Tunisian Simple Stitch Cape in Bernat Boucle

Centennial Hat Instructions

One of the members of my Yahoo Group wanted to adapt a hat she saw in a Mini Series Centennial (from the late 1970's.) One of the characters wore this hat, and her friend wanted something like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du5DW0nBHy4
Robert Conrad is wearing the hat... a dirty orange/red stocking type hat.

I created these generalized instructions for this hat, using Tunisian Simple stitch.

My hat is based on the average head size of 22 inches. I'm using Red Heart worsted weight yarn with a K sized hook. This is one size smaller than what I normally use with Worsted Weight yarn, but I wanted a stiffer fabric than normal... and yes, it is curling, but that will be conquered later. It took all of a 7 oz skein, and since it needed to be bigger, I’m going to suggest you have 8 oz of yarn on hand to finish this hat, if you use a K sized hook. The larger hooks won’t require as much yarn.

1. With your chosen Yarn and Hook, stitch a swatch to determine your Stitches Per Inch. A swatch is a piece of fabric worked in your chosen stitch, that is 4 inches square. Most experts recommend measuring from the middle of the swatch for a more accurate stitch count.

2. Measure the circumference of the head this hat will cover, and if you can get them to sit still long enough, measure from the bottom of the ear to the crown.

3. Multiply the number of ‘Stitches per Inch’ by the ‘Circumference of the Head’ measurement to determine the number of chains to begin with.

Row 1: Forward- Pick Up loops in ea ch. Return as you normally would.
Row 2: Forward- Tss in ea st, work last st. Return.
Repeat Row 2 until it is about half the length of the width, or the measurement from the bottom of the ear to the crown.

I’ve noticed that with most head measurements that the height of the head is a little less than half of the circumference of the head. If the head is 22 inches around, then stitch the fabric until it measure 11 inches.

IMPORTANT: Stitching the height of the body of the hat will look huge! But go ahead and stitch until it is half as tall as it is wide. For this 22" hat, it should have been 11 inches tall, not the 8" that I stitched. In my sample, the tail wasn’t long enough to reach the brim, and I had to make the brim much taller than normal.

If you do NOT want to stitch a Ribbing for the brim of the hat, continue stitching this section until it is 2-3 inches longer than ½ of the width. For my 22 inch hat, that would mean stitching the height of this section to 13-14 inches tall.

Once you have stitched the main body of the hat, you will begin decreasing on both ends AND in the middle to create the ‘stiff’ crease in the front and back. If you want a more relaxed looking hat, just decrease on the ends.

For Odd Numbered stitches- find the 5 stitches in the middle of the row, and mark them with a thread.
For Even Numbered stitches- find the 4 stitches in the middle of the row, and mark them with a thread.

For Odd Numbered stitches- Tss2tog, then Tss up to the marked stitches. Tss2Tog, Tss, Tss2tog, then Tss across the rest of the row, work last st. Return: Yo, pull through 2 loops (decrease made), then continue Return as you normally would.

Next Row: Tss2tog, then Tss up to the Center Stitches. Tss2Tog, Tss, Tss2tog, then Tss across the rest of the row, slip hk under both threads of the last st (Decrease St). Return: Yo, pull through 2 loops (decrease made), then continue Return as you normally would. Repeat this row to desired length for the top of the hat. Single Crochet in each stitch for the last row. End off.

Stitch back seam together, weave tails.

For Even Numbered stitches- Tss2tog, then Tss up to the marked stitches. Tss2Tog, Tfs (in between the stitches), Tss2tog, then Tss across the rest of the row, work last st. Return: Yo, pull through 2 loops (decrease made), then continue Return as you normally would.
Next Row: Tss2tog, then Tss up to the Center Stitches. Tss2Tog, Tss, Tss2tog, then Tss across the rest of the row, slip hk under both threads of the last st (Decrease St). Return: Yo, pull through 2 loops (decrease made), then continue Return as you normally would. Repeat this row to desired length for the top of the hat. Single Crochet in each stitch for the last row. End off.

Ribbing Section:
Turn the hat over and work from the back of the hat. Attach yarn to beginning chain of hat.
Pick up loops in ea ch st across row, Return as you normally would.
Rows 2+: Forward- (Tps, 2 Tks,) Repeat across row, working last st as you normally would. Return.
Repeat this until brim is desired height, then Single Crochet in each stitch for last row. End off.
Stitch back seam, and weave tails.

Tunisian Crochet Dishrag or Washcloth

A conversation on crocheted dishcloths came up again the other day, and I thought I should share mine. Since it is so super easy, I'm posting it here.

You can find stitch instructions here at my site:
http://chezcrochet.com/page17.html

Tss & Tps (K&A Purl) Washcloth

I used an old worsted weight yarn that was really scratchy for the sample. I've also used Aunt Lydia's Rug yarn with great results.

Your yarn and hook choice will affect the overall size, but I use an L or 8mm hook for these.

Ch 20.

Row 1: Forward- Pick up loops in ea ch st across row. Return, Drop Loops off as you normally would.
Row 2: Forward- Tss in ea st, work last st as you normally would. Return.
Row 3: Forward- Tps in ea st, work last st as you normally would. Return.
Repeat Rows 2 & 3 to desired length... sample has 15 rows.
Last Row: work Sc or sl st in ea st across row. End off and weave threads.

For copyright permissions, click here:
http://chezcrochet.com/page9.html

Crossed Tss, or Diagonal Plait stitches from history

Some of my friends at the 'tunisiancrochet' group at Yahoo, were trying to understand some stitches found in various places. The stitches in question were originally published in1886 by Therese de Dillmont in her massive book: The Encyclopedia of Needlework.

Rebecca Jones included these stitches in her book: Tricot Crochet-The Complete Book (Lacis Publications 2000).

Both of these books contained instructions that were vague and difficult to understand, but I have generated more modern instructions.

Front Crossed Tunisian Simple stitch- FXTss this offers instructions on the easier stitch to understand- what Ms. deDillmont called Straight Plaited Tunisian Crochet. Scroll to bottom of the page.

Giving the Diagonal Plait stitch a more modern name... would be Diagonal FXTss. My modern isntructions for this stitch are:

Row 1: Forward and Return- Pick Up loops in each chain and Drop Off as you normally would.

Row 2: Forward- ignore outer loop. Tss in 1st st. *Sk 1 st. Tss in next st. Cross in front of st just formed and Tss in skipped st. Repeat from * across row, work last st as you normally would. Return as you would for any TC st.

Row 3: Forward- ignore outer loop. *Sk 1 St. Tss in next st. Cross in front of st just formed and Tss in skipped st. Repeat from * across row. If needed, work Tss in next to last st and work last st as you normally would. Return as you would for any TC st.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 to create pattern.

General Notes:

If working with Odd numbered stitches, you will have 1 Tss to begin Even Number Rows, and 1 Tss to end all the Odd numbered Rows.

If working with Even numberd stitches, you will have 1 Tss to Begin and End all the Even Numbered Rows; but no extra Tss on the Odd numbered rows.

Photo was taken from The Complete DMC Encyclopedia of Needlework, page 297 - Running Press, Philadelphia, Penn. 1978. This is a reproduction of the original book.

Diagonal Stitch Around the Block

I love the scalloped edge that Diagonal Stitch creates, so I created a technique that leaves that scalloped edge intact, for instant edgings!

This is also a great technique for using up scraps, or onesies and twosies skeins of yarn.

http://chezcrochet.com/page97.html Pattern and Booklet Details
http://chezcrochet.com/page92.html ordering instructions