Category Archives: Crochet Understanding

Thermal Stitch in the Round

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Some crochet stitches can take on a different feel and appearance if worked in a different direction. One such stitch is the Thermal Stitch.

View of Thermal in the Round from Even Rounds

This stitch creates a dense double layer fabric that has a unique honeycombed or waffled effect, which reminds me of long-johns with little indented squares. To learn the traditional method of this stitch technique check it out in this tutorial.

I pick up this stitch again recently and begun playing with it in the round. This stitch is typically worked at only half the row height increase of the single crochet stitch, working in both its on row stitch and the one adjacent. As a result of this one, stitch stacked upon one stitch approach it takes a bit of thinking to work the flat circular increases.

The first hurdle is to actually begin the round. You really need to work 2 rows of fabric in the same beginning stitches to ensure an even fabric consistency throughout. I have found two approaches to this in the round.

Please note that I worked this fabric as a different color on each side, as it really helped me to keep the process understandable. In doing such I would drop the color, leaving the working loop for the color live and pick up the new color, switching like this between every Round. In addition, I worked the entire fabric in a spiral method, meaning I did not join the rounds when completed, I simply began the next stitches in the next round. This was also so ease of keeping track of my location in the work. I have to play a bit more with the end of the Rounds, as even working in a spiral they appear to easily as the stitches become a bit clustered and dense, but it does allow for the thermal stitch to be created.

Beginning:

Method one: The magic loop/ring/circle. Essentially this technique involves making a loop of yarn and crocheting in this loop, like when crocheting over item (like the demonstration here making holiday wreaths).

Round 1: Work 8 single crochets into the loop (color cream), turn.

Round 2:  Drop color from round one, join new color (color yellow). Working between stitches in between the stitches of Round 1, [insert your from behind the magic ring, and through the top loop closest to you in Round 1….this feels a bit awkward, but essentially what you are doing is inserting your hook into the bottom ring and the loop of the stitch in round 1, yo, pull through a loop, yo, pull through 2 loops] repeat 8 times, turn. -8 sts

Pull ring closed.

Working Round 2 of Magic Circle method, inserting hook behind ring and through top loop closest to you,
Working Round 2 of Magic Circle Method as viewed from the Wrong Side
Thermal in the Round, Completed Round 1 & 2

Method two: Working into a ring. Chain 4, and slip stitching to the first chain to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch 1, 8 sc in ring (color white), turn. -8 sts

Round 2: Drop color from Round 1, join new color (color yellow) to one “leg” of the single crochet stitch, insert hook through same point as join and the top loop closes to you of Round 1, yo, pull through a loop, yo, pull through 2 loops, [insert hook into one “leg” of next single crochet and the top loop of next stitch, yo, pull through a loop, yo, pull through 2 loops] 7 times, turn. -8 sts

Thermal in the Round, Round 2 working in the “through the stitch leg” method. Insert hook through one “leg” of the stitch and the top loop closest to you.

All Subsequent Rounds….Working the Increases

Increases need to happen in each Round, but you are essentially working the same increase for 2 rounds. Meaning that the stitch count for Rounds 3 and 4 will be in same, the same number of stitches are worked in the white, the same number in the yellow….like working two separate fabrics at once. However the increases are slightly different in approach.

Round 3: Dropping yellow and picking up white, insert hook through the front loop of Round 1, and the top loop closest to you in Round 2, yo, pull through, yo, pull through 2 loops, insert hook into same location as stitch just made and rework stitch, this is your increase. Work 2 thermal stitches in each stitch around, turn. -16 sts

Thermal in the Round, Odd Round increase

Round 4: Dropping white and picking up yellow, [insert hook through the front loop of Round 2 and the top loop closest to you in Round 3, yo, pull through, yo, pull through 2 loops, insert hook into the same front loop of Round 2, and next top loop closest to you in Round 3 (note there are already twice as many stitches in Round 3 as there are in Round 2…so there are less front loops to work into then there are completed stitches, as a result you need to increase Round 4 by working 2 stiches in the same Front loop, but do not in the top loop closest to you)] repeat 7 times, turn. -16 sts

Thermal in the Round, Even Round Increase, first stitch
Thermal in the Round, Even Round Increase, second stitch

You work the same formula for a flat circle (you can find that here), in all the rounds going forward. I tend to think of the rounds in sets, a pair of one odd round and one even round (Round 1 & 2, Round 3 & 4, Round 5 & 6, etc.) Working all increases in Odd number rounds by working into the same front loop and the same top loop closest to you. Working all Even Round increases as the same front loop but different top loop closest to you. All non-increase stitches are worked as traditional Thermal Stitch (see tutorial for basic stitch)

This subtle difference in the increases between the rounds is one reason the different colors helped me. I could remember that every time I used the yellow yarn I was doing an even number Round increase.

Thermal in the Round view from Odd Rounds

This process takes a bit of practice, but the resulting fabric has a nice textured look, and the dense nature lends itself nicely to pot holders, trivets, wash scrubby, I could even see a nice warm hat in the future.

A Bit of a Color Change Difference

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Some color changes are a bit different than others. The way to change the color in a stitch is the same, I discuss that here. However, there times when a couple of other little tricks can make the color change smoother, and your fabric much more eye catching.

One of these times is when the color change may occur within the rows with a shift of the stitches, like a line of color moving diagonally. The color change is not exactly in the same location as the row below, so to have a really clean look you may have to start a new yarn each time or end up with a color strand laying awkwardly across different color stitches.

A diagonal color change, without ends to weave in, and a visually consistent look.

I for one really do not want to weave in as many ends as it would require to shift a color change every row, so there are a couple techniques I use to reduce the ends while keeping a smooth color edge.

For starters, when I change the color I toss the “old” color stand over the fabric, so that it is on top of the stitches. After completing the row of stitches and returning to the color change point, if I am changing the color before the last stitch of the color I change the color but leave a slightly loose tension in the new yarn. I then crochet over this yarn until I reach the same color, and crochet the next stitch over the loose tension strand in the same color stitch.

When the color change happens after the last time it was changed.
The loop brown strand, is the pulling up of the color a row below, then it is worked over until the color is changed.
The color change is completed, and the “old” yarn is then tossed to the opposite side of the fabric, over the fabric. This helps assure that the yarn is in the correct location for working on the returning row.

If the color change occurs after the last stitch of the color, I pull the yarn that will be changed up and crochet over it until the stitch it needs to be changed in.

When the color change happens before the last time it was changed.
Leave a little slack in the yarn when it changes color.
Crochet over this “slacked” yarn, until at least into the same color below.

Essentially I am working over the color change yarn until it is needed. This helps me keep a smoother look while actually being able to stay sane while working up and finishing the fabric.

Know your Ply Improve your Crochet

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Yarn makes such a difference in your crochet. Often when we think of yarn color, or weight, maybe even fiber, but we often do not think about the ply. The ply however can really make a difference in our project.

So, what is ply? Well it helps to understand some basic yarn construction. Yarn is comprised of fibers that are spun together in one direction, this direction can be either clockwise or counterclockwise, the most import think is that all the fibers are spun in the same direction. These spun fibers are now what is referred to as a single, meaning a single strand of yarn.

Singles can be used as a yarn all by its self with no need for plying, but this yarn tends to be a little less stable, and honestly if you have to rip back your work it is not very forgiving. It also has a tendency to pill more in the final project, so something that is getting a lot of use may look aged quickly. However there is a benefit to this yarn, it is evenly round, its “tube” is an even circle.

The top yarn is a single, meaning it is not plied.
The bottom yarn is a 4 ply yarn, meaning that 4 singles are spun together in an opposite direction from the spin of the singles.

Plied yarns, take multiple singles and spin them together in the opposite direction from the original twist. Meaning that if the single was spun clockwise then the singles would be plied counterclockwise. This tension between the different directions of the spinning help create a stable yarn that holds up well.

So now how can your plies make a difference in your crochet if it is a stable yarn? Well it comes down to how “round” the “tube” is. If you ply two singles together you then have 2 round tubes spin together, the result is not a final “tube” that is really round, it is more flat of oval at best. There is nothing wrong with this, but the rounder the yarn the more stitch definition you have. This can be important when working textural stiches, as a cable stitch may not “pop” as much with a 2 ply yarn, verses a single.

Three swatches, using the same stitch, but the yarn changes the look.
The top swatch is a 6 ply yarn.
The middle swatch is a single.
The bottom swatch is a two ply yarn.

The more plies a yarn have typically the closer to “round” it becomes, while staying more stable. So yarns with a greater number of plies does allow textural stitches to shine more.

In some projects this may not be noticeable, but it is good to know, to ensure your project comes out the way you intend.

Hooks- Change Stitches

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There are many things that I have taken for granted in my world of crochet over many years. One such things is the hook I use.

I have also found that it is one of the things that very few people consider when evaluating their crochet work, people consider the pattern, the yarn, even their ability before considering the tool that was used to make it. However there are differences between hook, aside from how it feels in your hand that can affect how you stitches looks.

The main parts of a hook, are well first of the hook. Is it an in-line or a taper hook? An in-line is essentially a tube, nice and smooth that has a slit cut into it, while a taper has a shaft that gets smaller as it approaches the hook, then gets larger again at the head of the hook. The most common hooks on the market that reflect this are the Susan Bates- inline, and Boye- taper.

In-line Hooks

The biggest difference I have found with these hooks and my stitches come into play when working stitches that have several yarn overs or “loops” to pull through, such as a bullion stitch. (A bullion stitch can have a several yarn overs, in some cases 10, before pulling through all the loops on the hook). For me the taper makes it difficult to keep these loops even when pulling through, and I have a tendency to fit it a bit to get all the loops off, while an in-line hook seems a bit easier.

Yet the gentle increase of a taper hook in general helps me to enlarge loops that might be getting to tight to pull through, simply by sliding the hook up the shaft. It gives me a bit more flexibility when transitioning between various stitch techniques, especially where stitches can inadvertently be pulled tighter. Whereas an in-line does not give me as much variety and option in this area.

Taper Hooks

However, if the taper is too great, giving a large finger support that creates a larger increase in the taper I find that my loops become a bit more inconsistent when working decreases or clusters.  Where I have to keep loops from other stitches on the hook to be worked off together, the large taper prevents the loop from being easily adjusted on the hook, and instead makes one of the loops tight while the other end are a bit loose.

So just this one difference in hooks, the simple shaft, either in-line or taper, can affect my work and my look. There are other factors, but this is just one that relates to my current projects. Never be afraid to try a different style hook, you might learn some subtle differences for yourself too.

Shift the Stitch

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There are some subtle differences in the way each of crochets that can create drastic overall differences. One such thing is where exactly you are working your stitches.

We have all been taught that if a pattern does not specify that the stitch is worked under the top 2 loops of the stitch below. While this is correct, there are times you might want to move you hook down just a bit and insert it under the back bar and the top 2 loops.

First let me explain a bit about stitch construction. The last loop of your hook is always the top loop of the stitch, and just by this simple nature it means that the top loop is not exactly centered directly over the all the yarn over and pull through loops below in the post of the stitch. Sometimes this shift is very minimal and not really recognized at all.

So essentially crochet stitches are stacked just slightly to one side of the stitches below, when you turn our work and work back they stack to the other side, resulting in an overall straight piece of fabric. However this is same reason why when working in a round that your seam starts drifting to one side, because you are not turning the work, the stick up of the stitches stay to the same side of the stitches.

Stitches to the Left are worked only under 2 loops, the last 2 stitches on the right have been worked under the back loop and the 2 top loops.

This “Stack” can sometimes be recognized in simple fabric like a double crochet, chain 1, pattern, as is worked in Filet crochet.

The left stitches are worked under the 2 top loops only, the Right stitch has been worked under the Back Bar and top 2 loops.

There is a little trick to help this stack become less obvious, that is by working through the not only the top to loops, but including the back bar of the stitch. If working in the round, this means you would need to bring your hook down a little lower in the post of the stitch and then insert it.

Traditional inserting of hook, under the top 2 loops

Working through this back bar of the stitch, or sometimes called “third loop”, is the loop in the back of the post that is directly below the top loops, is shifted to the opposite of the post then the bigger opening created only the 2 loops. This slight shift of position of the loop helps to keep the stick more centered.

Inserting the hook under the back bar and top 2 loops.

Granted the difference is subtle for most people, it might be exactly what you need to take you stitching to a new level.