Finishing the Unfinished

Looking for something quick to finish before my son is off school next week.  So, I figure this is the perfect time to pick up something that has been laying around unfinished.  I found a Kindle cover I had started making that just needed to be sewed up.  

I had made the same exact cover for my mom a while back, and one of her friends said she really liked it.  So I started to make one as a present - LAST YEAR.  It is very easy to never finish something when no one even knows you are making it.  I should start keeping things on display until they are completed so people can bug me about finishing them.

I came up with this pattern when I was playing around with the star stitch with some Caron Simply Soft in the color Baby Brights Ombre.  I found if you do it just right, you get nice stripes without having to do color changes (no color changes = much fewer ends to weave in = I'm a happier person).  

I love the way it came out, but, the project is harder than it should be.  The stitch pattern itself is quite simple, but the coloring of the yarn made it a bit cumbersome.  The yellow and orange sections of yarn are just a bit longer than the rest (you can see how the yellow stripes kind of bow out in the picture), so you have to really play with your tension to get the striped effect. 

All you do is make a rectangle by crocheting the star stitch.  If you have never done the star stitch before, I will tell you it is very easy once you learn it.  It is made through a combination of 2 rows. Once you learn the 2 rows, you are good to go. There are many tutorials online that show how it is done.  Unfortunately, they are are some differences depending on where you look.  This is how I did the star stitch:

Make a foundation chain in a multiple of 2 plus 3 extra

ROW 1:

Beginning star:   Insert hook into 2nd chain from hook, yarn over and pull up a loop. Keep both loops on the hook.  Insert hook into next chain, yarn over and pull up a loop.  Keep three loops on hook.  Continue this way in the next 3 chains.  You now have 6 loops on hook. Yarn over and pull through all 6 loops.  Chain 1 to close the stitch. 

Rest of stars to end of row:  To start the next stitch (and each stitch after), insert your hook into the center of the star just made (where you just chained 1), yarn over and pull up a loop, keeping both loops on hook.  Next, insert hook under the last spoke of the star just made (actually going through the stitch), yarn over and pull up a loop, keeping 3 loops on hook.  Then insert hook into same chain that the last spoke of previous star used, yarn over and pull up a loop, keeping 4 loops on hook.  Then insert hook into each of the next 2 chains, yarning over and pulling up a loop as you go.  Yarn over and pull through all 6 loops on hook.  Chain 1 to close stitch.  Continue this way making stars until last chain in row.  1 HDC in last chain.  Turn.

Row 2 and all even numbered rows: Chain 2.  2 HDC's in each center of star across.  1 HDC in last stitch in row  (which is the first spoke of first star in previous row).  Turn.

Row 3 and rest of odd numbered rows:  Chain 3.  Insert hook into 2nd chain from the hook and pull up a loop.  Pull up a loop through the next chain and next 3 stitches, keeping all loops on hook.  Yarn over and pull through all 6 loops on hook.  Chain 1 to close the stitch.  As done in row 1, start the next stitch (and each stitch after) by inserting hook into center of star just made and pulling up a loop.  Pull up a loop through last spoke of star just made.  Pull up a loop through same HDC the last spoke of previous star used.  Pull up a loop through each of next 2 HDC's.  Yarn over and pull through all 6 loops on hook.  Chain 1 to close stitch.  Continue making stars along row until reaching the last stitch (the chain 2 from previous row).  1 HDC in last stitch.  Turn.

Rows 4 - end:  Continue alternating rows 2 and 3, ending with row 2. 

You will see that the pattern actually makes the color stripes go vertically.  I made my piece wider and shorter because I wanted the stripes to go horizontally when I sewed it all together (the picture of the long rectangle is the piece turned sideways).

For this particular piece, I used Caron Simply Soft color Baby Brights Ombre.  With a size G hook, I made a chain of 113 so that last chain on the hook is the beginning of the purple segment after the white.  And I worked through 20 rows.  After completing the rectangle, I attached white yarn to the white edge and put (SC, 2HDC, SC) in the spot that lined up with the center of each star across to make a nicer edge.  I then folded it so the stripes lined up from front to back and sewed it together, leaving a flap at the top to fold over.  When I made my mom's, I made a band to tuck the flap into, but I think I will just put a couple buttons on this one.

You can make other sized objects as well, just turn the work at the right color.  The color pattern is: yellow, orange, pink, blue, purple, white, purple, blue, pink, orange, yellow, orange... The color pattern turns on itself at yellow and white, so that is where you need to turn the object you are making to keep the rows.  But keep in mind that this stitch creates a denser, stiffer fabric.

Can you use other variegated yarns and achieve the same results?  I don't know.  The color pattern of the yarn would have to reverse itself like Caron's does.  And Caron's color segments each measure about 6" when pulled tight, so if the segments of another yarn match up, it should work, or change your hook size to make it work.