Have you tried to crochet a chevron blanket, but either or both edges of your blanket keep expanding? I'll explain how to stop that from happening. You can apply this tip to any chevron pattern of your choice, or use the pattern here or on the free patterns tab to apply these tips! If you're still confused, be sure to check out the photos.

When you're making a chevron blanket, you're making "peaks" and valleys."

In most chevron patterns, you work a set number of stitches up one side of the peak, work 3 stitches to make the top of the peak, then work the same set number of stitches down the other side. To make the valley, you skip 2 stitches, then repeat the process all over again. At either end of your blanket, you are starting and ending at what would be a valley. You need to make up for this by skipping a stitch on either end. Think of it this way (I'm using the stitch count from the pattern below in my example):

• Row 1, starting in 3rd chain from hook, work 9 dc (this is the first side of your peak).
• [3 dc] in next stitch to make the peak.
• Work 9 dc (this is the other side leading down from the peak into the valley).
• The next step is to skip 2 stitches, then continue working 9 dc, [3 dc] in next stitch, 9 dc. But when you really think about those 2 skipped stitches, one of those stitches is the last stitch of one peak, the second skipped stitch is the first stitch of the next peak! This is why you need to skip one stitch at either end of each row. You're accounting for that 1 stitch that would be the valley if you were continuing on instead of ending the row.

You will always work the first row of any pattern you choose as stated in the pattern. After finishing row 1, you will then start skipping a stitch at either end of your blanket. It will work as follows (obviously using the stitch counts called for in the pattern you're using):

• Row 2 and all remaining rows: Work 1 dc in first stitch. Skip one stitch, work 1 dc in next 8 stitches [3 dc] in next stitch, work 9 dc, skip 2, *work 9 dc, [3 dc] in next stitch, work 9 dc, skip 2* all the way to the final peak.

For the final peak

• You will work 9 dc up the first side of the peak, [3 dc] in the same stitch, then work 8 dc down the final side, skip the second to last stitch, and work a dc in the final stitch of the row.
  

I am in several crochet groups on Facebook. I often see people posting questions regarding how to add a border to a C2C blanket. I thought I'd give a quick tutorial on how I add my borders. Here is an example of a baby blanket I finished using the method below.

Before you begin, you will need to choose which color(s) you will use for your border. In this example, I made the square white, and I would normally have done the first round of the border in white (or whatever the main color is) as well, but I used green for contrast.

Once you complete the second step, you can finish with whatever edging you'd like. There are many options. I prefer to work with a scalloped edge. In the pink and gray striped blanket at the top, I followed the "Large Shell Edging Instructions" from this website: http://www.how-to-crochet-instructions.com/crochet-shell-edging.html. When I got to the corner, I worked 10 tr to turn the corner and continued working around. There are countless other edgings you can add, just do a simple search for crochet edgings and go where your imagine takes you. :)

I am often asked if I knit or crochet. I actually do both. This inevitably leads to being asked what the difference is. I thought I'd answer a few of those questions here.

To answer the question simply, crochet is done with one hook while knitting is done on at least two needles.The more complicated answer is that they look completely different and sometimes one functions better than the other depending on what project and outcome you're looking for. I'll start by explaining what crochet is and what I feel it functions best for.

Crochet

The first photo is a crochet hook. There are various sizes that are used in different instances. The second image is a picture of single crochet. Crochet has various stitches, but they're all variations on the same stitch. A half double crochet stitch is just half again as tall as a single crochet stitch. A double crochet stitch is twice as tall as a single crochet stitch. Again, depending on what you're making, you may use only one of these stitches, or you may use a combination of each stitch. Here are the basic differences:

Single crochet (sc)  is much tighter, which means there are less gaps. It also means that it's much more sturdy and a bit heavy. This stitch is used most often for stuffed animals or other types of garments that you don't want gaps in.

Half Double Crochet (hdc) is a slightly taller stitch, which means it isn't as dense of a stitch. You might use hdc when making a hat or a scarf so that it still holds in body heat without being too rigid like sc.

Double Crochet (dc) is even taller than the hdc, so it's much more airy. This stitch is often used to make blankets. It may have more gaps between each stitch than the sc, but it creates a much lighter garment. A sc blanket would be very dense, whereas a dc blanket would have much more flow to it. You can even make a hat using dc, it just may not be quite as warm, which is definitely something to keep in mind if it's the middle of winter and you want something to keep your head and ears toasty.

That's just a brief overview of what crochet is. I'd be more than happy to go more in depth if anyone has any questions. Just leave me a comment and I'll write another blog post to answer your question.

Knitting

The top photo here is a typical set of knitting needles. With knitting needles like these, you can knit a flat garment like a scarf or sweater. There are also circular knitting needles and double pointed needle (dpn) sets that you can use to knit in the round. DPN sets usually come with 4 to 5 needles inside, and you would use these to finish the crown of a hat or to make socks or stuffed animals. The lower photo is what the knit stitch looks like. The reverse of the knit stitch is the purl stitch. You use these basic stitches to create a knit garment.

I personally prefer the look of knitted garments such as sweaters over the look of crocheted garments. I feel the stitch is much more visually pleasing. The knit stitch also stretches more than crochet does. For that reason, I prefer to use crochet to make stuffed animals. A crocheted stitch is less likely to stretch and allow the stuffing to show through. Knitting also allows you to make beautiful cables, so if you like how cables look, knitting is the best method to achieve the look you're going for.

That's the very simple basics between knit and crochet. There is so much more to each art that I may go into at a later time. As I said above, if you have any questions, please ask! Thank you for taking the time to read this to get a vague idea of what the difference is between knitting and crochet. The next time you see someone knitting or crocheting in public, you can ask them what they're working properly and not risk getting stabbed by a knitting needle or crochet hook :)

I decided to finally start my own website today. I have already posted several free patterns to the site, and I plan on adding several premium patterns over the next several weeks. I knit and crochet a wide variety of items, and I will post more of my finished items for sale over the next few days. If you have any special requests for items you would like made, email me a photo of the item you would like to [email protected]. Include sizes if applicable and color choices. We can discuss pricing.

I'm new to the whole blogging thing. I'm also new at writing crochet patterns. I have several free patterns listed on the free pattern page. They haven't been tested yet, so I invite you to work up one of the free patterns if you're interested. I ask that you provide feedback so that I can clean the patterns up if needed. As I'm sure many of you knitters and crocheters know, trying to write down the pattern for the idea in your head doesn't always come out right. We miss steps on occasion, or we don't make ourselves clear. If anyone has any tips for writing up patterns in a more clear and concise way, I'm all ears!

Thank you for taking the time to check out my site and read my ramblings. I hope you enjoy crafting as much as I do!