Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Book 1: Getting Started 5 Chapter 1: Needles, Hooks, and Other Tools 7 Selecting Knitting Needles 7 Exploring needles 8 Sizing them up 9 Accounting for needle makeup and tip type 11 Choosing a Crochet Hook 12 Surveying the anatomy of a crochet hook 12 Looking at the make and size of hooks 14 Collecting Gizmos and Gadgets 16 Stocking up on the essentials 16 Examining nice-to-have extras 20 Chapter 2: Yearning for Yarn 25 Understanding Yarn Fundamentals 25 Fixating on fiber 26 Considering yarn weight 31 Reading Yarn Labels 33 Label talk 33 Ball, skein, or hank? 36 Choosing Yarn for a Project 38 Working with color and texture 39 Choosing natural or man-made fibers 40 Substituting yarns 40 Creating your own yarn combinations 41 Chapter 3: Right-Sizing with Gauge 43 Why (and When) Gauge Matters 43 Knowing What Affects Gauge 45 Making a Gauge Swatch 46 Knitting a gauge swatch 47 Crocheting a gauge swatch 48 Measuring Your Gauge 49 Measuring a swatch made with a repeating pattern 50 Measuring stitches and rounds 51 Matching Your Pattern''s Gauge 52 Designing with Gauge in Mind 53 Chapter 4: Reading Patterns 55 Understanding Knitting Patterns 55 Deciphering Knitterese: Common abbreviations and shorthand 56 Following written stitch patterns 59 Reading charted stitch patterns 61 Following Crochet Patterns 62 Knowing the sections of a crochet pattern 63 Figuring out written instructions 64 Not just a pretty picture: Stitch symbols and diagrams 71 Book 2: Knitting Basics 77 Chapter 1: Knitting Fundamentals 79 Casting On 80 Two-strand (or long-tail) cast on 80 Cable cast on (cable co) 83 Thumb (or e-loop) cast on 83 Now You''re Knitting and Purling 85 Knitting know-how .87 Perfect purling 90 Knitting and purling, Continental-style 92 Binding (or Casting) Off 96 Standard bind-off 96 Yarn-over bind-off 97 Helpful hints for binding off 98 Chapter 2: Basic Stitches 99 Go-To Stitches: Garter, Stockinette, and Seed Stitches 99 Garter stitch 100 Stockinette stitch 101 Seed stitch 103 Adding Stretch with Ribbed Stitches 104 1 x 1 ribbing 106 2 x 2 ribbing 106 4 x 2 and 2 x 4 ribbing 107 4 x 4 ribbing 108 Chapter 3: Techniques Every Knitter Should Know 109 Slipping Stitches 109 Making a Yarn Over 110 Between 2 knit stitches 111 Between a knit and a purl stitch 112 Between 2 purl stitches 113 Between a purl stitch and a knit stitch 113 Twisting Stitches: Knitting through the Back Loop 114 Working Increases 116 Bar increase, or knit in front and back 116 Working a make 1 117 Knitting into the stitch below 119 Making a double increase 120 Increasing at several points in a single row 121 Doing Decreases 122 Knitting 2 stitches together 122 Purling 2 stitches together 123 Slip, slip, knit 124 Pass slipped stitch over 125 Making double decreases 126 Chapter 4: Knitting in the Round 129 Going in Circles Can Be a Good Thing 129 Choosing Needles for Circular Knitting 130 Casting On for Circular Knitting 131 Joining the Round 133 Joining on a circular needle 133 Joining on double-pointed needles 133 Tidying up the first and last stitches 134 Working Common Stitches in the Round 135 Using Steeks for a Clean Break 135 Sewing in a steek 136 Crocheting a steek 136 Cutting your fabric after you steek 137 Measuring Gauge in the Round 138 Chapter 5: Fixing Common Mistakes 139 Stopping Mistakes or Catching Them Early 139 Dealing with Dropped Stitches 140 Finding and securing a dropped stitch 141 Rescuing a dropped stitch in the row below 142 Saving a dropped stitch with a crochet hook 145 Ripping (Your Heart) Out 148 Ripping out stitch by stitch 148 Ripping out row by row 149 Book 3: Crocheting Basics 151 Chapter 1: Focusing on Fundamental Stitches 153 Preparing to Crochet 153 Hooking with the correct hand 154 Getting a grip on the hook and yarn 154 Working a slipknot 157 Wrapping the yarn over the hook 159 Tied Up in Stitches: The Three Basics 160 The (almost) universal starter: Chain stitch 160 The utility stitch: Slip stitch 164 The old standby: Single crochet 166 Foundation Stitches: The Chain and the First Row All in One 168 Your first foundation single crochet 169 Your second foundation single crochet and beyond 170 Taking Things to the Next Level: Row Two .172 Turning your work 172 Climbing to new heights with turning chains 173 Starting the next row 174 The Anatomy of a Stitch 176 All''s Well That Ends Well: Fastening Off 177 Cutting the yarn 177 Weaving in the end 177 Troubleshooting Mistakes as You Crochet 178 You struggle to fit your hook into the stitches 178 The fabric edges are shrinking 179 The fabric edges are getting wider 180 The foundation edge is tighter than the rest of the fabric 180 The corners are curled 180 Luxurious Washcloth Projects 181 Simple Luxurious Washcloth project 181 Luxurious Washcloth with Border project 182 Chapter 2: Expanding Your Stitch Choices 187 Doing a Double Crochet 188 First things first: Row 1 188 Turning around and beginning again: Row 2 190 Trying Your Hand at the Triple Crochet 192 Starting with Row 1 192 Moving on to Row 2 194 Diving into Double Triple Crochet 195 First things first: Row 1 195 Turning around and beginning again: Row 2 197 Hooking a Half Double Crochet 199 Starting with Row 1 199 Moving on to Row 2 201 Adding Height with Extended Stitches 202 Extended single crochet 202 Extended double crochet 205 Creating a Foundation Double Crochet 208 Running on Empty: Joining a New Ball of Yarn 211 Joining at the end of a row 212 Joining in the middle of a row 212 Chapter 3: Increasing and Decreasing Stitches 215 Increasing Stitches .216 Increasing anywhere with single crochet 216 Increasing with double crochet at the beginning of a row 217 Increasing with double crochet in the middle or end of a row 218 Decreasing Stitches 219 Decreasing with single crochet 219 Decreasing with double crochet 221 Decreasing with a half double crochet stitch 223 Decreasing with slip stitches at the start of a row 224 Decreasing by skipping stitches 225 Decreasing by stopping and turning before you reach the end of a row 226 Simple Ripple Blanket Project 226 Materials and vital statistics 227 Directions 227 Optional directions for different sizes 230 Chapter 4: Crocheting in Circles 231 Lord of the Center Rings 231 Joining chain stitches into a ring 232 Working stitches in the chain stitch 235 Working stitches in an adjustable ring 236 Uniting Your Ring 238 Single crochet 238 Double crochet and other stitches 239 Adding Rounds 240 The second round of single crochet 240 The second round of double crochet 241 Another Option: Spiraling Up and Up 242 Adding Another Dimension 244 Starting to add dimension 244 Deciding how to wrap up your work .246 Slouch Hat Project 246 Materials and vital statistics 247 Directions 247 Chapter 5: Multicolored Crochet 249 Bringing Designs to Life: Joining Colors 250 Changing color at the beginning (or end) 250 Changing color midstream 251 Hitching a Ride: Carrying the Yarn 252 Carrying on the wrong side 253 Working over a carried strand 254 Carrying on the right side 254 Carrying up the side 255 Demystifying Color Codes and Charts 256 Abbreviating color names in patterns 256 Charting color change 257 Crafty Math: Understanding the Fibonacci Sequence 258 Mod Pillow Project 259 Materials and vital statistics 260 Directions 260 Finishing 262 Book 4: Expanding Your Skills 263 Chapter 1: Knitting Stripes 265 Seeking the Story on Stripes 266 Textured Stripes, or How to Stand Out in a Crowd 267 Reverse stockinette stitch stripes 267 Garter stitch stripes 268 Knitting Colorful Stripes 269 Picking colors for your project 270 Counting rows 270 Joining colors 271 Dealing with old colors and loose ends 272 Knitting Stripes in the Round 274 Stirring Up Stripes: Combining Texture and Color 275 Varying your stitch pattern 275 Making waves 276 Striping any which way 277 Practice Striped Projects 277 Bold a.