Crunching, er Crocheting, After the Holidays

 Now that the holiday crunch is pretty much over, it's time to get back to the business of hooking!  Yippee!!

On Thursday I showed images of the scarves I crocheted as teacher's gifts -- "hugs" -- from my children. And in the description I mentioned that one of the scarves featured one of my favorite stitches: The Crunch Stitch.

And since then many of you have been contacting me asking what that stitch is ... it sounds to me that you're ready to set aside all the holiday trimmings and escape to some blissful crocheting time, so I'll oblige and reveal the simplicity of this textured stitch because all hookers should be kept happy, right? ((grins))

The Crunch Stitch is nothing more than mixing, or I should say alternating, two basic crochet stitches.  The Slip Stitch and the Half Double.  On the next row a Slip Stitch is made in every Half Double, and in every Half Double is where a Slip Stitch is to be created.  Since the Slip Stitch is much smaller than the Half Double, it bends the Half Double down creating a slanted ridge in the fabric.  The trick here is to ensure your Slip Stitch remains loose and you remember to only work into the top two loops of the stitches (many new to this stitch mistakenly pick up that slanted ridge).  If the Slip Stitch is too tight the experience will not be pleasurable and your fabric will look kind of funky!

For your holiday escape/pleasure, click onto the image above to visit my website where I offer a free pattern for the textured scarf.  It makes a great gift or charitable donation while you get to practice this fun stitch combo! J