The Granny Square is one of the most classic stitches in crochet. It is easy to learn, and it works up quickly. Granny Squares are very versatile, too. You can make them in a variety of colors and sizes, and make many, many different projects with Granny Squares. Today, I will break down the Classic Granny Square into a step-by-step, photo tutorial. The granny square is started in the middle, and worked outward, in rounds. I am using multiple colors, to highlight each round. I will write the instructions first, then I will break it down for you. Classic Crochet Granny Square Photo Tutorial I ..read more

Today, I am going to show you how to do a fun and stylish crochet stitch called the Open Shell and Picot Stitch. This crochet stitch is not only pretty, but it has a lovely drape, so it is perfect to use for a throw, a shawl, or a light wrap. It would be nice for an elegant swimsuit cover, too. The open shell and picot stitch is easy to work. It is made up of single crochet, double crochet, triple (treble) crochet, and chain stitches. The main pattern simply alternates 2 working rows. To get started, you will need a foundation chain with multiples of 7 sts, + 1. For this tutorial, I star ..read more

Crochet Granny Stripes are a fun variation of the crochet traditional granny square stitch. Instead of working the granny stitch in a square, the Granny Stripes Crochet Stitch are worked in rows. Granny stripes can be used in a variety of projects. You can get creative with the colors you use, for beautiful effects. You can see an example of how I used various rows of different colors in my Granny Stripes Color Burst Blanket. To see how the granny stripes look when you simply alternate each row between two colors, take a look at my Granny Stripes Scarf. Granny Stripes are worked in ..read more

The Tulip Stitch is one of those crochet stitches that looks hard, but is really quite simple. It is made with an easy repeated row. The Tulip Stitch works up rather quickly, and can be used for a variety of crochet projects. The Tulip Stitch looks beautiful in a solid color, as well as in coordinated stripes. It works well for afghans, washcloths or dish cloths, scarves, and a couple of rounds can make a pretty blanket edging. Let your imagination run wild with this fun stitch. Leave a comment, and tell me what you would use the Tulip Stitch for! To get started, the Tulip Stitch is worked in ..read more

The Iris stitch is a very pretty stitch with a nice drape. It is perfect for a crochet shawl, poncho, blanket or throw pattern. The stitch looks nice as a solid, and it has a stunning effect when worked in stripes. You can see an example of the Iris Stitch in stripes in my crochet Festive Iris Stitch Striped Throw. The Iris Stitch can be described as a hybrid between a shell and a v-stitch. It is simple to do and works up fast. To get started, you will need to make a foundation chain with multiples of 4 stitches+1, plus 2 for the foundation chain. For this tutorial, I started with 23 cha ..read more

Welcome to my Learn to Crochet series! Grab some yarn, a hook, and crochet along with me. In this series, I will teach you the 3 most basic crochet stitches: single crochet, double crochet, and half double crochet. I will introduce you to simple edging, and show you how to sew your crocheted pieces together. By the time we finish the series, you will have a beautiful crochet bag. I am using mine to hold yarn and other crochet supplies. Before we get started, let’s talk a little bit about the crochet hook. Hooks come in many different sizes and styles. Check out my post on hook styles, if ..read more

Welcome to Part 2 of my Learn to Crochet series. Feel free to go back and check out Learn to Crochet: Part 1- Getting Started, if you missed it. We are going to start with the strap of the crochet bag. For the strap, we will be using a single crochet stitch. Single crochet is abbreviated in patterns as sc. For this tutorial, I will put the abbreviations in parenthesis, so that you can get used to seeing them. This will make it easier for you to learn to read patterns. If you would like to print or download a “cheat sheet”, take a look at my Common Crochet Abbreviations  ..read more

Welcome to Part 3 of my Learn to Crochet series. Feel free to look back at Learn to Crochet: Part 1- Getting Started {Crochet Along Tutorial} and Learn to Crochet: Part 2- Single Crochet Stitch {Crochet Along Tutorial} if you missed them. Today we will be working on 6 inch squares for our crochet bag. You should be pretty comfortable with the single crochet stitch by now, so we will move on to the double crochet stitch. The double crochet stitch is just like the single crochet, only…. are you ready for this?…. Double. Yup. It’s true. Okay, there is a teeny bit more to it ..read more

Welcome to Part 4 of my Learn to Crochet series. Feel free to look back at Learn to Crochet: Part 1- Getting Started {Crochet Along Tutorial}, Learn to Crochet: Part 2- Single Crochet Stitch {Crochet Along Tutorial}, and Learn to Crochet: Part 3- Double Crochet Stitch {Crochet Along Tutorial} if you missed them. Today we will be working on another set of 6 inch squares for our crochet bag. For these squares, we will be learning the half double crochet stitch. The half double crochet stitch is a combination of a single crochet stitch and a double crochet stitch. It starts o ..read more

Welcome to Part 5 of my Learn to Crochet series. Feel free to look back at Learn to Crochet: Part 1- Getting Started {Crochet Along Tutorial}, Learn to Crochet: Part 2- Single Crochet Stitch {Crochet Along Tutorial}, Learn to Crochet: Part 3- Double Crochet Stitch {Crochet Along Tutorial} , and Learn to Crochet: Part 4- Half Double Crochet Stitch {Crochet Along Tutorial} if you missed them. Today we will be learning how to put a basic edging on our crochet pieces. We will be doing just simple single crochet edging on our pieces for two reasons. First, it is reall ..read more