Join As You Go - Rows
★★☆ - Improver
Join As You Go (JAYG) is a very popular method for joining crochet when working in the round but it can also be used when working back and forth in rows. With a little practice this technique can add another dimension to your colourwork.
To start with you'll be working back and forth in rows in the usual way, so you'll need to be familiar with starting chains, turning chains/working in rows and the treble crochet stitch (dc - US). The subsequent squares or strips will be joined on to this first piece as you work each row.
JOINING TO THE FIRST SQUARE
1. To start, work in rows in the normal way. You could work an entire column in one colour, or work a series of colour blocks by adding in new yarn and continuing to work back and forth.
When you have reached the size you need, go back to the start of the work and make sure that the right side is facing you. The starting yarn tail will be on the left and the right side of the stitches on the first row will be facing forward. We'll be joining the new colour to the bottom right corner.
2. Insert the hook into the chain at the base of the stitch on the right. As this is the first row, this is the bottom of the turning chain.
Make sure that you insert the hook into the chain so that one loop is to the top (left of the hook) and two loops are at the bottom (right of the hook). Then pull the new yarn through.
3. Make as many chains as you need for your new column.
4. Then work back along the chain to make the first row in the normal way.
5. Once you get back to the start of the chain, make sure that you work a treble (dc - US) into the first chain you made.
To join this first row to our existing work, we'll be making a slip stitch into the top of the stitch of the first row on the existing crochet.
6. Insert your hook into this stitch. (On this first row, it is the top chain of the turning chain.)
7. Pull the yarn through to complete the slip stitch.
8. Before turning the work, we are going to make the turning chain and attach the next row. The slip stitch we've just made will act as the 1st chain of our turning chain. Now make one more chain, this will be the second of our turning chains.
9. To join this second row to the existing crochet we need to make a slip stitch into the top of the second row stitch of the existing crochet.
10. This slip stitch will act as our 3rd turning chain.
Now that we have made the turning chain for the new row from the front (so it looks neater) we can turn the work.
11. This is how your work should look from the back. Notice that your working yarn is coming across the front of your work. Don't worry about this at the moment, we'll sort it out in a moment.
12. Now you can continue working the rest of the row. Remember that we've just worked the turning chain and that acts as our first stitch, so make sure that your second treble (dc - US) goes into the second stitch of the row below, as show in this picture.
13. Complete the rest of the row in the normal way. Then, start working back on the next row but making a turning chain of 3 as you normally would and making treble (dc - US) stitches back along towards the existing work.
14. Once you get back to the left hand side of your current piece of crochet this is how it should look. Here there are two more stitches to work. The first stitch needs to be made into the last treble stitch (dc - US) in the normal way.
Due to the way we turned the work this stitch can look a little stretched out and long but it can still be worked as normal and it'll tighten up in just a moment.
15. Here's how it looks when this penultimate stitch is worked.
16. To make the last stitch into the joined turning chain we need to work into the slip stitch at the start of the previous row.
So insert your hook under the two loops at the front of the slip stitch. (As shown by the arrow)
17. Then just tilt your work slightly forward so you can see the back. (See pic) The hook has been inserted under the two loops of the slip stitch.
The arrow shows an extra loop that was made when we took the working yarn across the front of our work at the start of the last row. So we now insert the hook under that loop.
18. One more picture, just to show you how it should look now. The two loops from the front of the slip stitch are on the hook and so is the extra loop made from the working yarn.
19. Complete the treble stitch (dc - US) in the usual way.
20. Now we just need to join the top of this row to the top of the row on the existing work, so make a slip stitch into the top of the stitch on the same row on the existing piece.
21. Now all you need to do is continue working back and forth in rows, joining to the existing crochet as you go.
If you now go back to step 8 and work through the steps again, you can make another joining turning chain ready to start the next row and so on. You can repeat the steps from picture 8 to here until you feel comfortable with the technique.
If you now go back to step 8 and work through the steps again, you can make another joining turning chain ready to start the next row and so on. You can repeat the steps from picture 8 to here until you feel comfortable with the technique.
ADDING A NEW COLOUR (AFTER A WRONG SIDE ROW)
If you've just worked a wrong side row, the last stitch you worked will be on the far side of the current work, away from the existing piece.
All you need to do is turn the work to the right side. Join the new yarn to the last stitch worked, make a chain of 3 and continue working and joining to the existing crochet in the same way described above.
ADDING A NEW COLOUR (AFTER A RIGHT SIDE ROW)
All you need to do is turn the work to the right side. Join the new yarn to the last stitch worked, make a chain of 3 and continue working and joining to the existing crochet in the same way described above.
ADDING A NEW COLOUR (AFTER A RIGHT SIDE ROW)
If you've just worked a right side row, the last stitch you worked will have ended with a joining ss into the existing crochet.
To join the new colour, keep the right side facing you as we need to work the joining turning chain from the front first.
To join the new colour, keep the right side facing you as we need to work the joining turning chain from the front first.
Insert the hook into the joining slip stitch and pull the yarn through.
Make a chain, and then make a joining slip stitch into the top of the stitch in the corresponding row of the existing work.
Now you can turn the work over ready to work back along the row. Remember that the working yarn will come across the front of the work.
Continue on in exactly the same way as you have done, remembering to make the first tr (dc - US) into the second stitch of the row below as described in step 12 of the main tutorial above. Now you can now carry on working and joining to the existing crochet in the same way.
JOIN AS YOU GO - ROWS
From the front
JOIN AS YOU GO - ROWS
From the front
From the back
