Crocheting Standing Stitches and Invisible Round Ends
· Paula Matos
Back to the overview: Learn to crochet
If you are already confident with double crochet and crocheting in rounds, you can try this technique: With “starting a new color without a chain”, you begin a new color without the usual substitute chain stitches. Then you work the round closure so that the transition is almost invisible.
Here I show you my method using double crochet as an example. Follow the steps with a small swatch.
This is what the finished transition looks like
The round transition is located in the area of the white circle. Can you spot it? No.
Here you see the same spot from the back with the woven-in threads from the beginning and end of the round.
Crocheting a standing double crochet
1. Attach the new yarn
Place two loops on the hook, as for a treble crochet. Then insert the hook normally into a stitch suitable for your pattern and pull the yarn through. Hold the loose starting yarn with your right hand together with the crochet hook.
2. Pull through two loops
Insert the hook again and pull the yarn through two of the three loops on the hook.
3. Complete the double crochet
Insert the hook once more and pull the yarn through the last two loops on the hook.
The starting thread remains on the right of this starting double crochet. Do not weave in or crochet it in yet!
Instead of the usual substitute chains, there is now a real double crochet at the beginning of the round. It counts as the first stitch. Crochet the next stitches according to your project pattern.
Starting other stitches without a chain
This also works with other stitch types:
- For a single crochet, start with one loop on the hook.
- For a half double crochet, start with two loops, pull the yarn through the insertion point, and then pull it through all three loops at once.
- For a treble crochet, start with three loops, pull the yarn through the insertion point, and then pull through two loops together at a time.
Closing the round almost invisibly
At the end of the round started this way, proceed as follows. Be especially careful to keep the starting and ending yarns separate.
1. Pull out the last loop and cut the yarn
Pull the last remaining loop on the hook out about eight centimeters and cut the yarn.
2. Pull out the starting yarn
Now pull the starting yarn out from the second double crochet of the round to the front. This yarn no longer plays a role in the following steps.
3. Pull the right ending yarn through to the back
Insert the crochet hook from back to front, towards you, into the second double crochet and pull the right ending yarn through to the back.
It then looks like this:
4. Lead through the back loop of the last double crochet
Now pull the yarn through the back loop of the last double crochet on the right. The white arrow shows the path.
To do this, insert the crochet hook again from back to front, towards you, through this top loop.
Pull the yarn through to the back. The next two original images show the yarn placement and pulling through in detail.
5. Adjust the resulting stitch
Gently pull the resulting loop or stitch to the correct size. A nearly invisible round transition is complete.
Tie the two yarns together behind the work once and weave them in or crochet them in in the next round, as shown in my basics for weaving in ends.
Back to Lesson 3: Crocheting in Rounds and Weaving in Ends