Good morning beautiful people,I hope you are well and looking forward to a great weekend ahead. Today I would like to focus on how to increase or decrease your crocheted fabric. This may be necessary in shaping your fabric to the required shape or size. As such its extremely important that you know the right way to either decrease or increase your crocheted fabric so that you don’t loose the pattern you are working with. Its is however very easy to do an increase or a decrease. Below are written instructions on how to accomplish the above using different stitches. Keep in mind that we will encounter what we have already talked about in our previous articles, in the projects that we will be doing in the coming weeks, so if you are having any difficulties at all, don’t worry I will have videos for these.
What does ‘increasing stitches’ mean?
Increasing stitches during crochet simply means that you add stitches to a crocheted row, so that it has more stitches than the previous one.
Depending on the type of design that you are creating, you can increase either at the beginning, middle, end of a row or in each and every stitch across a row or anywhere you want the shaping to occur.
What does ‘decreasing stitches’ mean?
This simply means that you remove stitches from a crocheted row, so that it has less stitches than the previous one.
You can decrease at the middle of a row, anywhere you want shaping to occur or even in each and every stitch across a row.
Increasing with double crochet stitches
To make an increase on a knitted fabric using double crochet stitches requires one to either :add a stitch at the beginning, the middle or the end of the double-crocheted row.
That means that where you want to increase, you work two double crochet stitches on the same stitch. If you are increasing at the beginning of the row, you work your chain of three(turning chain) which works as the first double crochet stitch of the next row then on the same stitch that is directly below the chain 3 on your hook, work one double crochet(rem this is the stitch that you would normally skip after making the chain of 3)
You have just worked an increase on your first stitch of the next row.
Decreasing with double crochet stitches.
Double crochet stitches are decreased in the same places that you would normally do an increase i.e either at the middle or ends of the rows. A very nice and neat way to decrease is to work two double crochet stitches with one top i.e :
- Make a swatch of double crochet stitches
- Work a number of rows, say five rows of double crochet stitches.
- Let’s try to decrease on the sixth row
- Make a chain of three(turning chain) which is your first stitch on the sixth row
- Work a double crochet stitch in the next stitch and along the row until you get to where you want to do the decrease.
- To do the decrease ;yarn over, go through the next stitch, yarn over, pull up the yarn, you will have 3 loops on your hook, yarn over pull yarn through two loops, you will remain with two loops on your hook. With the two loops on your hook, yarn over and go through the next stitch, yarn over and pull yarn through the stitch, you will have four loops on your hook, yarn over pull through two, you will have three loops on your hook, yarn over and pull through all the three loops on your hook.
That is how you work two double crochet stitches with one top and it’s a perfect way to decrease.
Decreasing with slip stitches
Slip stitches can be used in decreasing or binding off crocheted fabrics but cannot be used to increase your fabric.
- Make a swatch of five rows of double crochet stitches
- On the sixth row is where we want our decrease to begin
- Do not make a chain of 3 for your turning chain,just turn and slip stitch from the beginning stitch to where you want the decrease to end then make a chain of three and continue working your double crochet stitches to the end of the row.
A slip stitch is made by :yarning over and pulling up the yarn over through the one loop on your hook ;leaving you with only one loop on your hook.
Increasing with single crochet stitches
To increase your crocheted fabric with single crochet stitches, you simply work two single crochet stitches in one stitch. The best place to work the increase is in the middle of the fabric and not at the beginning. This is because when using single crochet stitches, the chain one stitch at the end of every row(turning chain) does not count as your first stitch of the next row as it would be in the case of double crochet, half double crochet or even treble crochet stitches. This means that when using single crochet stitches you work the turning chain at the end of every row then after turning your work, you work a single crochet stitch in the first stitch of your next row to work as your first stitch of the next row. This means that increasing at the beginning of the row would be quite difficult as it would require you to work two single crochet stitches in the first stitch of the next row after working the turning chain. It is therefore advisable to increase at the middle or along the row to keep your work neat.
Decrease in basic Afghan.
When working with the basic Afghan stitch, you decrease in the first half of a row of basic Afghan stitch, subtracting loops from your hook ;then you work off all the loops in the second half.
- Use a swatch of ten.
- Work two rows of tunisian purl stitches
- Let’s decrease on the first and second stitch on the third row
- With one loop on your hook, insert your hook in the first and second vertical bars in the row below (rem we go through one vertical stitch normally)
- Yarn over and draw yarn through both stitches : one decrease at the beginning of the row is complete.
- Work in basic Afghan stitch across the rest of the row and you will have nine loops on your hook.
Work the second half as you would normally do (please refer to previous post on continuation of stitches)
Incase you need additional information on anything you can leave your question, suggestion or comment and I will get back to you. Until next week have a positive time.
THOUGHT CONDITIONER
Fear is the most powerful of all thoughts with one exception and that one exception is faith. Faith is the one power against which fear cannot stand. Master faith and you will ultimately master fear.
#Norman Vincent Peale
saw
