Forgoing the turning chain in crochet helps when the chains make your edges unsightly. Making an hdc without a starting chain is fairly simple once you get the hang of it. It will have your edges looking neater in no time.

To see left-handed views, hover over the picture with your mouse.

Pull the chain on your hook up to a little more than hdc height and hold the loop to the hook. The arrow in the picture points to the front half of the loop.

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It’s the time of year when cold drinks are on the menu, but that doesn’t mean rings on your furniture have to be, too. This is a fun little coaster to absorb the condensation so you can really relax when it’s time to enjoy a refreshing beverage on a hot day. Here’s to lemonade and iced tea on the porch!

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As with the other invisible decreases, the invisible treble decrease is great for creating a more uniform look in your work. This decrease is done as follows:

Remember: You can hover over the pictures for a left-handed view.

Yarn over twice, as you would usually do for a tr.

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Ruffles and lace, perfect for when you need to add a little extra feminine touch to an outfit. Let the cuffs peek out from the sleeves of a jacket or wear one alone as its own statement. This pattern makes a great introductory project for beginners who want to try lace with its decreasing and increasing pattern.

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Here’s a keychain that has both form and function. It’s a cute miniature tote bag, and if you install a zipper or other fastener, you can use it as a coin purse. Try making a brightly colored one and using it to hold the change you need to feed the parking meter at the beach.

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Most crochet stitches are worked into the loops in the top of the stitch, whether it’s both loops or one of them. However, every once in a while, you may come across a pattern that requires you to work into the side of a stitch. In the case of the single crochet, the stitch is worked into a vertical bar as shown below. If you are right-handed, the bar will be on your left, and if you are left-handed, the bar will be on your right.

For a left-handed view, hover over the pictures.

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Bunches of grapes make a nice addition to fruit themed decorations and appliques. They would make a nice addition to a market bag or an accent for a table setting or kitchen set. The finished bunch of grapes is one sided so that you can use it as an applique.

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When your ball of non-superwash wool yarn runs out or breaks and you don’t want to deal with another end, the felted join can help. It’s quick, simple, and you don’t need any extra tools for it. It makes a great substitute for the Russian join if your yarn needle has gone missing. This join is commonly called “spit splicing” since you can use your saliva in a pinch, but some of us prefer to just use water.
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This headband has only one side and one edge–It’s a cool little mathematical trick involving a ring with a half-twist. This pattern is simple enough for those who are new to Moebius crochet to follow. If you are new to this technique, please see the tutorial on How to Crochet a Moebius to learn the basics of crocheting a moebius.

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Turning chains have a nasty habit of making the edges of project look bad, and the taller the stitch, the worse it gets. Fortunately, we can crochet without them using the technique in this tutorial. This double treble saves the trouble of starting chains and blends in better.

You can hold your cursor over the images to get a left-handed view.

To start, draw up the starting loop to the height of a dtr.

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