Welcome to Lesson 7 of the Tunisian Crochet Course. In this lesson, we will learn how to increase and decrease in Tunisian crochet. If this is your first time hearing about this Tunisian crochet course, then you will want to check out the Prep Lesson and Lesson 1 first to learn more about the materials you will need for this course and the Tunisian crochet basics.
In January 2021, we are treating this course like a Crochet along. It is always fun to learn new things alongside others. To participate in the crochet along, just join the Our Crochet Journey Facebook group to be able to share photos of your work.
Increase and Decrease in Tunisian Crochet
Learning to increase and decrease will allow us to make shapes other than squares and rectangles. We will learn one way to decrease and 3 ways to increase. There are more ways then what I am showing you but these are the most common ways.
Tunisian Simple Stitch 2 Together – Tss2Tog
To decrease we will simply work two stitches together. We will use the Tunisian simple stitch as an example but this method would also work in a similar way for the Tunisian Knit Stitch.
When you insert your hook to pull up a loop, you will insert your hook through 2 stitches. For the Simple Stitch, that means inserting your hook under two front vertical bars, then yarn over and pull up your loop.
Here we have turned grabbed two vertical bars and replaced then with one vertical bar and have decreased by 1. You can use the same method to decrease more than one by going under more vertical bars. You will finish the row by working you return pass as normal.
3 ways to Increase in Tunisian Crochet
There are several ways to increase but we will just be covering the Make 1 method (Tunisian Full Stitch), Yarn over and Yarn Under.
Make 1 (Tunisian Full Stitch)
While working on other stitches, you can use a Tunisian full stitch to make an extra set of vertical bars. Just insert your hook between two stitches, yarn over on the back of your work, and pull up a new loop. Then continue working the rest of your row as normal. This will create an extra loop on your hook, increasing your stitch count by one.
Yarn over and Yarn Under Increase
As you can imagine these two methods are very similar, but they look different once completed. I think you will see the Yarn over method used more, but the Yarn under method will be used in the Smock stitch, which we will learn in lesson 8.
To use this either method you will simply work your stitches as you pattern indicates and when you need to increase you will yarn over the hook or yarn under.
To Yarn Over you will simply wrap the hook from back to front over the top of the hook, then under your hook to the back of your work. When you Yarn Under you bring your yarn from the back of your work, under your hook to the front of your work, then over your hook to the back of your work. YOu will need to use your finger to hold the Yarn Under loop in place when working your next stitch.
Next, you will complete your forward pass and work your return pass as normal. The Yarn Over method will create a loose loop that you will use as a set of vertical bars when working the next row. The Yarn Under method will create a slanted vertical bar that will be used as a new stitch in the next row.
Both methods work just fine, but they do have a slightly different look as seen in the photo below. The Yarn Under method creates a ‘V’ that branches into the two stitches while the Yarn Over method just has a new stitch appear.
Here is a video tutorial that will walk you through how to increase and decrease in Tunisian crochet.
Homework Time!
Make a sample swatch of Tunisian simple stitch. Experiment with the different methods of increasing.
Do you like one method more than the other?
After you have increased your swatch by a number of stitches, then practice working a few decreases by Tunisian Simple Stitching 2 Together.
Have fun and make your swatch interesting looking with the decreases and increases.
Feel free to share a photo of your swatch on the Facebook post for this lesson and check out everyone’s photos.
What is next?
Come back tomorrow for a new stitch tutorial. We will be learning the Smock Stitch.
Week 1: The Basics
Lesson 1 -Tunisian Crochet Basics + Tunisian Simple Stitch
Lesson 2 -Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Practice Pattern 1 – Tunisian Washcloth + Crocheting a Border around your Project
Week 2:
Lesson 3 – Tunisian Knit Stitch
Lesson 4– How to Change Colors in Tunisian Crochet
Practice Pattern 2 – Tunisian Hat
Week 3:
Lesson 5 – Understanding Gauge
Lesson 6 – Tunisian Full Stitch
Practice Pattern 3 – Tunisian Ear Warmer + Weaving in Your Ends
Week 4:
Lesson 7– How to Increase and Decrease
Lesson 8 – January 27th – New Tunisian Crochet Stitch
Practice Pattern – January 28th
Let’s Be Friends
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