One-Day Crochet: Christmas: Easy Christmas Projects You Can Complete in One Day (2 page)

Types of Yarn

Wool Yarn

Wool yarn is a great choice if you are a beginner. You will find that it is flexible and very forgiving. If you make a mistake using wool, it is very easy to unravel that portion of your project with the mistake and re-crochet it. You may have difficulty using wool, however, if you or a family member has allergies to wool. In that case, you should choose another type of yarn. Also, wool yarn is more expensive than other types of yarn, which may be a factory for you and your project.

Cotton Yarn

Cotton yarn is less forgiving than wool yarn. It has less give to it and won’t stretch. This makes it slightly harder to crochet with, especially if you are a beginner. However, it is a lighter yarn to work with, so if don’t like the heat or warmth of crocheting a project made of wool, you should consider using cotton yarn.

Acrylic Yarn

Wool and cotton yarn are both natural fibers. Acrylic yarn is man-made. It is usually the least expensive option for crafters and comes in a wide variety of colors and types. It is a good choice for beginners, however, if you are looking to create a family heirloom, you may wish to choose a natural fiber.

Tools

The nice thing about crochet is that you only need a hook and some yarn and you are all set to create a new project. There are a wide variety of sizes of crochet hooks available. The picture below shows a variety of fine crochet hooks that range in size. These types of metal hooks or painted metal hooks are used with thinner sizes of yarn and crochet thread.

The following picture shows larger-sized crochet hooks that are made of plastic. They are used with thicker yarn and even other materials used in crochet, such as strips of fabric and novelty yarns.

Standard Crochet Hook Sizes

It is important to use the correct size of crochet hook for the type of yarn or thread or fabric that you will be using. If you use a cotton thread and a large plastic crochet hook, your stitches will be large and loopy and your project will be very oversized and misshapen. Alternatively, it would be very difficult to crochet with thin strips of fabric using a tiny crochet hook made for cotton thread.

Once you choose a thread or yarn, the label on the outside of the yarn will indicate which size of crochet hook you should use.

Crochet hooks are sized using three methods. You will find the size on the crochet hook package as well as on the flat part in the centre of each hook. They are sized either by millimeter or by number or by letter.

The following table indicates the millimeter, letter, and number equivalencies so that you will always know which one to choose to complete your project properly.

Millimeter Range	Crochet Hook Size (Numeric)	Crochet Hook Size (Alphabetical)
2.25 mm	1	B
2.75 mm	2	C
3.25 mm	3	D
3.5 mm	4	E
3.75 mm	5	F
4 mm	6	G
4.5 mm	7	n/a
5 mm	8	H
5.5 mm	9	I
6 mm	10	J
6.5 mm	10.5	K
8 mm	11	L
9 mm	13	M/N
10 mm	15	N/P
12.75 mm	17	n/a
15 mm	19	P/Q
16 mm	n/a	Q
19 mm	35	S
25 mm	50	n/a

Stitches

This section contains an explanation of the different types of stitches and how to make each one. There are photos for each stitch so that you can easily see if you have made it correctly.

Chain Stitch
Make the chain stitch (Ch) by making a slip knot or tying the yarn around your crochet hook. Loop your crochet hook under and around the yarn and use the hook to pull it through the loop on your hook. Then, loop your crochet hook under and around the yarn again and use the hook to pull it through the second loop on your hook. You will see that a chain is beginning to form. Continue until the chain is as long as your pattern requires.

Slip Stitch
The slip stitch (Sl St) is used in this book in order to join rounds or different parts of a project together. To create a slip stitch, insert your hook into the particular part of your project that is indicated in the directions. Then, loop your hook around your yarn and draw the yarn through your project.

Single Crochet
To make a single crochet (SC) insert your hook into your project. Loop the yarn over your hook and pull your hook back through your project. You will now have two loops on your crochet hook. Finally, loop the yarn around your hook and pull the yarn through both loops on your hook so that you now only have one loop on your hook.

Double Crochet
To make a double crochet (DC) loop the yarn around your hook, insert your hook into your project, loop the yarn again on your hook, and draw the yarn back through your project. Now, you will have three loops on your hook. Next, loop the yarn over your hook and pull your hook through the first two loops. Now, you will have two loops on your hook. Next, loop the yarn over your hook and pull your hook through the remaining two loops. You will now be left with one loop on your hook.

Santa Napkin Holders

Materials:

Small amounts of white and beige/skin colored yarn
Suggested yarn is medium weight cotton such as Bernat Handicrafter Cotton
Crochet hook size 5.00mm (H/8)
Darning needle for weaving in ends of yarn when your project is completed
Safety pin or stitch marker to keep track of the end of each round
Glue
2 eyes for each napkin holder
Red napkins

Gauge:

Stitch gauge: 13 SC = 4 inches
Row gauge: not applicable

Instructions:

Ch 20

Sl St last Ch to first Ch to form a ring

Ch 1

Row 1 (beige):

SC in the 2
nd
Ch from your hook
SC in the next Ch and every Ch after that
Continue until you reach the end of the row
Sl St to first SC to end row
Ch 1
Use the safety pin to temporarily mark the beginning of each row (or end) and move it after you finish each row

Row 2-4 (beige):

SC in every stitch until you reach the end of the row
Sl St to first SC to end row
Ch 1
Use the safety pin to temporarily mark the beginning of each row (or end) and move it after you finish each row
Continue until you finish row 4

Row 5 (beige):

SC in every stitch until you reach the end of the row
Sl St to first SC to end row
Remove the safety pin after row 5
Tie a knot and finish off

Row 6 (white):

Lay your napkin ring flat
Decide where the beard will go
Using white yarn, start with a slip knot
12 SC across one side of your napkin ring so that the 12 stitches are centered on one side
Ch 1 and turn

Row 7 (white):