Hand crochet a blanket without a hook

1. Introduction: Hello. I'm Karen. I'm the owner of Mary Marine. It's and in this class, I'm gonna show you. Make a crash, A blanket using your fingers rather than a crochet hook. Um, it's a really awesome way to make a blanket really quickly. Makes these big, as you can see almost two inch long stitches, which is really a cool way to make a blanket in almost no time at all. And once you get the technique down, you can actually make you blink it bigger, smaller, different dimensions. I'll talk about that later in the class. Um, and you can use the technique to make other things that are rectangular in shape, meaning in another class will advance to doing things that are circular. But this is just basically, how to make a square or rectangular blanket. Um, it's really awesome. I make all kinds of things using finger crushing A, and I'll show you a little bit about different materials you can use. And, like I said, the overall technique that you can use to make other things. So let's get started 2. Materials: So the materials you need for this project are really simple because you only need one thing, which is the yarn. Um, this blanket I made with a jumbo size yarn, which is biggest they make this particular yarn is discontinued now, so I'm not going to use that for this class. But I just wanted to show you how cool it looks when When I saw finished and the stitches are gigantic. This is another example of a jumbo yard. And the way you can tell it's jumbo is if you turn the package over it should have a number here that says what size it ISS. And this one is size seven, which is the biggest they make. Um And so if you were gonna use a yarn like this which are becoming more and more widely available, you probably will only need one strand at a time because it's so incredibly thick you may not even need as many stitches is I'm gonna use in this pattern. But, um, this is just a example of the sort of the biggest year and you could use for this project. We're actually going to use a super bulky, which is a size six yard. Um, you probably can't see it close up, but it's it's here on the package. Size six. Um, you could use any size six, and it would work for this project. And so for that, we're gonna use three strands held together. So in total, you're gonna need six Skanes of this yard on. All include a copy of the pattern on the listing for this class. Um, this particular one is called cozy wool and it sold by Michael's Craft stores. Um, some other good ones are Lyon brands. Woolley's thicken Quick, which is really Acidifying to craft stores and online. Um And then, if you wanted to use, like a really nice quality Peruvian wool, there's one called Cascade Magnum. Greatest name ever return that would work really well. It's just a little more expensive because it's 100%. Well, while this is a blend of wool and acrylic, So, like I said, six gains of this super bulky yarn will make you a small lap blanket. And if you wanted to make a larger blanket, you're gonna need more yard than that. Like I said all over that end of the class s. So let's go ahead and move on to the technique 3. Chaining: Okay, now that we've got our yarn picked out, I just wanted to show you a little close up of the label so you can see right There's where it says the size of the yard that we're using. Um, so yes, so Super Bowl key will be a size six, and that's what you're looking for. So you can go ahead and take off the labels and then get all three skeins of your yarn together and pull out the ends and kind of hold them together like this. And then if you want to put your yard, you know, in a basket or somewhere so it doesn't fall on the floor. That's a good way to work, and you can also kind of pull some out to get you started. So I like to leave about six inches of tail. Uhm, at the start of any project, and the first step to making your blanket is making a slip knot. Um, there's a lot of different ways to make a slip knot, and there's tons of videos out there if you need help. But basically the way that I do it is a wrap it around my left hand all the way around one time, and then I come up underneath the back and pull up a loop. And so once you have your loop, you know, pulled up through the back and you just kind of slip your hand out and tighten this. Not okay, So that's gonna leave you your first loop and you want to tighten it toe where it's just big enough to fit two fingers through, maybe an inch and 1/2 two inches, something like that. And the first thing we're gonna dio, um, to make your blanket and to make really any project using this technique is to make a chain . Um, if you're familiar with regular Croce already know how to do this, but we're just gonna use our hands instead of a hook. So basically, you reached two fingers through the hole and grab your working Aaron, which is the yarn that's attached to your Skanes and you just grab a loop. So now you have the first loop that you started with, and one more grab another. And that's how the changes starts to to form. And I think it helps as you're chaining to kind of hold this spot right here. Just, you know, the start of the one that's on your finger, and that just kind of allows you to pull through the next loop without changing the size of this loop. Otherwise, it can stretch our Titan. Then it becomes confusing when you go to Crow Shea so just reached through, continue grabbing more loops. It's okay if they're not 100% even this one. I accidentally didn't grab the right amount where I made in sort of an extra loops. And when I do that and do it again, there's no shame and undoing something when you messed it up. It is sometimes hard when you're working with sort of a three ply situation to get all three every time. So just be aware of that. You're also kind of turning to the side in order to grab that yarn. There's kind of a rhythm to this, where you grab the base of it, turned to the side, pull up a loop. This is when it helps toe have your yarn a little bit extra pulled out, so holding the base, grabbing another loop, holding the base, grabbing another loop, and you can see if you lay this flat. You've got a Siris of these here the be and what you want when you're done is toe have 17 weise and then a loop on your finger. This is where the hook would be if you were using a crush. A hook. So what you can do to tell if you've got the right numbers just counts. Trust this out and count. So this is the one on your finger that doesn't count. This is the 1st 1 here. Let me slide us. You can see first to be second. Be so. 123 or Sorry. 123 War 56789 10 11 and 12. So I need five more to complete the chain one to three or and five. So I got my chain of 17 stitches. It's actually going to end up being 16 single crow Shay's because the 1st 1 kind of comes up to form the side of the first stitch. So I'll explain that in the next segment. But yeah, just make sure that you have 17 plus the one that's held on your finger as we go to the next step 4. Crocheting the first row: Okay, so moving into the next step, you have the chain on your finger. 17. Here. I'm gonna show you how to make your first single Croce Stitch. And going into the chain row is always a little bit different than going into the rest of the peace. So just keep that in mind. It's actually the hardest first row of any crash. A piece is always the hardest. Once you make it through that, you'll probably go start going a lot faster. So, um, another thing I wanted to say was that for this chain row, we're gonna be going underneath just the top of every stitch, which I think is a little bit easier for big for beginners if you wanted to. You turn this to the side. You can go underneath both the top and the bottom of every V if you want. Teoh. Um, if as you get more advanced, you may want to do that in subsequent Rose, we're going to go underneath the top of both. I'm sorry. The top and bottom of everybody, but for the chain wrote just the top. So what we're gonna do is remember when I said before in the first stitch of any row. You don't go into the first V. You go into the second V. So basically, what we're gonna do is holding this loop on your finger. You're gonna come over to the second V and come underneath the top, and then we're gonna grab the working yarn could actually reach two fingers in there to grab it and pull up a loop. So now you have that initial loop and this new loop that's part one of your first single crow Shea. Now you're going to reach through both of these loops, so kind of stick your thumb under their grab that working urine again and pull up another loop. And that completes your your single crow Shea. And that's how it's gonna look on the very 1st 1 a little strange. It kind of takes a few more to start looking a little more normal. So from here on out, we don't skip to we just go immediately to the next stitch. It's only the first stitch of any row where we skip to the 2nd 1 So now we go to the next one, you find the top of the V. Here's the V here. We're looking for the top. Go underneath there, Reach for your working on all three strands and pull up a loop. So you have the one that was on their before, and this one. And now you'll reach in between both loops and grab another loop. So that's your second stitch. So as you move down the row, it can be a little bit tricky to figure out where is the next to be. Here's of you. Right here. That's pretty easy to see. It's a little bit confusing, you know, as faras. Is this the next one or not? And so what I try to do is look at what did I go into last? It looks like this one here. So this is the V I have already gone into, and this is the next one. So underneath there, we'll pull up the first loop and then we'll reach in between both of those and pull up the second loop. Matt completes the stitch. So we're working right to left every time. We're looking for the V's in the chain, and we're kind of seeing OK, we've already done this on. So this is the next one, and it just takes a lot of practice to figure that out. One loop. Love the second loop. I'm going to continue working down this row again, going under the top of the next D. We've already gone under this one, so this is the next one. Pull up one loop. Well, the 2nd 1 And then you can see as you make your single Croce Che stitches. If you turn it sideways, there's the next line of these. So that's what we'll use on our next row. So I'll keep going down this row and then I'll tell you how toe get to the second row. I just wanted to mention that when you get to the end of your chain row, um, a lot of times it tightens on you or twists a little bit, and the last one looks a little strange. So don't worry too much about that. You're still just going to try to find the top of the V and make your last stitch under there, And then at this point, you can count to make sure that you have 16 stitches, which is a good thing to do on any row. anytime you think that you might be getting off. And I think the best way, rather than trying to go across and count, is to actually turn it this direction and count the top. So you never count the one on your finger. You start next to it. 123456789 10 11 12 13 14 15 16. 5. Making the turning chain: Okay, So when you're ready, O go on to the second row, you need to make a turning chain. And it's really simple. All you have to do is remember to do it. That's the hard part. So you've got a loop on your finger and you're just gonna reach through their pull up a loop, just like you were chaining an extra chain. Um, and so that will allow you to build the height you need for the second row. So once you made that extra chain, you turn your flip here, you clip your work over. So now you can start working right toe left again. Keep that loop on your finger. And I think it helps to feed the yarn coming from that direction so that you can go right to left. So you see, here I have one of my finger. I have the 1st 1 and the 2nd 1 And when I say first and second, I'm talking about these V's here. Remember, in the first stitch of any row, you don't go into the 1st 1 You go into the 2nd 1 We're just gonna do the same thing we did before, except instead of going underneath the top of every stitch. We're gonna go underneath the top and the bottom. So if it helps to lift those up with your fingers, you can do that. Should be a nice big space underneath there, so that makes every subsequent row easier than the first row. So underneath that space, pull up a loop and then stick your fingers in there and pull up another loop. And that completes the first stitch. No, for the second stitch, remember, we don't skip one. We just go immediately to the next one. Come underneath the V, pull up one loop. Well, the second loop. So every stitch has two parts. So now we've got to and I'll just keep going down the row, doing the same thing, pulling up one loop and then reaching through from pulling up another one. And I'll just show you once you get to be kind of a pro with this, if instead of reaching for the next loop with two fingers, you know, as I have been doing like that kind of pinching, you can use your index finger as if it were a crash, a hook and just sort of reach under there, twist this yarn around it and pull it up. And then same thing with the next part of the stitch you can sort of reach through their hook it and then come under there. I'll show you that again because that was not great. Video hook. It are under finger once. I guess you're going from front to back, hooking it and pulling it through. I don't like that technique as much because I feel like when you do that, you end up making really tight stitches. And, um, I think it helps with finger crush a toe. Have a little bit looser stitches, so you can do that if you want. I just think my personal preference is to use two fingers and pinch and sort of grab that way, but you'll find out what technique works best for you. Maybe over time one ends up standing out for you, and you'll just continue working down this row, making stitches. And then when you get to the little last stitch, make your turning chain and then flip your work over and you'll start the next row 6. Crocheting the blanket: So once you, um I've got this technique down, you're basically just going to continue working this way, making a turning chain here, flipping your work over and then start starting to work the next row from right to left back and forth, back and forth until your piece, um is long enough that you have enough yarn to do Ah, full last row. It should be somewhere in the I would say 34 that the 36 inch range every crow share is different in terms of how tighter, looser stitches are. So that may very for you. Um, the other thing I wanted to mention is that when you run out of this first set of three strands, um, all you have to do is just take your next three strands and not them together with the 1st 3 and then cut off that any extra yarn that gets in the way. You can kind of try to hide that, not somewhere. Or if you wanted Teoh, not each individual strand together, you might have some smaller knots that are easier to hide, but there's nothing fancy to it. You're just you're trying to two sets of yarn together. Um, the other thing I wanted to mention is when you finish your work when you get to the end, it could not be easier, because with crow Shea, unlike knitting where you have to do, ah, special last row, you actually just go to the last stitch when it's on your finger and you will cut off your yarn about here with scissors, and then you'll just reach through there and pull that you earn through and tightened into a knot. Um, if you have a little bit extra yarn hanging off, you could either just cut off that yarn right next to your last ditch. Or you can get, um, a needle that's big enough to fit yarn through. They have those at craft stores, and you can just kind of weave in the ends anywhere in these tight stitches and kind of high those leftover ends. Um, and there's a lot of good videos online on how to do that, But yeah, it's really nice that all you have to do is just cut off the extra and pull it through. So after three rows, this is how your blanket should start to look the first rose a little bit different because we just went under one V instead of two. But after that, every Roshan look pretty similar since these air Such gigantic stitches, they're probably not gonna look super even. And that's okay. Um, and the more practice you get, the better you will get it, making them look even on. Also, as you build your blanket, it will start to kind of, um, look a little more cohesive. And I wanted to just talk about, um the most common mistakes that people make. The most common mistake is that somewhere in the end of the last row or the beginning of the next row, you lose a stitch or you gain a stitch and your piece starts looking instead of square on the edge or flat on the edge. It starts to go in, or it starts to go out and you have more of a triangle shape. Everybody does it. Even I still do it accidentally sometimes, but basically the way to keep that from happening is to count your stitches. So when you get to the end of the road, you're not sure that you've done enough. You could just turn into the side and count the tops, and you should have 16. Um, another common mistake is forgetting to make the turning chain. So when you go to the next row, you know, at the end of every row, make that extra chain before you go on, and it should kind of stick out like that. It's normal for it to look like that. The other really common mistake is that when you go into your next row, you forget to go into the second stitch. You go into the 1st 1 instead, and that's gonna add another stitch on your row. So just remember to go into the 2nd 1 Every time you start a new row just for that initial stitch, you can see that's lining up, right? So as you get a little more experienced, um, crushing, you'll learn to just kind of tell what is the first stitch of the new row? Just kind of. I feel, um, because you're wanting everything to stack on top of the previous row. So if you went under this one, it's not gonna do that because it's sticking out too far. It's this one, um, and eventually your brain won't have to think. Oh, I need to skip the turning chain and go to the next one. You'll just be able to see that this is the one you're supposed to go under in orderto line everything up. 7. Altering the size: Okay, so the last thing I wanted to go over is how to alter the size or the shape of your blanket . Um, and I have a sample here of a finished blanket. It's made with a different yarn, but it's the same size and shape. It's just your standard rectangular shaped blanket. Um, it's really a great size for a Lap Lincoln or a baby blanket, but it is a little small. Um, so once you kind of have mastered the technique, if you wanted to make your big blanket bigger, you could actually make one that's double the size. So 36 inches across the short size short side and then 48 inches long. Um, and I can explain how to do the math for that, Um, so basically, you take the number of stitches, which is 16 and divide that by the number of inches it makes, which is 24 you get a number, which is about 2/3 and you take that times 36 which is how many inches you want it to be. And that gives you 24. So that means that you're gonna have to dio do 24 stitches across to achieve that with, and you're gonna have to add one to your chain because every time you do a change, you add one. So 20 Chain 25 when you when you go to start that size, would like it. And then, by the time you get to the end, you'll have used 12 skeins of yarn a set of six, and you should have about 48 inch long blanket. If you wanted to alter the shape of it like tea, make a little more square than you could just add a couple of stitches to your chain. And by the time you got to the end of your yard, it would be a little bit shorter and a little bit wider, and you could just play around with that. Like I said, once you master the technique, you could change the size of the shape pretty easily. Andi, when you finish a blanket, I would love to see it in the project gallery. And if you have any questions already, two tips you want to share, Um, go ahead and post those in the comments. Thanks so much for watching