Some Tips for Yarners

I'm not very good at making up my own patterns.  Like, at all.  Part of it is the math, you know I'm mathily challenged, but part of it is that what's in my head doesn't translate well in practicality.  I even those people that can just play with stitches and make something beautiful.  I am good at changing and rearranging other peoples patterns: substituting a different stitch or changing a repeat or something.  Making it more like what I want.  But starting from scratch?  Nope, that's a fail.

I've tried.  God knows I've tried.  I have managed, a few times, to put together some stitch patterns that worked.  Like the background on this page?  My Dex in Blue scarf, inspired Amy Lane's book of the same name.  But I've always want to do something really original and different and, if I'm being honest, impressive.  Cause really, I like that moment when people are amazed and they think it was all complicated and hard but it really wasn't, it just looks like it was.  What can I say?  Is there any one of us that doesn't, on occasion, like to have their ego stroked?  To have that shining moment of pride in a job well done?  

So for me, I have a couple of fall backs that I pull out when making something for someone who appreciates yarn things but doesn't yarn themselves.

The Ripple: this crochet pattern never fails to impress.  I'm not entirely sure why.  Perhaps it's just because people who don't understand how yarn works can't figure out how you get the yarn to make the valleys and peak?  It's a really simple pattern.  When you start your beginning chain, you can make it any size you want as long as you have the right multiple. (Sounds like math, I know, but really, it just a wee bit of addition)  Me?  I usually work in double crochet (dc) because it goes a bit faster.  For some reason I like odd numbers, which is strange because I'm really an evens sort of girl.  I like nine a lot, and use it the most, but five also makes very cool ripple.  When you begin your chain, you have to have nine stitches up the peak, nine down and then three more; one for the top of the peak and two to skip to make the valley.  21 in total.  So, you keep chaining sets of 21 until you have the length that you want.  You work 9 dc's, *1 dc, chain 2, 1 dc* all in the next stitch (the peak stitch), 9 dc's, skip two (the valley).  Repeat.  The only other thing you have to remember it to work a decrease at the beginning and end of row two and each row so that you have the same number of stitches every time.  Simple right?

It can be varied immensely as well: single crochet or double, working through the back loop only, stripes, using variegated yarn...seriously, if there's one pattern to learn in crochet, it's the ripple.  

Cables:  If you're a knitter, this one really amazes people.  All it is, really, is knitting the stitches out of order.  But it seriously impresses.  I like cables that look more complicated than they are.  Three of my favorites? The XO cable, the Staghorn cable, and the Wheateater cable.  They are very simple to actually work but elegant looking and have a nice wow factor.  I'm not going to write out the patterns for these, but if you want them, let me know and I will.

Knitting or crocheting on the diagonal looks seriously impressive but is easy peasy simple. I did that with my coworker's baby blanket. For which there are pictures and the pattern here.  

And my last trick for making things seem impressive?  Working with a hook or needles that are too large for the yarn. This gives the whole fabric a completely different look and feel.  It helps that it makes things go faster too.  When I made my cousin's wrap and I had to do it in one night, I knitted it using worsted (medium) weight yarn but I used size 13 needles.  The needles were about five sizes larger than what was needed for the weight of the yarn.  This made a very lofty fabric.  I just knitted stockinette (knit a row, purl a row) but after I stretched and blocked it, it looked completely different. 

Here are a few pics to show you what I mean.  Except for my cousin's wrap, they've all be up before, but I wanted you to be able to see what I was talking about.  

The wrap, blocked out.

 Three different versions of ripples.  The top one actually has a whole bunch of different "peaks and valleys," and done in single crochet.  The second one is a multiple of five, I believe (meaning five on each side of the peak) and the third one is my favorite, standard nine.

Staghorn cable

XO cable

Wheateater cable