Every time you change colors on a granny square, that means two more ends to weave in, per square! If you make squares with 3 or 4 or more colors, and then dozens or even hundreds of squares to make a blanket… let’s just say that’s a lot of time spent on a crochet project when you’re not actually crocheting.

In the video tutorial below, I’ll show you a technique for weaving in the starting ends of each color as you go, so you can eliminate half the work of weaving in the ends on all your granny squares.

What NOT to do

One common solution is to crochet over the ends as you go. The only problem with this method is that, in the skipped sections between clusters, the end of the yarn lies on top of the previous row (which is a different color). It’s not hidden at all. Instead, you want to weave the end into the stitches of the same color as you skip the stitches below. That way, the end jumps over the skipped stitches and stays hidden.

Want to save yourself a lot of time and dread? Watch this video for a step-by-step tutorial to learn how to weave in the ends of granny squares as you go:

Put this technique into practice with these patterns:

As a refresher, the front loop and back loop are the two loops at the top of the stitch. The 3rd loop is on the back side of the stitch, just below the loops at the top. It depends slightly on the stitch, so in this post and video tutorial, I’ll show you the 3rd loops for single crochet, double crochet, and half-double crochet.

Why would you want to crochet in the 3rd loop? Usually you’ll see the 3rd loop used when crocheting in the round, when all the stitches are facing the same direction without turning. Crocheting in the 3rd loop pushes the front and back loops to the front of your item, which creates the look of a chain going across the fabric horizontally. It gives your project a knit look. I like to use this technique for borders.

Single Crochet in the 3rd Loop

The 3rd loop of the single crochet stitch is on the back of the stitch, just below the top loop (front or back, depending on which side you’re looking at). You can see it highlighted in orange below.

Double Crochet in the 3rd Loop

The 3rd loop of the double crochet stitch is on the back of the stitch, just below the top loop. You can see it highlighted in orange below.

Half-Double Crochet in the 3rd Loop

The 3rd loop of the half-double crochet stitch is on the back of the stitch, just below the top loop. It’s the longer loop that goes a little diagonal. You can see it highlighted in orange below.

Put these stitches into practice with these patterns:

Watch this video to learn these three ways to crochet in the 3rd loop:

The problem is that the ch-3 does not look like the rest of the double crochet stitches in the round, and the slip stitch to join the row creates a noticeable gap. The result is a seam running straight across your otherwise beautiful piece.

One alternative is to join with an invisible seam and then start each row with a Standing Double Crochet (Sdc) instead. I’ve included written instructions here, or you can watch the video tutorial below.

(dc = double crochet, ch = chain, st = stitch, YO = yarn over)

Invisible Seam

1. When you reach the end of the row, pull the loop out a little bit and remove the hook.
2. Insert the hook from back to front through the 2 loops on top of the first dc of the round.
3. Grab the loose loop with the hook and pull it through from front to back, and pull taut to cinch the first and last stitches together.

Standing Double Crochet (Sdc)

1. Pull the same loop until it is about 1 1/2 times the height of a dc row.
2. Holding the loop in place on the hook, YO the entire loop.
3. Insert the hook into the two loops where you joined (it’s a tight fit) and pull up a loop.
4. YO and pull through the first loop and both strands of the larger wrapped loop.
5. YO and pull through 2 loops to complete the Standing dc.

Watch this video to learn how to join double crochet rounds with an invisible seam:

To learn how to start a flat row without a ch-3, see my last blog post video, Three Alternatives to the Turning Ch-3 for Double Crochet.

The effect is often a pretty texture. However, the more stitches that make up the shell, the more distorted the stitch or space you’re crocheting into can become. Depending on the design, the distortion can take away from the overall look and symmetry of the item.

When this happens, you can use a new technique to avoid putting all the stitches into the same spot. It’s called a Foundation Shell Stitch. Similar to a Foundation stitch, you create an extra chain loop at the beginning of the stitch, and then crochet the shell into that loop instead. (Watch a video for how to crochet foundation stitches here.)

Let’s say you want to make a shell stitch made up of 6 double crochet stitches. To convert the shell stitch to a Foundation Shell stitch, here’s the written pattern (US terminology: dc = double crochet):

1. Yarn over and insert the hook in the spot where the shell should go. Yarn over and pull up a loop. Yarn over and pull through one loop only. The chain you just made is the foundation stitch that the remaining stitches will go into.
2. To finish the first dc of the shell, yarn over and pull through 2 loops, twice.
3. Crochet 5 more dc into the foundation stitch at the base of the first dc to complete the shell.

Notice when you follow these steps that the shell stitch now sits on top of the row below, rather than being crocheted directly into it. It’s this effect that prevents the row below from being distorted by the shell stitch.

Watch this video to learn how to crochet the foundation shell stitch:

Put this stitch into practice with these patterns:

When you make cables using front- and back-post double crochet stitches, you crochet around the post of a stitch and skip the top of it. This leaves an open stitch that sticks out and can make the back of your piece look like a lumpy, ugly mess.

That’s fine if you’re making something that you’ll only look at from the front. But if you’re making a cable blanket or another item that you’ll see the back of, you’ll want to clean it up a little.

You can easily clean up the back by adding a single extra loop to your cable stitches! All you do is start the front- or back-post double crochet as usual, and when you still have 2 loops on the hook, insert the hook into the top of the stitch that you would normally skip, and pull up a loop. Then yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on the hook. On the opposite side from the cables, it will look like a half-double crochet stitch instead of a skipped stitch.

Watch this video to learn how to connect both front- and back-post double crochet to the top of the stitch:

Put this stitch into practice with these patterns:

One easier way is called join-as-you go, where you join each granny square to the rest of the project in the final row of the square with slip stitches. Taking it further, the continuous join-as-you-go method has you joining the final rows of all the squares in one long continuous row.

Some of the benefits of the continuous join-as-you-go method are:

• It’s faster. It’s just a few extra slip stitches in each granny square to join a whole project.
• Fewer ends. One long joining row means only 2 ends to sew in.

Continuous join-as-you-go works best when:

• The pattern is a standard granny square with clusters of 3 double crochets separated by spaces. The joining slip stitches happen between clusters, so it won’t work for solid granny squares without spaces.
• The final row of the squares is all the same color.
• The final row of the squares is a different color from the previous row. (If it’s the same, there’s no sense cutting the yarn and then doing continuous join. Just do the regular join-as-you-go method one square at a time.

For the continuous join-as-you-go method, chart a path around the squares so that one long row will reach all sides of every square, like this:

Put this technique into practice with these patterns:

In this video, I’ll show you how to connect granny squares with the continuous join as you go method.

When you get to the end of your hat, or amigurumi, or other project that ends in a decrease, you end with the same number of stitches you would start with in the first row. Usually that’s 6 or 8 for single crochet, or 12 for double crochet. The problem is that you really start with zero stitches at the beginning, and you need to get back to zero at the end to actually close the hole. To do this, you need to do one more row, with all the stitches brought together in one big round stitch.

In this short video, I’ll show you how to do this for double crochet. The trick is to finish off with a dc12together, or 12 double crochet stitches together in one stitch. Since you’re closing a round hole with a straight hook, you’ll need a second hook to be able to do this. Then, do a chain to finish it off. At the end, I’ll explain how to close the gap when doing single crochet.

Watch this video to learn a new way to close the hole left when decreasing in the round:

Put this technique into practice with these patterns:

It’s easier than you think! Here are my quick tips:

• It’s so easy to lose your place and put the wrong color in the wrong spot. Print out your graph and mark your progress as you go. Count every row and look at the blanket frequently to make sure the image is turning out correctly.
• Don’t cut the yarn every time you change colors. Instead, carry the yarn from row to row. This will significantly reduce the number of ends you have to weave in.
• Make yourself a Yarn Sling. It’s a net I invented to hold all your skeins in order. When you turn your blanket to work on the next row, you just flip the yarn sling over and it keeps all your colors where they need to be, without tangling! Download the yarn sling pattern free.

Watch this video to learn how to change colors when crocheting the Corner to Corner stitch:

Put this stitch into practice with these patterns: