C2C Crochet
In this Instructable I will be showing you how to create a corner to corner (C2C) crochet item. The item I am making is a girl walking her AT-AT, but you can use any grid design you want. The only limitation is your imagination (and maybe paper size)!
If you are new to crochet you will want to start here and here. I will not be going over any of the basics.
Abbreviations I will be using:
Ch – Chain
Dc – Double Crochet
Sl – Slip Stitch
Sc – Single Crochet
Supplies
Yarn - I used worsted weight Caron yarn.
Hook - I used an H hook.
Scissors
Grid of desired design
Bobby pins - These are to help control your yarn when you have smaller balls to work with.
Pencil
Starting Out...
You will need to either make or find a graph for how you want the end project to look. I really liked a design I found for cross stitch, so I drew mine out on some graph paper. It took a little bit of sketching and tweaking to get it just what I wanted. Take your time. It will be worth it in the end.
I find a lot of really great ideas for C2C graphs on Pinterest. There are many very talented folks that also sell grids or offer them for free.
Next pick your yarns and you are ready to go!
Start by taking your yarn and chain 6. Make a dc in the fourth chain from the hook. The other 3 chains will count as a double crochet throughout the pattern
Make a dc in the next two chains. You should have 4 dc including the starting 3 chains.
Turn and chain 6
Dc in the fourth chain from the hook and then the next two chains.
Connecting the Blocks
Now we need to connect the two blocks together. To do this you sl into the 3 chain space.
Ch 3
Dc 3 in the connecting space. Now you will have 3 blocks
Turn and chain 6
Dc in the fourth chain from the hook and the following two chains.
Sl into chain space of the neighboring block
Ch 3
Dc 3 in the connecting space.
Repeat from step 9 until the last block of the row.
Once you are at the last block of the row you will repeat from step 7
Your C2C project will continue to grow with each row.
Changing Colors
At the sl to start the next block you will put your hook through the chain 3 space and yarn over the new color instead of the color you just used.
You then continue the same as before with this new color.
You can carry colors under a block of a different color if it is only for one or two blocks. More then that can cause bunching. Depending on your project you may have quite a few ends to bury at the end.
Stop Increasing
When you no longer need to increase you will have a couple things happen.
If your project looks like this picture, ch 1 then sl into the next 3 stitches. Ch 3.
3 dc in the ch 3 space as before.
Sl to connect blocks. Ch 3. Continue on as before to the end of the row.
If you are still increasing on this end do your turn and ch 6, then make the next block. If you are no longer increasing move on to the next step.
If your project looks like this picture, sl into chain 3 space to connect blocks
Ch 1, turn
Sl into the next 3 stitches. Sl into the chain 3 space. Ch 3
3 dc in the ch 3 space as before.
Sl to connect blocks and continue on as before until the end. You will continue to decrease until you are on your last block.
Finishing Off
Now to finish do your final connection, then one more sl and cut the yarn.
Lessons Learned
I bought two each of the one pound Caron yarns for this project. While Caron yarn is just fine to use, these large skeins were a pain to use. I had to do a lot of cutting and it was difficult to handle them for a C2C project. For future projects I will get more small skeins, regardless of how good the sale might seem.
Don't forget to keep track of where you are at on your graph. This will be very helpful as you go along.