Crochet
is probably my favorite needlecraft. It was Grandmother that taught me to
crochet. I must have been about seventeen because it was after we
moved to town. We had a big snow on the ground, and since Grandmother
lived alone, she came to stay with us during the snow storm. She was
crocheting an afghan, and I guess I asked her to teach me because the next
thing I knew I was chain stitching and double crocheting Granny
Squares. The next time I went to the store I purchased enough yarn to make me
an afghan. I picked the very same yarn that Grandmother was using and made
one exactly like hers. Grandmother made some of the most beautiful
crocheted doilies. She made each of her seventeen grandchildren one
before she died. As a matter of fact, the border on the side of this page
was made using the border from one of her doilies.
This page was checked for broken
links on 6/12/09.
If you find problems with some of these links, please contact
me so I can get the problem corrected.
It is recommended that you make a
gauge swatch so your crochet project will be the correct size, and to make
sure you will have enough yarn to finish the project. The gauge is
measured by the number of stitches per inch and the number of rows per
inch. Using the hook size given in the instructions, make a 4"X
4" sample swatch. Measure the swatch. If the number of
stitches and rows are fewer than indicated in your pattern, your hook is too
large. Try a size smaller hook. If the number of stitches and
rows are more than indicated in the pattern, your hook is too small.
Try a larger hook. I don't always make a gauge. Sometimes
the size is not important but it you are making an afghan or a garment you
will want it to be the correct size and should make a sample swatch.
