Tags
afghan, Arco Iris, baby afghan, baby gift, crochet stitch, popcorn stitch, rainbow, step by step crochet stitch, variation on double crochet, yarn
I recently finished this baby afghan that I gave to some friends who just moved, for the first time in their lives, to a climate where there is snow. They’re due to have their first baby in a couple of weeks–in perfect time for winter weather to set in. I’m afraid they are going to be very surprised to experience, first hand, how frigid it’s going to get!
They taught me the word for RAINBOW in Portuguese: ARCO IRIS–same as in Spanish. I wish the photo had turned out a little truer to the actual colors of the afghan. It really is an eye-popper!
I don’t know the real name for the stitch I used, because my grandmother called it the popcorn stitch, but it’s not the one you’ll find in crochet directories. It’s especially nice because it moves quickly and gives my work a lush fullness I don’t get with a double crochet stitch. It’s especially nice if your tension tends to be loose.
I tried the chainless foundation stitch I first learned about here from a fellow-blogger, Stitches ‘n’ Scraps. I easily adapted it from the demonstration for single crochet to the stitch I chose by chaining for 3 stitches in the beginning, then adding a chain at the beginning of each double crochet/popcorn/whatever-you-call-it stitch as I added length to the foundation. It was awesome! I did still have to think about keeping it looser on the bottom and a little tighter at the top of each stitch, but it was so much nicer than working with a simple chain! (Hurrah! Knowledge IS power! Thanks, S’n’S!)
Starting after you’ve made your foundation row, chain 3 and turn. (Trying to take pictures as I went along, but needing one hand to operate the camera, I didn’t start with the first stitch in the row. I hope you can see the progression of the stitch, anyway.) Insert hook into the back of the next stitch, yarn over and draw the yarn through (leaving three loops on hook)
yarn over and draw the loop through two of the stitches on the hook (leaving two loops on the hook) Up until this point this is exactly like making a double crochet stitch.
This is where things differ from double crochet: yarn over again and insert back into the same foundation stitch again, draw the loop through (four loops on hook now)
yarn over and pull through three stitches (two loops left on hook)
yarn over again and pull through the remaining two loops.
Whatever you decide to call the stitch, it’s beautiful, quick, and a lush choice for an afghan. I especially love it because you don’t have to concentrate on your pattern, so you can enjoy the company of your family while you work on it.