CAL :: Joining New Yarn and Schedule Changes

I think I'm going to make a few schedule changes to our crochet along. It seems from comments and the flickr group that you guys are really zipping along, and I don't want this to drag on forever, so I'm going to cut a week out of our crochet along. I was worried about moving too quickly and rushing people, so I set a really slow schedule, but now that I realize just how fast this pattern works up (and how quickly you guys have gotten a grasp of things), I'm worried you're all going to get bored before our crochet along ends! So here's the revised schedule for the rest of the crochet along:
(edited: Oh dear, I just can't make up my mind. I was going to have us finish by Wednesday; now I'm worried that's too soon. How does Friday sound? Let's go with that.)

Mon, 9/26: Have 30 inches completed; learn to fasten off and weave in ends

Fri, 9/30: Finish your cowl, add it to our linkup, and start voting for your favorites!

Wed 10/5: Winners announced!

So make sure that your cowl is finished and photographed by Friday the 30th so you can add it to the link list! In case you need a reminder of the fabulous prizes up for grabs, visit this post! (And, by the way, may I take a moment to point out that there are currently 187 participants in this crochet along?! Guys, I seriously expected to have maybe 15 [at least 5 of whom would be family members who joined so I wouldn't feel like a loser]. I'm blown away that so many people are learning to crochet or revisiting an old favorite craft together! And if you haven't signed up yet, that link sign-up list is still open, so hop in and get crocheting!)

On to the task at hand--what the heck do you do when you run out of yarn?

Joining New Yarn

You'll need to know how to join new yarn to your project if you're ever switching colors within a project (think stripes!) or if your skein runs out before your pattern does. I'll show you how to join new yarn with double crochet stitches, since that's what our pattern uses, but the same idea holds no matter what stitches you're using.

Let's say I got to this point in my project and, uh-oh, I realize I only have 6 inches of yarn left in my skein:

I believe that, technically, you are supposed to join new yarn at the end of a row and not in the middle of one. But for goodness' sakes, if I run out of yarn in the middle of a row, I'm not going to pull out what I've already done just to get to the end of the last row to join it! I'm lazy, I know. If you're working stripes, yes, you need to wait until the end of a row to join a new ball, but otherwise, meh. Just join it where you are. Make sure that you leave yourself a few inches of yarn to weave the leftover yarn tail in--I'd say about 6 inches should do it. Got that? Don't just keep crocheting until your ball is completely used up--stop and join a new ball while you've still got a decent little tail left.

To join my new yarn, I'll start my next stitch but stop before the last step (since I'm working in double crochets, this means I've already yarned over, pulled a loop through, yarned over again, and pulled that through the first two loops on my hook--there are two remaining loops on my hook):

Now you simply take your new ball of yarn (I'm demonstrating in a different color so you can see it more easily) and loop it onto your hook, leaving about a 6 inch tail again:

Just take that loop of new yarn and use it to finish your stitch--so just pull it through the two loops on the hook:

The yarn tail from the previous ball (for me, it's the blue yarn) will make that stitch kind of loose--just pull it tight by tugging on the yarn tail, and tie it in a loose knot with the 6 inch yarn tail you left of the new yarn (pink) to keep that stitch snug while you keep going. You don't want knots in your finished work, so when your piece is finished, you'll come back to it, untie the knot, and weave in the ends, but for now just tie a loose knot to keep it snug and keep those ends out of the way, and continue crocheting with your new yarn.

Simple, right? If you'd like more instructions, here are some steps from the For Dummies site that make it look immensely harder than it really is (how sad is that? That I think the instructions written for dummies look tricky?), and here's a helpful video demonstrating how to join new yarn if you do make it to the end of a row before running out (plus a neat way to hide the yarn tails without having to go back and weave them in . . . I haven't tried her method before, but I hate weaving tails in, so I'll have to give it a try!).

Now you should be all set to keep working on your cowl! I'll teach you to finish off your work and weave in the yarn tails on Monday, but if you want to finish it early, here's a video that demonstrates how to fasten off your work (but leave yourself a longer yarn tail at the end--about 12-18 inches--to use to sew the ends of your cowl together), and here's another video about weaving in your ends.

Keep up the great work on your cowls and have at least 30 inches completed by Monday! If you'd like, share your progress in our Flickr group, and take a minute to visit our sponsors! That ought to keep you motivated--just think of the awesome prizes you can win! I'm already jealous of you.