Crochet advice please?

Published July 15, 2015 by sunmoonstars134

I am currently working on 3 blankets…

I’m finding it quite frustrating, as in my 18ish months of crocheting, I’ve not finished anything bigger than a baby blanket, because inspiration strikes everywhere, and as my skills have developed I’ve wanted to move on to new things. 

Blanket #1: The Granny Triangles

 
I think I’m 2/3 of the way to my original target, but there’s probably enough to make a decent size now (64). But the ends… Oh, the ends 😦 (also, I am sad at the orangey tinge to this photo – the mish mash of colours make me very happy, but you can’t really see them properly here)

Advice: will I add much time by switching to the jayg method now by adding another round to everything, rather than hand stitching? Jayg would mean I wouldn’t need to make any more, and I’d get to learn how to jayg, which I’ve not done before (because I’ve never got to the finishing stage before!) Or will stitching be noticibly quicker? (I think finishing something is more important than new learning at this stage.)
Blanket #2: The As-We-Go Stripey Blanket 

Loooved this, up until the moment I took a photo and realised that the edges are VERY uneven. Then I got grumpy and stopped doing anything with it. I still adore it though, and have learned my lesson well: count the stitches!! I had been intending to do a kind of “tube” edging to encase my ends, but the wonkiness has put paid to that, I think. I’ll need to do some drastic evening up instead, so that’s more ends to sew in…

Advice: how best to even this up? Should I do a few rounds where I double crochet around and treble on the skinny bits? Or is there another way?
Blanket #3: The BAMCAL

 
I’m joining in with the very lovely group over at Ravelry, and am making this super duper afghan for my nan. I want to make all squares up to November, then spend December finishing it to give to her at Christmas. I’m trying to be disciplined and block and do ends as I go. I’m a little behind on this, 3 squares to make to get caught up, a few need an extra round to bring them to size and you can probably spy some of my beloved ends there…

No advice required about this one specifically, just an idea of how people tend to prioritise –
Overall advice: what do you tend to do with multiple projects on the go? Do you prefer to put your energies into finishing one, or do a bit on lots of different projects to bring them all to completion a bit faster? Does having plenty of WIPs inspire you or stress you out (as it does me!)

I’d love to hear from you 🙂

20 comments on “Crochet advice please?”

  • Heya! My “advice”: concerning wonky edging, in my experience usually crocheting an edge around a blanket will get rid of a great deal of wonkyness. Look at the wedding blanket we made – due to the different crocheters and the different squares it is pretty wonky. But not around the edges anymore! It’ll pull itself straight, especially if it’s become a bit heavy.

    As for finishing: I usually have a ton of projects going on at the same time, and feel inspired to work on a particular one for a while – or start doing a new one 😉 at some point I tell myself not to start new ones, usually around the time when the end is in sight for one of the ones I’ve started. And once the end is in sight, I want to finish it so badly I’ll start working on that. Even if it’s fastening the bloody thing off :p

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  • THank you for liking my post “My Grandson, Martin’s Baby Blanket is Finished” on OUR RETIRED LIFE.
    I usually have one big project going then I get bored with it so I will do a couple of small projects like a beanie or some wrist warmers. Then I can get back to the larger project. That is what happened with the baby blanket. 🙂
    Arlene

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  • For the stripey blanket you could try blocking it. Just dampen it and then pin it out all stretched out so the edges are even and let it dry.

    As for multiple projects, I think I have about seven or eight on the go right now. I get easily distracted. If one is an order I’ll do my best to focus on it but I keep seeing “ooooh! Shiny!” Stuff all the time and have trouble waiting to start them.

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  • All your projects are just absolutely beautiful! I’m getting to that point in my afghan where I just want it done. I don’t generally have big WIP’s…tend to do one at a time…but I do find that I need to do a quick “one or two hour” project in-between.

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  • Gorgeous blankets. I lost interest in my first blanket, put it aside for nearly two years and then picked it back up when I started blogging. It was joining a cal to finish blankets that got me going again, it was the accountability of it! It sounds as though you have learnt with your Gran’s blanket to finish the ends as you go, another one I learnt after a time 🙂 I did a striped sampler blanket for my daughter and had a similar problem, I think sometimes the different stitches make it wider or narrower. I worked a row of dc around they seemed to pull it together a bit and then shells, they help to hide the wonkiness as they are bumpy themselves! I love having different projects to suit my mood but I am awful at starting new projects. Lists and blogging you wips helps, you feel as though you need to finish them then 🙂

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    • Shells is an idea! I don’t know if it’ll do enough though – my wonkiness is a combination of differing stitch counts per row as well as the inevitable differences from changing stitches every few rows. I’ll try a round of dc to see what happens though, if I ever finish 😉

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  • I will answer last question first, I am always working on loads of projects at once. I tend to sneak in smaller projects every now and then and usually finish them up. I start and stop a lot with larger projects. for blanket 1, I personally would do jayg method. Not sure about blanket 2 yet, I sew myself and maybe would consider stitiching to hold stitching and then, (take a deep breath) CUT to even up sides and bind with fabric. Only a suggestion, not sure if it work or not. Another idea, turn in at sides and slip stitch a hem all around if it’s not too thick. You have put so much work into them already, it would be a shame not to finish them.

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    • Thanks for your comments – it’s so helpful to hear different outlooks.

      I think small projects are the way forward for me – to satisfy my urge to start something new and give me a boost when they’re complete 🙂

      I also really like the idea of turning it in at the sides, I’ll have to have a play and see how thick it turns out.

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  • First of all, that’s an amazing range of techniques considering you’ve only been crocheting for 18 month or so! I think having a goal every day might help e.g. 20 mins or 10 rows or 5 squares. And just think how happy you will feel once the first blankie is finished! Motivation is key…maybe focus on one for a week? Keep smiling! 🙂

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    • Thanks! I’m always trying to run before I can walk, crochet is forgiving enough that the occasional mistake is OK!

      A focus on one per week is a nice idea – and I definitely agree that finishing one will be an amazing feeling – they’re just a struggle at times.

      My instinct is to keep jumping in to new projects, but then I get stressed out, so that will have to stop!

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