A common problem in amigurumi: you want to crochet something striped, but there's this funky looking stairstep "seam" running diagonally where you change colors. How do you get rid of that!?
EDIT: I've also put together a pair of videos showing this technique in action. You can view them here:
http://needlenoodles.com/home/node/165
The easy answer would be to just hide the seam in the back or somewhere else out of notice, but let's say that this option won't work for you, or that you're making a long, spindly striped piece where the seam can't really be hidden. Luckily, I have another solution for you: the crocheted jogless stripe!
Click the photo above to read more.
Method #1: Jogless Stripes when working in a single crochet spiral
Normally, making stripes when working in a spiral leaves a rather messy line where the color changes happen:
Try this technique to make your color transitions a little bit cleaner:
Step 1: At the start of a round which will be in a new color, pull up a loop as if to make a single crochet in the old color, but don't pull through the second loop to complete the stitch-- you should have two loops on your hook
Step 2: Complete the single crochet by pulling through a loop of the *new* color. You have just made a single crochet which is half the old color and half the new color.
Step 3: Make 1 slip stitch in the new color
Step 4: Continue the round as usual.
See how this method compares to the normal way of changing colors:
Method #2: Jogless Stripes when working in single crochet rounds
I feel that working in rounds instead of in a spiral offers slightly better-looking stripes, but there is still a noticeable seam at the color changes:
Try my "clean color change" method to improve the look of your stripes!
Step 1: Stop at the end of a round, right before closing the round with a slip stitch, when you are going to be switching to a new color in the next round.
Step 2: Take the hook *out* of the current loop, and insert the hook in the space where you would normally make the slip stitch to close the round.
Step 3: Take the loop that you pulled off of the hook in Step 2, and pull it back onto the hook, such that the loop is now behind the fabric. (You might want to tug on the yarn a bit if this loop has become loose)
Step 4: Make your slip stitch using the new color. Continue on to the next round using the new color.
Compare the results:
Regular method:
My "jogless" method:
Awesome! Thanks for sharing
Awesome! Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks a lot!!! this works
Thanks a lot!!! this works great!
Wonderful!
This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much for posting it!
I'm kind of new to crochet.
I'm kind of new to crochet. This looks wonderful, but I need to know what the difference is between 'rounds' and 'in spiral'.
"rounds" vs "spirals"
You might find this post useful:
http://needlenoodles.com/home/comment/reply/81
Just scroll down to the section titled "Working in the round (Single Crochet)"
Awesome! Thank you for the
Awesome! Thank you for the tip
Brilliant!
Thank you so much for this :)))
Thank you sooooo much for
Thank you sooooo much for sharing this amazing tutorial! I've always been very disturbed by the uneven change in colours of my amigurumis. With this amazing crochet method, I'm going to try to crochet more stripes creations. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your tutorials are very clear and detailed. Love, Rachel H
http://littleyarnfriends.tumblr.com
Jogless stripes
Thank you so much! My crotcheting has benefitted greatly from these wonderfully clear instructions.
O how wonderful!
I've been designing/ making little monsters with striped legs and really didn't like the messy transitions.
Thank you so much for this, as now my lil guys will look so much better :)
quick question
When working in rounds, after completeing the slip stitch do we do the "ch 1, sc 1 in same" normally? Like insert the hook through the slip stitch and the first sc from the previous round?
I tried it and it works out really nicely so I assume that's what you meant . . .
In the example photo, I ch 1
In the example photo, I ch 1 and continue sc'ing around-- I generally only start the round with a "sc 1 in same" if I intend to increase, but I know that some people prefer the look of the seam with a "sc 1 in same" at the start of each round. It's just a matter of preference.
wow
I will definitely try this.. thanks for the tip.
Gaby
Thank you!!
Thank you very much voor this tutorial. Before I read this, it was really frustrating to see the transitions! And now it looks so... Ehh I dont see them anymore! Thanks a lot!!
Gr. Heleen
I love this!
Thanks so much for sharing these tips! I've been trying to figure this out for ages, and always ended up just having to hide the seam. I found you via Pinterest, and linked to this page on my blog this morning. :) http://bit.ly/N9O88u
Fantastic. Thank you. My
Fantastic. Thank you. My stripes are good now!
Thankyou!
Now my stripes are nice and neat! I can't thank you enough. :D
... confused about where to start colour change
... I'm used to yarning the new colour into the last stitch of the previous round, does this method yarn into the first stich of the new round? From earlier comments, it sounds like
Instead of 11SC, 1 SC Colour Change, start new round, you do end round on previous colour, 1SC Colour change, Sl St, 10SC ...
Er ... does any of that make sense? Thaaaaaaaaaank you :)!
Color change location
So, assuming that you are working rounds 12 sc around, what I do is
Round n+1: working with color 1, sc 12
Round n+2: working with color 1, make first half of sc, working with color 2, make second half of same sc, sl st 1, sc 10
Round n+3: working with color 2, sc 12
(Although, really, if you're working in a spiral, doing the color change at the start or the end of the round doesn't really make the transition appear any more or less smooth. It just shifts where the transition occurs to the left or right.)
THANK YOU!! You're great!
Thank you very much for this tips!!
They're really useful, and they are really well explained!
Greetings!
Laura
Confused
This didn't work for me. I can still see the seam from my color changes. I'm unclear about the slip stitch for crocheting in continuous rounds in these directions. Is the slip stitch made in the next stitch or the previous stitch? Do you single crochet in the slip stitch in the next round? I feel like the only thing that is different in these directions is the slip stitch. The rest of the color change takes place as I've always done it. I'm just confused by all of the wonderfully positive comments about this method and my inability to achieve those results. Hoping I can find some suggestions to get me on the right track!
If you're working in
If you're working in spirals, then yes, the slip stitch goes in the next stitch, and you will single crochet in the slip stitch in the next round.
Also, if it helps, I have a video showing this technique in motion:
http://needlenoodles.com/home/node/165
That's helpful, ty
I'll have to have this page open on my lap top when I try to do this. I've noticed the stepping effect and have wondered if I've gone wrong somewhere. Glad to know it's not me, but there is a way I can lessen the effect.
Thank you very much!
http://thelittleroomofrachell.wordpress.com/
thank you! Thank you! thank you!
Your tutorial is wonderful! Such a gift!
Thank you!
I wanted to add to the many thanks already out here. I'm a quasi-begginer and a was going batty w/ that icky diagonal 'seam' appearing when I switch colors. Of course no one ever photographs the work showing the ugly seam and I've been left scratching my head trying to figure out if I was doing something wrong. So a HUGE thank you for sharing your knowledge to the rest of the crocheting world in such a fantastically clear and detailed manner!
Tutorial: Crocheted Jogless Stripes
This is my VERY FIRST reply to ANY post . Just to let you know how significant this tutorial has been to me . I have been strugguling for years with this problem ( i crochet hats in rounds ) I looked all over the net and through many books for a solution and never found one( i didn't even know it had a name ). Now I know what to call it and how to solve it .Thank you , Thank you , Thank you!!!!! a million times.
Wow!!! Thank you for sharing
Wow!!! Thank you for sharing this! This will help a lot!
thank you SOOOOOOOOOO much
thank you SOOOOOOOOOO much for yhis tutorial, I found it really frustrating to crochet stripes before this tutorial!!!
now I will crochet them when I want!
Decreasing
I seem to be doing this very wrong. Whenever I do the jogless merhod I seem to have decreased a stitch by the time I switch colours again. What could I be doing wrong?
Thank you in advance!
Hmm, I'm not 100% sure-- are
Hmm, I'm not 100% sure-- are you doing jogless stripes in spiral or in rounds? I would guess that you're either skipping a stitch or, or working in rounds, closing your round too far over.
Jog less crochet work
Thanks for this brilliant tutorial for making smoother colour changes when crocheting in rounds my toys will look a whole lot better now.
A revelation! Thank you for
A revelation! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Even after many years crocheting it is so satisfying to learn something new. Sarah
Jogless Stripes
In your method #1 in step 3 you state: Make 1 slip stitch in the new color -- is the slip stitch to be placed in the next stitch? In step 4 you state: continue the round as usual -- do you start single crocheting in the same stitch as the slip stitch or in the next stitch? Sorry, I got lost here. The changing of the colors is how I always change them otherwise. Thank you for your help. Darlene
Method #1: One stitch per space.
Each stitch goes in the next available space in method #1-- none of the stitches go in the same stitch as the previous stitch. The photos under each step should help if you get stuck at any point.
Ok, despite the fact that I
Ok, despite the fact that I might seem really, really stupid: You make the half old-half new colour-stitch, then a slip stitch; does that mean you "begin" this row with a slip stich instead of a sc?.. Let's say the rows are 12 st; does the colour change-rounds mean 1 slip st and 11 sc, or am I just not getting it?..*smiles, helpless and lost* (And I realized just now that my example-thingy perhaps only makes sense to me.. What I meant by it was that when working in a spiral, each row is 12 sc. So when I change colour, I continue working the slip st in this row's second sc, then sc around as usual. I do NOT make the slip st in the same st where I made the colour change, right? Am I getting it?..)
And I just have to add that your tutorials are brilliant, not only the spot-on techniques but the beautiful photos as well!.. Everything looks so incredibly good, and so easy! Your hook just melts into your crochet, all those pretty and perfect stitches, not a single ugly too loose/too tight/I don't even know what happened here..-one, the colours and everything in such effortless harmony.. Just looking at your pictures inspires; I have this smile from the inside out when I've finished dancing around my apartment like a fairy and with some yarn now sit to make some magic. Thank you so much for that. And thank you, THANK YOU, for when I fail miserably always being the one with the answers. You are probably the closest thing to Yoda the world of crocheters will ever have. Never stop, ok?*smiles*
Ah, I think that I
Ah, I think that I understand.
Basically, the half old color/half new color sc and the sl st *replace* the first two stitches of the round.
So, if a "regular" pattern told you:
Round 1: sc 12
Round 2: change color, sc 12
then, with my method, you would do the following instead:
Round 1: sc 12
Round 2: pull through a loop as if to start a sc, leaving two loops on the hook, change color, pull yarn through both loops on hook, sl st 1, sc 10
Hope that helps!
Method 2, between Steps 3 and 4
Thank you for the tutorial. For method 2, I kind of got lost between steps 3 and 4, after pushing the loop to the back, can you explain a little about how the slip stitch is done and what happens to the loop behind?
Well, normally when you make
Well, normally when you make a slip stitch to close a round, you have one loop on the hook, you put the hook in the gap where the sl st will go, and pull the yarn through all loops on the hook to make the sl st. This leaves that first loop in *front* of the fabric.
All I'm doing in steps 3 and 4 is making sure that the loop ends up *behind* the fabric, so, if you've managed to get the loop back onto your hook in step 3, all you need to do to get the sl st in step 4 is pull a loop of the new color of yarn through all loops on the hook.
Great Tutorial
We'd love to see this over on Instructables too! All of your work is so great.
-scoochmaroo
sarah@instructables.com
I have to say, that this is
I have to say, that this is by far themost helpful stripe tutorial around!!! i hae been trying for soooo long to make a jogless stripe that i had practically given up - until now that is!! thanks again x x
Me too.
me too
Great Thanks!
This is fantastic. Thank you for sharing your wisdom!
OK, this is the best tutorial I've seen!
I simply thought the color switching will be seen no matter what. You've made it clear anything can be done!
Thank you very much for sharing!
jogless joining in changing color
I have to say nobody does this as good as you. I have seen so many tutorial, and none of them say it or show it as good as you. Some do not even bother to write! Thankyou so much. TRuly
Thank you!
Thank you!