Saturday, January 30, 2010

I invented a new stitch!

I kid you not... Can you believe it? Me? Stitch inventor? Sorta baffles and excites me. It all happened when I screwed up on another pattern and found myself thinking (scary scenario for anyone who knows me) that I could turn this mistake into an actual stitch! So I played around with it, and voila! A stitch is born. I guess I am gonna call it the "trailer" because it's a double wide stitch. Bah-dum-bum. :) Seriously though, it is almost two stitches in one stitch, causing there to be a double thickness of yarn. Probably works out to take double the yarn and double the time, but oh! - the texture of the finished product is awesome! It's thick and you can barely see any holes in your work. Would make for a kick-ass baby blanket, I'm sure!

Here are the instructions:

Trailer single crochet (tsc): insert hook in front loop, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over and draw through one loop, insert hook in back loop of same stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over and draw through two loops, yarn over and draw through remaining two loops.

Trailer half-double crochet (thdc): yarn over and insert hook in front loop, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over and draw through two loops, yarn over and insert hook in back loop of same stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over and draw through all four loops.

Trailer double crochet (tdc): yarn over and insert hook in front loop, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over and draw through two loops, yarn over and insert hook in back loop of same stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over and draw through three loops, yarn over and draw through remaining two loops.

These stitches will be taller and wider than regular stitches, so you may have to alter patterns to make these work. Here is a swatch to show the difference in the puffiness. You can see the fuschia-colored hat very well through the rows of regular double crochet. But see the texture and thickness of the trailer stitches? There is almost no color showing through. If you could feel it, you would love it. It almost has a spongy texture. Make sure you click on the image to get a close up. Comments and feedback would be awesome! Even if you don't like it. ;)


19 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this - I'm gonna try it! :D

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  2. I tried your stitch but with a slight modification. It seemed easier to yarn over, insert hook in front loop pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through two loops; insert hook in back loop pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through two loops then yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook. Made a dish cloth. I haven't used it yet, but I liked the thick, cushy feel of it.

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  3. Glad everyone likes it! Darlene, how cool you tried it and already made it special for you! Please post a pic of the dishcloth. I would love to see your creativity! (and I love the cushy feel too. I made a scarf and it is soooo warm!)

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  4. You should submit this to some official body of crochet!!!!!!

    Michelle

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  5. Thanks for posting this! I appreciate it and will try it myself :)

    Tamara Slack

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  6. Michelle - aren't you kind! I like it a lot too, but I don't think it's as original as I first thought. Apparently, there are other stitches out there that are pretty similar. Oh well. At least I'm trying!

    Tamara - can't wait to see what you make with it!

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  7. I am definitely going to try this! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  8. I can see this stitch in mittens, not just for warmth, but for texture as well.

    TO THE NEEDLES!

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  9. Interesting stitches. Definitely going to try this when the opportunity presents itself. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. I like the fact the stitch is thicker so in making an afghan or baby blanket, you can make one that is heavier without having to use heavier yarn! I will soon have a new niece in Alaska...may have to try this stitch out on something for her!

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  11. Have you tried this with two colors? I'm at work with no yarn so I cant right now. I havent heard of any stitches like these- I cant wait to do some swatches.
    Congrats!
    Rebecca

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  12. I want to try these stitches when making potholders. Thank you for posting this!

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  13. So glad everyone likes this stitch! I really do too. Rebecca - no I haven't tried it in more than one color, but I bet it would rock! Try it, please, and then share the results!

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  14. I'm going to try this later on today! Looks interesting. I have a question...I make tutorial crochet videos for AllFreeCrochet.com and would like to make a tute of your stitch. The only problem is I'm not sure I can mention your website since it's a video for their site. I can use the name of the stitch though and I'm sure it will prompt people to search for the "trailer stitch" and end up here :) Please let me know if I can have permission to do this. I will not without your say so. Keep up the great work!

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  15. Lisa - how kind of you to think of me! Sure, you can use this stitch! Just so you know, there is something else out there similar (see http://thelaughingwillow.blogspot.com/2010/02/not-genius-i-thought-i-was.html), but I think my stitch is still unique enough to stand on its own. How exciting!

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  16. Sounds like it would definitely be a cushy stitch and would take quite a bit of yarn too. Sounds interesting though, I'll be giving it a try, hopefully soon. I have so many projects I need to get done for birthdays and Christmas...maybe this stich would work in one of my projects. Thanks for sharing!

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  17. This is kinda cool. I've been looking for some new ideas for an afghan I'm making. Think I'll try this out.

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  18. Just saw it now. Great idea. Congratulations...

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