Crochet stitch challenge #8 - star stitch
This is my 8th self-imposed stitch challenge and this time round I am tackling the star stitch. Because this stitch is worked over 2 stitches and I haven't yet figured out how to create 2 star stitches in the same stitch, let alone how you would create a "star stitch 2 together" stitch, I'm going to cheat a little and add a dc or two to the beginning and end of each row/round to allow me to work with this stitch a little easier when working from corner to corner or in the round. If I can figure out how to do an increase or decrease with this stitch in the future then I might revisit this challenge and write up how to do it but, for the moment, I'm going to use my cheat way as I think it will be more useful in being able to move between star stitches and other stitches within a row/round rather than feeling like you have to do all of the stitches in a row/round using the same stitch.
With this in mind, my little swatch from last week has been re-worked to incorporate the same dc at the beginning and end of each row so that I can show you how I switch from dc to star stitch.
Star stitch in rows:
Because of needing to add dc at each end of my row I had to recalculate the number of starting chains required. For this swatch I chained 13. My process is outlined below. I don’t like to chain 3 to represent a dc at the beginning of a row so I chained 2 {which doesn’t count as a stitch} and then did a dc in the 4th chain from hook. To make my first star stitch I did a loose chain 1, inserted my hook into the ch 1 and pulled up a loop, inserted the hook in the dc near the base and pulled up a loop {treating the dc as if it was a star stitch in terms of where I inserted my hook} then inserted my hook into the same ch as the dc and pulled up a loop then repeated that with the next 2 chains, pulled up the last two loops a little higher and then pulled through all 6 loops on hook. The stitch {like all other star stitches} was closed with a chain 1.
The next 3 star stitches were carried out the same way as normal and then I did a dc in the last chain.
To avoid having a ch 2 at the beginning of the next row I changed colour and did a standing dc in the first stitch and repeated my process across. I continued to change colour between rows. To avoid seeing the colour change when completing the star stitch I always began my new rows in the first stitch of the previous row rather than turning my work. In the example below I didn’t do that and both sides of the swatch have 2 colours for each row of star stitches (minus the final row).
The finished version in wool is shown in the photo below
Star stitch worked from corner to corner
Because you need at least 2 stitches to work your star stitch into, I began and ended each corner to corner swatch with rows of sc until I got to 4 sc across. My method is outlined below with some illustrations. When I was testing out my method I found myself with extra star stitches in some of my rows to what I should have gotten (those photos are still included below) but I worked out that it was because I had worked into the ch 1 sp directly after the second dc of each row which complicated things. In the wool version I skipped that ch 1 to make sure I increased by one star stitch each row as outlined in the instructions below.
Ch 2
Row 1 Sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1 and turn. (1)
Row 2 2 Sc, ch 1 and turn (2)
Row 3 2 sc in each st across, turn (4)
Row 4 Ch 3 {counts as first dc}, dc in the same st, ch 1, star st, 2 dc in the last st, turn. (4 dc, 1 star st)
Row 5 Ch 3 {counts as first dc}, dc in the same st, ch 1, star st 2 times, 2 dc in the last st, turn. (4 dc, 2 star st)
Row 6 Ch 3 {counts as first dc}, dc in the same st, ch 1, star st 3 times, 2 dc in the last st, turn. (4 dc, 3 star st)
Row 7 Ch 2 {does not count as a st}, dc2tog, ch 1, star st 3 times, dc2tog, turn. (2 dc, 3 star st)
Row 8 Ch 2 {does not count as a st}, dc2tog, ch 1, star st 2 times, dc2tog, turn. (2 dc, 2 star st)
Row 9 Ch 2 {does not count as a st}, dc2tog, ch 1, star st, dc2tog, turn. (2 dc, 1 star st)
Row 10 Ch 1, sc2tog 2 times, ch 1 and turn (2)
Row 11 Sc2tog (1)
Row 12 Ch 1, turn to the side and evenly sc around the whole swatch so that you get 12 stitches per side. Fasten off and weave in the ends (48 sc)
My finished wool version is shown below. I decided to make it all in a single colour since the chains at the beginning of each row don't interfere with the start of the first star stitch since you are either doing an extra dc in the first st or doing a dc2tog (which still has the loops that I worked into for the first star st).
Star stitch in the round
Like the corner to corner version, I began my first 2 rounds using sc until I had enough stitches to add in the star stitches. I have included a few of my test run photos in the instructions (made using cotton yarn) and then the final (single colour) wool version is included after the instructions.
With yarn in your chosen colour make a magic ring
Rnd 1 4 sc into magic ring, sl st to join (4)
Rnd 2 Ch 1, 3 sc in each st around, sl st to join, sl st to next st {middle sc of first trio of sc}. (12)
Rnd 3 Ch 5 {counts as first dc plus ch 2}, dc in the same st, [ch 1, star st, (dc, ch 2, dc) in the next st] 3 times, ch 1, star st, join to the first st with a sl st, sl st to corner ch 2 sp.
Rnd 4 Ch 3 {counts as first dc}, (dc, ch 2, 2dc) in the same st, [ch 1, star st 2 times, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in the next st] 3 times, ch 1, star st 2 times, join to the first st with a sl st, sl st to corner ch 2 sp.
Rnd 5 Ch 1 {does not count as a st}, *(2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc) in the ch sp, sc in the next 8 sts* 4 times. Join to the first st with a sl st. Fasten off and weave in the ends. (48 sc)
NB: because I was working in the round I didn't change direction at the end of each round so all of the colour changes you would normally see from changing direction and colours are all on the back of the swatch as you can see in the photo below.
Here is my final version in wool:
Comparison of all of my star stitch swatches
The photo below shows a comparison of all of my different versions from the swatch challenge. I'm not sure that you can see in the photo but the star stitches in the corner to corner and in the round are offset slightly as the rows/rounds increase/decrease. For the middle swatch, the star stitches on the wrong side don't stand out as well as all the other stitches, which may have something to do with the stitches being offset. There is a bit of a gap in the side of the swatch made in rows but I expect when I weave in the ends I will be able to close up those gaps. The gaps in the version worked in the round will not be so easily removed. This is due to how I created the corners and there isn't much I can do about the gaps as I needed to balance the increases so that my square didn't get too big compared to the other squares but still ended up with the same number of stitches in the final round. I tend to find that the swatches worked in the round turn out slightly bigger than my swatches worked in rows.
Next week I will be releasing a free pattern on my blog that features the star stitch as part of the design. More on that next week...