Jessica Wifall

Scheepjes Festival of Lights CAL: Week 7, Joining Motifs

For the Festival of Lights CAL for Week 7 I am finally going to talk about Joining (and Blocking). On here and in the video tutorial and this week I go into a lot of detail about how I like to block the motifs and the joining method, including some tips for troubleshooting if/when you find that your count is off when joining two motifs.

The written PDF of the pattern can be found here on the Scheepjes website.

For photos to accompany the pattern jump to the bottom of this post here.

I will add these links as they become available.

Contents

Getting Started

Scheepjes has made two beautiful official kits for this CAL of Scheepjes Metropolis and Organicon yarns. 

To purchase a kit, you can check for a Scheepjes Retailer in your area, or please consider using my affiliate link below.  Shopping though this link earns me a small commission to support my design work at no additional cost to you. Thank You!

USA: Jimmy Beans Wool Scheepjes Yarn: Organicon Kit / Metropolis Kit

I don’t have a lot of affiliate links so if you can’t buy through my link, I would encourage you to use an affiliate link from other designers that you enjoy when purchasing your kit. 

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend joining the Scheepjes Facebook Groups.  The groups are incredibly friendly and supportive.  There you can share progress photos, get inspiration, and ask for help if needed.

I have also made video tutorials for this CAL that I will be posting for each part on my YouTube Channel.

There will not be a complete photo tutorial for this pattern, but I will provide some supplementary photographs for the trickier bits on the blog post for each piece of the pattern.

I have made videos tutorials for all the parts of this CAL, here are the links for this week. This week we only use a slip stitch so the videos for US and UK terms are the same. I have also tried to make them clear enough visually that it will still be helpful without the sound.

Special Thank you to Fiona Kelly for providing a Dutch Voiceover! Here are the Videos in Dutch.

I also have an introductory video that has tips and tricks for staying organized and a little bit about my inspiration

Introduction and Tips and Trick Video

Introductie, Tips & Tricks – Nederlands

You can subscribe to my channel and turn on notifications to be notified when each video comes out.

Blocking

I recommend washing and blocking your motifs before joining.  This will help your motifs to fit together nicely and should help to prevent excessive tightness on the join.

I am going to be demonstrating the blocking and joining of the upper left corner of the blanket.  If you have a large enough blocking mat you can block your whole blanket at once or it can be blocked in sections.  However, all motifs should be blocked before you begin the join.  

I am choosing to wet block my motifs. Therefore, I will need to remove my paper tags.  To keep the motifs from getting mixed up, I arrange my motifs according to the to the blanket layout schematic.  Then take a photo of my motifs with my phone so that I can replicated this layout without the tags. 

Wash the motifs according to the instruction of your wash. I choose to use this wool wash* for all my motifs (wool and cotton), but you can use any washing method you prefer. (*affiliate link)

Once the motifs have soaked long enough, remove them from their bath, gently pressing out the water by hand, then using some towels to remove more water. 

 Once all the motifs are out of the bath, I arrange them on the blocking mat as in the photo that I took. 

Blocking them in the same arrangement as the final blanket will make sure that they all fit together just right when you go to join them. 

Now we are ready to pin.  I am starting with the bottom left square because I noticed that it is one of my slightly larger motifs, so I will pin it with only a little stretch and block all the other motifs up to this size. 

More Tips for Blocking

  • Make sure that you use rust proof pins* to avoid rust stains on your motifs.
  • Blocking mats with a grid* on them are also quite helpful for pining out your motifs evenly.  If you don’t have grid on your blocking mats you can also put a ruler up along the side of where you are pinning or even pin a string on ether end to make a straight line a guide.
  • I generally pin the corners of the motif first and then start placing pins along the edges.  I tend to use excessive pins; you don’t really need as many as I have placed here.   
  • I also like to push the motif from a few rounds in when pinning so that I am not just pulling on the edges.  On the motifs with back post stitches near the edges, I will generally push from the little ridge formed by the back post stitches.    
  • Once all the motifs are pinned in place, allow to dry completely. Putting it under a fan can help speed up the drying process.

(*affiliate links)

Once fully dry, before I take out the pins, I am going to use my photo to check that I haven’t mixed up any pieces while they were wet and put all the tags back on.

Then I remove all the pins.

You can see that the motifs have relaxed a little bit as I took out the pins, but they still fit together quite well.   And finally, we are ready to join.

Before we start…

I am going to be up front here and tell you that some people find this join to be tedious.  I considered many other joins when I was designing this blanket, however, I felt that the results from this join were the best and that it was worth the effort.  I recommend taking it slow and double checking your work often.  

And if you do find that this join is just not worth the effort for you.  Then it can be replaced with any joining method that doesn’t add extra space between the motifs. 

Schematics

Along with the pattern piece this week there will be a joining schematic. The schematic is given in 6 parts, as well as, combined and are color coded in rainbow order. The paths should be made in the order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue. Purple. 

In general, the given joining schematic describes an order and path of joining with the following goals:

  • Whenever possible we are going to make a continuous straight line through the blanket.  We already delt with enough ends, there is no need to add any more than necessary.
  • Join lines that are straight will be made on top of or after lines that bend.  This is subtitle but it helps keep the sharp points and angular geometry that we just created. 

Joining:

For joining we will be using the Zipper Join or flat ss join.  If you have a Metropolis or Organicon Kit you will have a dark grey yarn for joining, to resemble the night sky. 

NOTE: In order to get photographs that you could actually see the stitches on I will be demonstrate the method with a lighter grey in these photos.

Method “Zipper Join” (or flat ss join)

To make a Zipper Join. Hold the two motifs you wish to join right side up and flat with the joining edge together. 

Find the corner of the left motif and locate the second chain.  Insert your hook from front to back in the back loop only.  On the other motif locate the corner and insert your hook from front to back in the back loop only of the first chain in the corner. 

Hold the yarn to the back, yarn over the hook and pull through both loops on the hook to make a slip stitch. Continue to slip stitch all the way along the sides of the motifs.

  • Sometimes it helps to rotate your crochet hook a little as you pull it thought the two loops.

Don’t fasten off at the end unless you are completing a path. 

This join is a bit tedious especially when starting but it makes this very clean line and is very flat.  Pay attention to your tension while making your slip stitches.  If you find you are making them too tight, try going up a hook size. 

From here all the joining is the same, it’s just a matter of following the schematic and taking your time, but I am going to show you a few more examples of the joining under different conditions you will come across when joining the blanket. 

Continuing to Next Motifs

While joining along the paths you are going to crochet together many pairs of motifs in a row.  Don’t add any chains between the motifs just repeat the process of finding the corners and continue along the next motifs.

Crossing Lines

Your joining lines are going to cross paths many times. Make sure that you don’t have your previous joining lines twisted before working over them. When you get to the crossover, again just continue to the motifs on the other side.

Odd Numbered Corners

When there is an even number of motifs coming together the motifs can be joined by crossing lines.  But when there is an odd number of corners, we will need to add another line. 

Use the same method as before and at the end, fasten off and use the tail to make the connection look seamless.

Cut the yarn, pull up the loop until the yarn emerges and thread it onto a tapestry needle. 

Now I am going to work it under both of the prior joining lines.

And back under the top line again.  Then back down from where it emerged. 

Now it looks rather seamless on the front, let’s take care of the back. 

On the back, once again I am going to thread it under both of the crossed paths of the prior joining lines.  Then you can pick where to hide the end, and it will look seamless on the back too.

Three Motifs Meeting

The One extra special case you will run into when joining is when three motifs meet.  This will always be 2 diamonds and a square or the square corner of the triangle. 

There are 2-chains in a square corner and only 1 in each of the diamond side corners. When we get to this junction, we need to join both of the 1-chains from the diamonds to the corner. 

Insert the hook into both of the diamond side corners, then through the back loop of one the chains in the square corner AND the second as well. 

Then make your slip stitch through all of this with yarn over hook and pull though all the loops on the hook. Now we can continue to slip stitch to finish the join. You can use the tail from the join between the diamonds to finish of where they meet.

Trouble Shooting

What do you do when you get to the end of a join and realize that the motifs aren’t lining up?  Here are some tips for trouble shooting.

Error Type 1: Starting in the Wrong Spot

The most common error I tend to make is starting in the wrong corner stitch. The natural slant of crochet stitches makes this a very easy mistake to make.

 If you look closely below, I have joined my second motif to the second chain of the triangle corner instead of the first. To fix this I just had to rip back and redo.

Error Type 2: Stitch Count is Off

The second most common error that I make is that I sometimes don’t check my stitch count and then the motifs won’t line up correctly.

Below I have circled where I went off on my stitch count in round 4 of the diamond motif, I forgot to skip one of the first stitches, so I have one extra stitch on a side.

I really don’t want to redo this, so I am going to fake it.  I rip back to about where the extra stitch is … insert my hook into the next loop I want to join and the next two on the other motif.  Then pull through all those loops for the slip stitch.  Now continue to finish the join and you can’t really tell that there was ever an issue. 

Error Type 3: Skipped Stitches

This error is less common for me and so I don’t have a picture but if your sides are off and none of the other issue apply it may be a skipped stitch.

Error Type 4: Swapped order of Motifs Mid Join

This last example of error doesn’t cause a problem with alignment, but you might notice it particularly if you are trouble shooting.  In general, I stay consistent with which motif I insert the hook in first but if you accidently switch.  It will look like this on the other side. 

Joining Completed

Once the joining is completed you may wish to do another light blocking to even up the edges.

Happy Crafting!

Support My Work

Thank you for reading my blog, you are supporting my design work just by being here!   Here are some other ways you can support my design work.

  • Follow me on Instagram or Facebook – I post new pattern releases and such on my Instagram feed and Facebook page, following, liking, and commenting will keep you up to date and help other find my design work.
  • Join my Facebook group – This is a place to ask questions and get help from me and the community, share your creations and talk about my patterns.
  • Browse my self-published patterns – I have several patterns on Etsy and Ravelry.  My portfolio of designs is not extensive yet, but I am continuing to add new patterns. 
  • Watch my Videos on YouTube– Video tutorials for each part of this CAL will be available on my YouTube channel along with a (very) few other tutorials I have made.  Watching the videos, subscribing to my channel, commenting on and liking the videos will all support my design work. 
  • Affiliate links – Shopping through my links supports me at no additional cost to you as I get a small commission through my affiliates. Scheepjes Amazon Shop, Jimmy Beans Wool, Yarn Addicted and Co on Etsy (US shipping only) 

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I will add these links as they become available.

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