Tag Archives: Wavy

Making Your Circles Flat

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Understanding your crochet can really help you enjoy your craft and make your projects more exciting to work. One area that this is true is creating a flat circle.

A flat circle is the base of top down hats, of baskets, and even handbags. Stitch height can greatly affect how a pattern will work out in these projects, as the height of the stitches make the circle either smaller or bigger. Another factor is the number of stitches per round.

I have discussed the formula for a perfect fitting hat in previous posts (you can find more about them here), but what if your stitch heights create similar problems as too few or too many stitches? That problem of either cupping or rippling of the fabric.

Cupping circle, needs to have more stitches added.

To determine the results of your fabric it cannot be done within one round. It can be determined over a few rounds, so do not get too hung up if the characteristics of cupping or rippling are slight. If it increases in subsequent rounds you then need to address the issue.

It is Cupping

There are simple fixes. If your fabric is cupping, or pulling upward, adding more stitches will encourage the fabric lay more flat. Another option is to reduce your stitch height, if the stitches are long and there are too few stitches the stitches will pull back on themselves.

Rippling circle, needs to remove or adding less stitch increases

It is Wavy

In addition if the fabric is rippling, or wavy, removing stitches or increasing your stitch height, will help create a flat fabric. Short stitches with many grouped together does not create enough space for the fibers of the fabric to have room to rest.

Crochet is a forgiving craft, the exact stitch count may not be vital. It really depends upon the pattern of the stitches created. However if it is a simple one stitch repeat you can usually add or subtract stitches without much concern.  I suggest adding or subtracting stitches to resolve the issue, as it is easier to do.

If you are looking for some projects to practice this on, I have several free patterns listed here.

Memory Lane with Some New Patterns

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M22157_CrochetWinter14_FrontCover

photo courtesy of Annie’s

ScannedImageI have to admit, I really enjoy these designs. They can be found in the current issue of Crochet! Magazine (Winter 2015).

Waves Hat

Wavy Hat Photo courtesy of Annie’s

The Wavy Hat was actually one of my first patterns, at least one of the first patterns that I worked out and actually wrote down. I wrote it up for a friend of mine that wanted a hat that had a chevron appearance, so I play around and came up with my interpretation, and inspiration of that idea with this hat. I have made some changes to the original pattern, making it more streamlined and easier to understand, but I am still happy with the results.

All-Round Rug

All Round Rug photo courtesy of Annie’s

The All Round Rug was inspired by bubble in the bath. I was watching the bubbles in a bath (a bubble bath is a rare thing in my home, so enjoying them as long as possible means the water is usually going cold), and while relaxing my mind began to drift and looking at the shapes that were being created. The way they stacked upon each other made me wonder if I could recreate the pattern in yarn. So a little playing around and this rug was born.

These two designs are one that I have found memories of, and I hope that you enjoy working them up for yourself.