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THE
DIAGONAL BOX STITCH -
page 2
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The
Diagonal Box Stitch
©2003 Sandra Petit,
http://www.crochetcabana.com
Row 6: Chain 6, dc in chains 4, 5, 6, flip the piece up (sorry the picture is a little bit blurry), *join with a sl st, ch 3, 3 dc in same space* repeat from * to * four times. Row 6 completed.
Note: If you are using the same color throughout, skip the instructions in teal below. If you decided to continue alternating colors every 2 rows, read the instructions in teal before working row 7.
Special
Note for changing colors:
If you are working two colors, changing every two rows, and carrying your yarn
up the side, you will have a problem on the decrease row with the new color
showing through the slip stitches. Originally I suggested slip stitching over in
the old color and then making the change to your new color. However, I now
realize if you are carrying your yarn, this will cause the yarn to cross your
work.
There are a few solutions to this though none are totally satisfactory.
One is working sc instead of sl st for your decrease. Sc OVER your new color strand so it doesn't show (at least not much) and then continue with the pattern as is. Here's what you do exactly. ch 1, turn, lay your new color in front of your first stitch, insert hook under the strand of your new color, yo with your old color, pull through, complete sc. Work a sc in each of the next 2 sts, working over your new color strand. Then, insert hook under ch-3, yo with NEW color, pull through, continue to complete sl st. ch 3, 3 dc with new color and continue pattern. However, when you finish your two rows in that color, and you get to the end, you will again have to finagle the old and new yarn to hide it. This is not impossible to do, but it is not easy either. Since you are working diagonally, eventually the end of your row will make it too difficult to carry that yarn, so you will have to cut it anyway to change colors.
A second alternative is to make your decrease before your color change. In other words, work row 5 in your old color and decrease at row 6 still using the old color Then change colors on the increase, rather than the decrease. At some point you will be decreasing at both ends, so the problem will not disappear, but it will be delayed.
A third alternative is to cut your yarn (leaving at least 6" for sewing in later) and join with a slip stitch under the ch-3, completely skipping the slip stitches.
Row 7 (Decrease Row): This will be our first DECREASE row. (NOTE: If you are using this tutorial to create an afghan, you would NOT decrease here. You work increase rows until you get to the width you want. THEN start decreasing.) Instead of chaining 6 here as we normally would to increase, we're going to keep the width of our piece, working evenly at that end, and increasing the length of our piece. You may want to mark this end as the width to prevent confusion since you will turn at the decrease rows and continue to flip work up as you increase along the length.
There are two procedures you can use for decreasing. Both assume you have joined to the previous box with a slip stitch.
Method
1:
ch 3,
turn (not flip - TURN just as you normally do in
crochet, then *join with a sl st under ch-3 loop, ch 3, 3
dc in same space*, repeat from * to * to end of row to complete row.The ch-3 will just lie on the side of
the box.
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Method 2:
ch 1, turn (not flip - TURN
just as you normally do in crochet - look at the pic), sl st in next 3 dc, sl st
under ch-3 (essentially this looks like the last dc of your box - you're slip
stitching here to bring yourself to the end of the box so you'll be in the right
place to create your next box), ch- 3, 3 dc in same space. Row 7 decrease begun.
Continue as before to finish your row. *join with a sl st under
next ch-3 loop, ch 3, 3
dc in same space*, repeat from * to * to end of row to complete row.
Row 8: Now we want to increase our length, so we're going to increase once again. Ch 6, dc in chains 4, 5, and 6. Flip. Insert hook under ch-3 of box in previous row, sl st, ch 3, 3 dc in same space. Continue in pattern stitch (*join with a sl st under ch-3 loop, ch 3, 3 dc in same space*) to end of row, join with sl st to last box. (This will be the second box from the end of your piece. (Note: If you want a SQUARE piece, then don't increase the length. But how many people do you know who are square? **chuckle** Not that kind of square. For an afghan, I suggest a rectangle to get those long legs nice and toasty.)
Now we're going to maintain our width, so we don't want to increase here. We're going to do a decrease row.
Row 9 (Decrease row): Use Method 1 or Method 2 decrease then continue in pattern - sl st under ch-3 of box in previous row, ch 3, 3 dc, and so on -to the end of the row.
One comment. As long as you're maintaining your length, don't forget to make that last box at the top of the row. It's easy to look at it and forget that you need that top box.
Okay, let's say you finish Row 9 and you're thinking, I'm tired of this stitch. You want to level off and start closing in your rectangle. (This is approximately 7 inches) So you want to start decreasing at both ends, rather than only at the width end. You do the decrease the same way.
Note: If you forget what row you're working, just count the boxes on the length side. That will work until you start decreasing at both ends. **wink**
Row 10: Do a decrease row (like Row 7) until you have no more boxes to make. Then join with a sl st. Here's a couple pics to judge if you're moving in the right direction. When you complete that last box, finish off and sew in miscellaneous ends.
Whew! **wiping brow** Y'all did a superb job there. That's a difficult stitch to master.
One thing about this stitch is that it doesn't give a nice, finished edging - plus you have that thread you carried up the side to cover. You should add a border round the thing to give it a nicely finished look. You can do a border in the same color or a contrasting color or a totally whacked way out there color. It's up to you.
If you used Method 2 (slip stitch over) for your decrease you may find that the slip stitches are a trifle difficult to wiggle your hook into. If this gives you trouble, just use a smaller hook to work your way through and continue with the regular hook. If you used Method 1 (ch-3 loops), you won't have that problem.
Play around with the stitching of the border, to keep the rectangle flat and still look nice. Rather than going under the ch-3 loops, you might consider going through them so you won't have that hole along the edge.
If you've finished off and are starting with a new color, your first question may be "what's the right side and what's the wrong side". Well, I'm not rightly sure if there really is a right or wrong side, but you can tell where you worked your first row by just looking at your bottom corner. Remember that you marked the width in some manner. The starting yarn strand will be on your left on the right side of the project.
Here's a pic of a completed square, bordered in a single round of single crochet.
If you're making an afghan, you might work a round of simple single crochet (or double crochet) around the piece, and then putting the border of your choice on top of that. Or you can work a box stitch around as Dorothy Daybell did for her afghan, which does not require a round of single crochet to be worked first. Here are her instructions for the border she made (used with permission). Your project border may work out a little differently depending on the size of your item.
When last box of your diagonal afghan is done, you're one box from the corner. Ch 1 and slip-stitch back to the corner, just as you've been doing to turn for a new row. Do not cut the yarn. Using a tapestry needle, weave any yarn ends into the edges before you begin.
Hold the work so the left-hand side of the corner begins with a ch-3 loop, and the right-hand side has the tops of the 3 dc sts. [Sandie's note: On my rectangle I had ch-3 loops on both sides where I completed my piece because I used Method 1 decrease]Work box stitch along the side of the afghan as follows:
*Chain 3, work 3 dc in the next ch-3 loop (the side of the sideways box), skip 3 dc (the next vertical box, or ch-3 loop if you used Method 1 decrease), sc in the space between that vertical box and the next ch-3 loop*. Repeat from * to *.
On two sides, there will be no ch-3 loops. Just work the 3 dc over the outer dc of each sideways box. If you have an odd number of boxes on a side, as I did at one corner, you can fudge it by working 6 dc to get around the corner. [Sandie's note: At one of my corners I worked a sc in the second dc of the final corner box, then ch 3 and work 3 dc around the last dc of that box as you've done before. On another corner I used more dc to make the turn as Dorothy suggests. Also sometimes I found ch-3 too much along the sides and did ch-2 instead. That is personal preference though. I use ch-2 with dc for turning chains as well, so that may just be me.]
Here are photos of Dorothy's border as worked by me. Personally, I think her lovely white afghan looks much better! :-)
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Also, if you're making an afghan you need to know where to start doing the decrease on both ends. So how do you tell when the width is the width you want it to be? Remember you will not start doing the decrease until you've got the width to the right size. What you do is measure, of course. You have to measure along the side where you started your first box. On the afghan I made it was 48" wide.
If you're interested in working this stitch in straight rows, I have a tutorial on that also.
01/14/2011
