Sunbonnet Potholder - 7

This potholder is designed to be worn over the hand -- or, at least, used double thickness. So, the next step is to crochet the 2 pieces together.

This will be done using a single crochet stitch. Slip stitches are also often used to crochet pieces together. In fact, just about any crochet stitch could be used. However, I selected the sc since it's sturdy and looks about the same from either side.

Place the bonnets together, right sides out.

Using white, place a slip knot around the hook -- in preparation for the first sc. Make the first sc at the bottom of the back of the neck flap. Continue to sc the bonnets together. Use white to sc the edges of the neck flap together and blue to sc the edges of the rest of the bonnet together. On the sides of the bonnet, you'll be making 3 - 4 sc's per 2 rows, approximately 1 stitch in from the side. When changing yarn, do the last yo of the sc with the next color (as in the pic) -- since the loop produced at the conclusion of the stitch will be the top of the next stitch.

On the top of the bonnet, you'll be making 1 sc per st, placing the hook through the top loops (all 4 of them) for each stitch.

Stop when reaching the bottom of the front of the neck flap. Do not break yarn. However, weave in all the other ends. Next week will be the conclusion -- scalloping.

By the way, this pattern is turning out so well that I've added it to Ravelry under Sunbonnet Potholder.

Slip Stitch

The project we're working on has an edging on just one edge. But, what if one wants to put an edging all around.......

Here's an example of this -- a blanket with a single crochet edging.

To make it easier to add a crocheted edging, I used a chain stitch selvage when knitting-- I.e., I knitted the last stitch of every row and slipped the first stitch of every row purlwise with yarn in front -- on both right and wrong side rows.

To make the single crochet edging: Start with a single loop on the hook, just as you did when starting the edge for the terry towel dish towel. Single crochet around. This time there is no need to make any chain stitches. I used a size 10 needle for the knitting part and a size H crochet hook for the crochet part. Make 1 single crochet under each (double) loop of the chain stitch selvage and 1 single crochet under the bottom/top of each stitch from the cast on/bind off edge. To turn the corner, single crochet 3 times in the same place. The picture shows a corner with the extra stitches (to make it lay flat) and a sc in process of being created.

When you get back to the first stitch worked, you need a way to join the edge together. The answer is the slip stitch. It's almost invisible.

Most stitches are worked by slipping the hook under both loops at the top of a stitch (unless you want a ribbed effect). For a slip stitch (slip st), place the hook under the back loop only. Yarn over. Then draw the yarn through both loops. NexStitch has a video of the stitch plus other uses for the slip stitch.

edited March 2008: In England, this stitch is called a single crochet stitch.

Finish off the piece essentially as you would a piece of knitting. Elongate the last loop and snip off the yarn just as in knitting. Then weave it in just as you would for knitting. NexStitch has a video of weaving in the ends. I dislike needles and so use a crochet hook to pull the yarn through.

If this were crocheted back and forth, I would do exactly as the video shows (except for using a hook instead of a needle). Since this is crocheted in the round, I would weave the yarn around the first few stitches made in the round instead of the last few.

Here is the finished piece, not yet blocked. The slip stitch join is in the upper right hand corner. The bottom of the picture shows what the wrong side of a single crochet stitch looks like.

Here is a picture from the American Thread Company booklet describing the slip stitch.

Single Crochet Stitch

The single crochet stitch is abbreviated sc in patterns as in sc 2 in next ch sp (single crochet twice in the next chain space) or sc 3 in next st (single crochet 3 times in next st).

A word of warning: This is American terminology. The British term for the same stitch is double crochet (dc).

As with all crochet stitches, one starts with a single loop on the hook. In the picture at the right, I started with a loop created by making a slip stitch knot around the hook (just as one often does in starting a cast on in knitting).

There are 2 steps to making the stitch.

First, with the yarn in back, draw a loop through. In this case, I used the crochet hook to poke a hole through the terry cloth dish towel. Then I wrapped the thread around the hook and pulled the thread through. (Terry cloth is woven loosely and so it is possible to poke holes through it without snagging the fabric.) There are now 2 loops on the hook.

Second, wrap the thread around the hook again (as in the first picture) and then pull the thread through both loops.

The stitch is complete and one is left with one loop on the hook.

To make the edging, I then did 2 chain sts before making the next single crochet.
sc 1, *ch 2, sc 1* to end

The second picture show several repeats of the pattern, ending with a chain 2. The chain 2 forms what is called a chain space. I did it this way to space out the single crochet stitches.


I hope you were able to make a 6 foot long chain of chain stitches. Here is mine. But, it looks so thin. To remedy that, let's single crochet back.

The video at NexStitch shows how to do just that. The last picture in this post (from the booklet from the American Thread Company) also shows how.

Remember when starting a row to skip the first st. The last chain st made (at the end of the previous row) serves as a replacement for the first sc (at the beginning of the next row).

We've talked about how to single crochet. We've also seen how to single crochet into fabric and into chain stitches.
Next time, we'll talk about how to single crochet into a chain space and also how to crochet into the top of a single crochet stitch.