch in next ch loop of FIRST square
> ch 1
> sc in next stitch (after ___skipped stitches) of SECOND square
> You will just go back and forth like that
> First, the slip stitch into the FIRST square
> Then, the sc into the SECOND square
> Once you get to the corner, you will join the corners
> then, work along the side normally
> Whew! It seems difficult, but following it step-by-step will get the result you want.
angie: is there a way to join squares of different sizes?
angie: and for it to still look okay?
> When I have different sizes of squares, I usually single crochet or
double
> crochet around them first until they all reach the same size
angie: ok
> Now, I think that Priscilla has a unique way of joining squares at her
> site
> http://www.priscillascrochet.com/patterns.html
> But, I've not read it to see how it goes
> I believe it is a crochet together technique that looks like a braid
> Now, are there any questions? I hope this helped. :-) I wasn't sure
> how to teach it since it was the first time with this class
