Jolly Joining

There I was. Busy crocheting my third scarf (and hat set) for the 2014 60 Scarves in 60 Days Challenge when I decided I didn't want the scarf to be a scarf.  No, I decided I wanted it to be a cowl. (Yes, cowls count in the Challenge).

Unfortunately, as I had decided this, I looked at the beginning tail -- the tail was not long enough to utilize for sewing the "scarf" ends together. Groan. This would mean I'd need to cut yarn off my skein, sew the crocheted fabric together, and then securely bury the ends in... Shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Have I ever professed at how much I don't like sewing in my ends? I know I'm not alone in this; we'd much rather crochet than have to stop and bury those ends! For the most part, I don't mind sewing in a few, but when it comes to sewing in "unnecessary" ends because I hadn't planned ahead, well, those I loathe. It feels like punishment! (lol)  So I started thinking.

And thought some more.

Jolly Joining crochet edges with live stitches.

Made some more stitches.

Thought some more.

And then the light bulb went off.  "OMG! Why has no one shown me how to do this before??!!  I'm sure someone else has thought of this!!"

Jolly Joining: I made my last turning chains, aligned the work where I wanted to join it, removed the hook from the live loop (see 'B' in image), then inserted my hook (from front to back; see 'A' in image) into the fabric I wanted to join to, then I replaced the live loop back onto my hook and pulled it through. Next, I made my stitch (in this case I was working with hdc sts), repeating the process of pulling the live loop through the opposite fabric before making each stitch I needed for that last row until the join was complete.

And you know what? I love it! No additional sewing required! No additional ends to bury! On the working side (aka the "back side") there are "slashes" that look like it had been hand-sewn.  But on the front side (see image below) it looks seemless!!  And, bonus!, it is flat to the touch!  Squee!!

Jolly Joining leaves a clean, seemless, and flat finish!

Mr Dee came over and asked why I was so happy. When I explained the process to him he replied, "Sounds to me you found the perfect jolly join technique."  He's so right! I can't wait to utilize this joining technique more!


sidenote: If you know of someone else using this join technique, and/or know of its proper name, please let me know as I'd love to give proper credit.  For now, I'm going to give Mr Dee the name credit.  :)

Yarn in photo: Knitting Fever Candy Cane
Crochet Hook by Dyak.