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Sunday, February 20, 2011

African Flower Hexagon Join-as-you-go Tutorial

Today was a quiet day...we spent it at home, just pottering about. Gerry had to go and do rounds, and the kids did homework while I photographed the tutorial. It was a warm, sunny summers day here in SA, and the kids spent the afternoon swimming....

A visitor asked for a tutorial on how to join-as-you-go when you are crocheting African Flower Hexagons... here you are ....





Start with one completed hexagon. Crochet a second hexagon, up until you are crocheting the last round. Proceed as follows...



At the apex of the flower petal, (where you will do 2 DC into the same space , with a chain stitch in between), work up until you have made ONE of the 2 DC at the apex of the petal.


Chain 1 st.


Insert your crochet hook as shown, through the little hole of the other hexagon, at the petal point.


Yarn around hook.


Pull yarn through both the hole and the stitch on the hook.

Yarn around hook...


Chain 1 st.


Yarn around hook again, and DC into the SC loops of the round before...just as above...

(NOTE: I have just noticed that I have made a mistake by DC into the next SC space, instead of doing the second DC into the SAME SC SPACE...sorry :( only noticed now...but the you can ignore my mistake and continue exactly in the same manner as described...)


Completing DC.


Second DC into same space completed. Your work should look like this picture above.


Continue to crochet DC as per the pattern, until you have THREE DCs as seen above.


Insert hook in the hexagon you are joining to, at the place where there are THREE DC from the
point where you joined the corners, as shown above...


Yarn around hook...


Pull through...and DC into the next SC loops of the previous round (just as you would crochet the round as per the pattern)...


Continue to DC until you again have THREE DC from the point at which you joined to the other hexagon...


Join at the place on the other hexagon, at the point where there are THREE DC's from the join...you are matching DC for DC, so that your hexagon doesn't get joined in a wonky way...


Here is a bigger picture for you to see...


Yarn pulled through...


Again, make THREE DCs ...you are now at the apex of the petal, where you will make two DCs into the same space with a chain stitch in between (just as per the pattern)...


Now insert your hook, into the little hole in the other hexagon, and yarn around hook (just as before)...


Pull yarn through...


Chain one stitch...


Make a DC into the same space on the green yarn round, as the previous DC...


Continue as per the pattern, and finish off the hexagon as you would normally...


When you want to join a second round of hexagons, you need to follow the previous steps in exactly the same way, until you get to the corner join area, as seen above...


When you get to the corner, insert hook into the little hole of the right side hexagon, just as you would in the previous steps, yarn around hook...


Pull yarn through...


Chain one stitch...


Insert hook into the second little hole (as seen above ) of the left side hexagon, and yarn around hook...


Pull through..


DC into the same space as the previous DC, and continue your joining as before, every THREE DCs...

There you go....how to Join as you go!

24 comments:

  1. I love it...and can you tell me what kind of yarn your using? Its gorgeous!!

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  2. The yarn is by Rowan (I really LOVE all the Rowan stuff...), and it's their Milk Cotton DK. The colours are all pastels and beautiful, but the yarn does have a tendency to split, so it's probably better to use it for knitting. I persevere with the crochet, because it is incredibly soft, and I think to sleep under a blanket made from this is just bliss!

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  3. Thanks Heidi you just solved my problem of joining some granny squares for a large rug my neighbour and I are doing together for the Disaster Relief Appeal over here. I am a real monkey see, monkey do person and you explain it perfectly. I love all your tutorials! Can you do the turning the heel on your socks one day for me? I still only have half a sock on the needles LOL :-)

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  4. The African Flower is a truly lovely square. Ad I am going to have to go ahead and sound like a broken record - but your tutorials are beautiful. As a teaching tool, they are clear and very well explained. Visually, they are a treat for the eye.

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  5. Heidi thanks so much for this tutorial its great how you explain it and the hard work it took you, thanks a lot.

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  6. Your tutorials would make a beautiful book ..they are so clear and they look lovely..a real pleasure to read
    Thank you

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  7. so pretty and the color is gorgeous! This is so much more fun than granny squares :)

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  8. Hi we have started a new CAL...
    THE FLOWER BED quite a few people wanted to make flower bed covers
    I was going to do a tutorial about 'join as you go' for those who didn't know how, but found your brilliant tutorial
    I have added a link to your tutorial(hope that is ok?) and to your great blog
    Thanks for sharing
    Hugs Suz x

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  9. Genail , super clarito . Love those step by step,.... really , really good .

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  10. Many thanks for this beautiful tutorial!

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  11. Thank you for this...it's perfectly done. I'm making the flowers and now I need to try joining them. I so much appreciate this, it has me back to crocheting again and giving me the confidence that I can DO this!!!

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  12. pretty much your blog, it seems difficult, but very sweet.
    :)

    Josiana Leite
    www.decorafino.com.br

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  13. Hello: Thank you very much for this beautiful work showing us. I want to share with you and your reading ones a flower that I did, the instructions are in my blog (http://bordar-tejer-coser-etc.blogspot.com/search/label/D%29%20Instrucciones%3A%20Flor) . Regards.

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  14. Thanks for the wonderful directions on crocheting this hexagon! I would like to feature you on my blog, with a link to your tutorial...do I have your approval? Thanks, Linda

    tranquillitycottage@blogspot.com

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  15. Hi Linda, Yu are very kind! Thank you, you are most welcome to post and link :) Have a great evening!
    Kind regards
    Heidi♥

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  16. I've just recently found your tutorials and love them. Am in the process now of making some African Flower Hexagons to join for a baby rug but am wondering how do you 'square up' the edges so that they are straight and don't have the half hexagon shape. (am I explaining that right or not?)
    Thanks for your very clear photos.

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  17. Here it is 2 years later...and I just found your tutorial! Thank you...perfect!

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  18. I love it, thank you so much for such nice tutorials

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  19. Thank you so much for your fantastic tutorial. It´s so easy to follow. Really helped me.

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  20. Beautifully done! This the first time that I have read one of your tutorials and it is great. Thank you!!

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  21. Beautifully done. This is the first time that I have read one of your tutorials and I will be looking for more. Thank you!!

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  22. I want to thank you for teaching me how to crochet as you go, when putting squares together. My mother was teaching me how to do it, but she passed away before I could get it down completely.

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  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  24. Thanks Heidi for the tutorial. I have just purchased the hippo pattern and I thought I would attempt to make it out of crocheting cotton. Once finished I'll post a pic on Ravelry for you to check out.

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