Finished Object: Trapezoid Crocheting, When Rectangles are Directed

For those in the know, I am ever hopeful that someday I will successfully teach myself crochet. Yes, I am semi-knowledgeable in bobbin lace, locker hook rug making, kumihimo, etc. Yes, I did teach myself how to crochet an edging on a knit shawl for my mother so I (a learning through reading person) could teach my sister (a learning through demonstration person) how to do the motif so we could gift it to our mother. But beyond a few potholders, I’ve never successfully completed a project.

I am the type of learner that needs to do something with enough frequency that “knowing” drills down to muscle memory. With knitting, that happened fairly quickly because it’s the same knit stitch over and over and over. And with stockinette, it’s the same knit row/purl row/knit row/purl row over and over and over. Scarfs are a great starter project. Then maybe advance to hats (gauge/circular). Sprinkle in some cables or lace. Try garment construction with increases and decreases. There are plenty of projects that can increase a knitter’s skill base in baby steps.

With crochet, on the other hand, you can crochet a scarf in single or double crochet. But anything beyond tosses a thousand new obstacles in the new maker’s way. Where do I put the hook? Is it through the space created by a stitch, or in the stitch itself? The whole stitch, or just one side? Which side? How is a half double crochet different from a single crochet or a double crochet?

“Help” sites/programs like Knit & Crochet Today are anti-help, as far as I’m concerned. The host (always a host with immaculately lacquered nails) begins to describe a basic stitch. In the hook goes, ever so slowly. Then whoop whoop whoop whoop. There now (following blur of wraps, grabs and re-grabs), see how simple that was?

Because crochet tends to combine multiple stitch types to create a motif, which is then repeated, there is little opportunity to truly learn one stitch type before switching to another. And those questions above? Most of the answers are dependent on the specific pattern, and a specific pattern will likely utilize a combination of all these answers.

So it is no surprise that the project that is my latest attempt to learn crochet was suffering from some... shall we say “peculiarities?”



This is supposed to be a rectangle...

One more-absent-than-not member of our knit group kindly suggested the reason for this outcome is that I wasn’t doing the necessary chain at the beginning of each row. But I was, which I kept telling her over and over and over. What was super-confusing about this is that the next row always had one less motif than the row below. I was making every motif that there was room for, but I would inevitably run out of room.

As it turned out, I was forgetting something critical. I would get super-wrapped up in making the crosshatch motif, that I blazed right past the sort-of half motif at the beginning of the row that created a straight edge for the angular stitch ground. Without this, that I dubbed a “flying buttress”, there wouldn’t be enough room to make the sufficient number of motifs on each row.

I had to remind myself often to count the motifs before proceeding, and there was plenty of careful frogging back and starting a day’s work over.

Are there mistakes? You betcha! Am I convinced I was doing a proper double crochet? Hardly! But... it’s done, and ends woven in the morning of the recipient’s birthday. I call that a victory.

Details: Crosshatch Stitch Afghan from Best Ever Afghans by Crochet! Fall 2011. Patons Lace Sequin, size K hook.
I didn’t concern myself with meeting gauge, so the afghan is not the size specified, and I added a few extra rows for a total of 67 to make this the right length/proportion (26 x 50) to be more of a shawl.