#crochet wonk

[interlockingpatches]

Brine Shrimp (draft) and Crayfish. Interlocking crochet

crochet wonk about post stitches after the cut

it only seems fair to mention that i've been using post stitches (or "around-the-post" sts) extensively in these crustacean samples.

these aren't indicated in the patterns because they're optional (and a whole added layer of complication). kind of a secret menu item, if you will. i try to to describe their use in the "optional/advanced" section of my documentation, but you have a lot of options:

and so far my approach has been to just sort of… list those options and let you sort it out.

Basically (??) when working into any visible outline (Colour A in patterns), it often looks better if you work "around the post" or main shaft of that stitch (or around several stitches, if multiple sts converge), rather than working into front and back loops like you normally would. As a bonus, it's often easier to work this way.

Post stitches bundle up all the messy bits of the last row's st, conceal the "joint" where the two sts connect, and create a raised outline that can improve the clarity of your design.

Post stitches are what make Brine Shrimp's longest legs look so smooth (each one comprises three sts across three rows), but they can have drawbacks:

Post stitches are also why Crayfish's claws are a bit muddy: they make for smooth outlines, but they also add texture and bulk, and they can do funny things to the alignment of the two filet meshes.

You also have to extend dc and dtr (but not tr) stitches by one loop in the base when working around the post to maintain gauge, and it's all just more goddamn things to think about.

ahem

You might want to use a post stitch if:

You are using a lighter weight of yarn for outlines (Colour A) than for backgrounds (Colour B), and your stitches look sloppy where they meet up on the front of the work.

You are extending an existing outline (F/T or diagonal) and don't want a "joint" between line segments.

You want a curved (rather than a sharp) angle between two line segments.

you are working into an existing horizontal outline, and working into both loops makes that line look all scritchy, i.e:

You made a stitch and it made the last row's stitch look ugly

[interlockingpatches]

okay! let's take a look at the Halloween Hootenanny samples and the yarn, thread and hooks I used to make them:

These are all #10 cotton thread (both colours in all cases), all made with a 1.40mm hook except Witch, who got 1.50 because that orchid thread is a bit fine and tends to work up tight. Witch also has a Pinstripe Blanket border with rounded corners, plus an extra sl round (blo), again to make up for the finer thread. Jack-o-Lantern has a Pinstripe Blanket border with square corners; Cauldron Bubbles has Classic Pinstripe, and Eyeball Jawbreaker has Quick "Borderless."

Both of these use #3 cotton thread for Colour B (backgrounds) and #10 for outines. Flying Owl used a 2.10mm hook and has a Pinstripe Blanket border. Black Widow used a 2.75mm hook and has a Floating Border (Colour A only), which didn't work amaaaazing with the finer thread, but I think with repeated washing it'll sort itself out.

Moving up in heft, these both use a lighter-weight cotton yarn for background colours. Scaredy Cat uses fine weight wool for Colour A, was made with a 4.0mm hook and has a Quick "Borderless" border. Witch Finger has #3 cotton outlines; it was made with a 3.75mm hook and has a Classic Pinstripe border, which I have to say just always looks kinda shabby in yarn.

Last are the heavyweight samples. Both have dishrag cotton for Colour B and worsted-weight wool for outlines. Both have Pinstripe Blanket borders, with Ms. Frankenstein modelling rounded corners and Wax Fangs sporting square. 4.0mm hook for both.

[interlockingpatches]

Oh haha, oops.

It hadn't occurred to me because I don't really care for mosaic crochet (the hastily-made example at right), but it would actually be trivially easy for someone who knows the technique to convert my patterns (for interlocking filet, pictured left) on the fly.

(Slightly out-of-date PDF and video for the clover pattern above here)

Double crochets on back and chain spaces both become back-loop single crochets and that's … most of it? Work from charts, not notation, which omits chains and assumes you will be turning the work. You're on your own for starting, finishing, and edges, but I'm sure mosaic crocheters have preferred ways of handling these.

I'm not entirely sure what to do with this insight! I don't plan on switching to fully hybrid patterns, like Ashlee Brotzell, whose work clued me in to the possibility, but I may tweak the format of things to make working across techniques more straightforward.

As for *why* you might want to do this: you can easily make tubes with mosaic, which is great for clothing and other finished objects, and working in 3 or more colours (with the addition of tapestry or intarsia) is easier in mosaic than in interlocking. Other than that, I don't know. Maybe weaving in ends meets some kind of emotional or psychological need for some people. Who am I to judge?