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Thanks to the help of the experienced crocheters in my crochet group, I have almost finished an experienced crochet pattern. It’s a Lion Brand pattern for a beautiful jacket, which hits just below the hips. I purchased a little 3 crochet pattern booklet called “Lush Texture in Homespun,” when I found HomeSpun yarn on sale for half-off. I bought four skeins. The texture of Homespun yarn is amazing. I picked a color called Tudor, though this picture is an awful representation of how pretty it really is.

In reality, the yarn has created soft, lightly changing colors of purple, blue, yellow and green as I crochet. It’s like a rainbow for adults. I really intended to finish this pattern while it was still cold, but it has taken me AGES! Instead of working on row numbers, I had to measure…constantly. All I have to finish is a few inches on this last sleeve and I intend to assemble it tonight. I love that you create a finishing edge all the way around and that you also crochet a sort of floppy collar for the jacket. I’ll post pictures tonight. Here are a few things that I have learned during this pattern:

• Instead of weaving in yarn tails at the end, simply lay them over the last row and crochet over them. This is so much easier! Going back and weaving in all the tails is such a pain.
• When crocheting/sewing/knitting large garments, you really need a yardstick or tape measure instead of just a ruler (though I coped just fine with stitch markers).
• Speaking of stitch markers, do not buy them. Use safety pins. They work just fine and you can usually get them free off dry-cleaning and clothing purchases.
• Don’t crochet right from the purchased skein, as you’ll have to keep awkwardly pulling on the yarn as you go. Instead, re-wind your yarn into a center-pull ball which will more easily feed without needing to pull and flop the purchased skein around. Here’s how to easily create that center-pull ball.