Finishing Workshop: Adding Crochet to Knitting

February 18, 2014 by Sarah White

Sometimes you just want a little extra edging on a knitting project. Sure, you could pick up stitches around the edge of, say, a sweater, and knit a little lace at the bottom.

But it’s a major pain to knit a border on a large piece of knitting like an afghan (or even a baby blanket) once it’s been knit. (Yes you could do something like applied I-cord or knit the border on as you go, but it’s still not fun.)

An easy solution is to add a crocheted edging. As shown in that tutorial, I usually do single crochet, but once you’ve got a round of single crochet done you can build off into any complicated or simple pattern you like. Crocheting a border is a great way to add a contrasting color, and if you make it big enough it can weigh down stockinette edges and keep them from curling.

If you’re a video person, check out this video on single crochet by Knit Purl Hunter, or check out the Crochet for Knitters series of videos from VeryPink Knits.

Have you ever done crochet with your knitting? I’d love to hear what you did and how it turned out!

Next Pattern:

Comments

Carmen says
February 18, 2014 at 2:13 pm
I just finished off a cowl with a crocheted edge, because it was a chevron pattern with the color changes traveling up the side. I may have added too many stitches though, as once it was washed it gave the edge a ripped effect. We’ll see what happens once I block it.

Have you read?

Knit a Glasses Holder for Your Bedside Table

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]