Technique: Mitered Cast On and Bind Off

One method of hiding the raw edges on ruffle yarn is to work them into the bind on and cast off of a piece.

Casting On

Fold the raw edge diagonally so that the first row of alternate spaces meets the loops formed by Threads 1 and 2.
	Match the loops to the alternate spaces. You may need to pin the openings to a padded board to keep them aligned.
Cast on or chain as usual, keeping the matched openings together.

Finishing Off

As you approach the end of your piece, count out the number of loops you need to bind off and/or finish the final row or round. You should do this when you require one or two loops more than the number of alternate rows on your yarn.

Cut the yarn with two or three loops more than you need to finish your work.

Fold the raw edge diagonally so that the first row of alternate spaces meets the loops formed by Threads 1 and 2. Be sure to make your fold so that the raw edge will end up on the inside of the work, rather than the outside (as I did in following photos).
You may need to transfer the matched loops to a cable needle or other holding needle to keep them in order as you finish the final row.

A third needle keeps the loops-to-be-worked straight

Continue to crochet, or to bind off, as usual. Finish and secure the threads and open loops at the working edge.

A mitered bind-off

Note that if I had folded the raw edge to the other side of the working edge, the raw edges at the top would have been hidden.

Counting Stitches: Alternate Spaces

Some patterns and techniques will require you to make use only of spaces in a pattern that is perpendicular to a particular loop -- say, to create a mitered corner or a traditional (bent at 45-degree angles) ribbon rose.
Depending upon whether your spaces are to start, you would use either the spaces defined by the capital letters below, or the spaces defined by the lower-case letters.



Or, in the theme we discussed earlier, usually the odd-numbered spaces, but occasionally the even-numbered ones.

The End of the Yarn

There are two places in our work in which we come to the end of the yarn: when we are about to finish a skein in the middle of our work (and need to graft in more yarn to continue), or when we come to the end of our work and need to secure the final stitches.

Because of its bulk, the ends of a ball of ruffle yarn cannot be woven into the work the same way we work in the ends of traditional yarns.

Adding More Yarn

We've come to the end of our yarn

Overlay the old and new yarns
(contrast used to demonstrate technique)

Work the two yarns as one until the old yarn runs out

When adding more yarn, overlap the last three or four loops of the ball you are about to finish with the first three loops of the  new ball. Work the loops of both balls together, the same way you did with the folded-over loops at the start of  your work.

Now working with just the new yarn

How the old and new yarns work into each other
(this would be invisible with the same color yarn)

Finishing Your Work

With a Pulled-Through End (Ribbon Yarns, Worked As Yarn)

As you approach your last several stitches, count out the number of loops you will need to complete those stitches, plus an additional four loops. 

When you get to the end of your work, pull the remaining yarn through the last loop.

Pull to tighten the last stitch and secure the tail.

If the stitch will not tighten (which is typical for ruffle yarns), you will need to use sewing thread to secure the tail to the back of the work.

With a Sewn-In End

As you approach your last several stitches, count out the number of loops you will need to complete those stitches, plus an additional four loops. 

Cut the yarn along its width. 

Fold back the last four loops of the yarn, the same way you did with the first two loops when starting your work.

Work as usual, binding off (knitting) or crocheting your final stitches.

At the end, you should have a single loop of doubled yarn on your hook or needle. 

Take a needle and sewing thread, and sew this loop, either to the first two unworked threads of the yarn's edge, or to the previous two or three stitches of your work.

With a Knotted End (Mesh Yarns Only)

As you approach your last several stitches, count out the number of loops you will need to complete those stitches, plus an additional few loops. 

Cut the yarn along its width. 

Using only the four extra loops, cut the yarn along its length between the second and third threads, or between the highest-number worked thread and the thread beneath it..(If the yarn has many threads, you may want to make a parallel cut several threads down, to end up with two "strings" of about equal bulk, plus an embellished tail.)

At the end of the work, pull the working threads through the loop formed by the last stitch, leaving the cut part of the yarn behind.

Using the pulled-through yarn as one "string", and the remainder as a second "string", tie the two strings together using a square knot.

Trim the trailing ends, (and if appropriate, the embellished tail).

Binding Off

Because ruffle yarns are looser than standard yarns, a typical bind-off will appear very tight. While this is fine (even desirable) for The Scarf, it's less useful if you are using ruffle yarn for the fancy edge of a garment.

The method that seems to work for Sashay is:
(k1, slip the knit stitch back to the left needle),repeat, k2 tog, (slip the knit stitch back to the left needle, ((k1, slip the knit stitch back to the left needle), repeat, k2tog)), repeat until only one stitch remains.

This is basically knitting each stitch twice before knitting it together with the next stitch. As you can see from the photo, this leaves a pretty straight edge, though there's still a bit of tightness to it.

A variation of the more standard bind-off (k1, (sl1, pass knit stitch over sl st, knit slipped stitch), repeat) had me knitting the same Sashay stitch three times before binding off


A larger mesh, such as Starbella, may require knitting each stitch three or four times before binding it off by knitting it with (or slipping it over) the following stitch.

Design Note:

The curvature of the traditional bind-off (knit each stitch once before slipping it over the next stitch) can also be used to create a collar (see this section of Premier Yarns' Cascading Ruffles scarf) that lays flat on the neck and shoulders, an armhole trim, or other curved trimming.

Basic Stitches: Double Crochet

Double Crochet

Double crochet is, in my opinion, the quickest and most effective fabric, or filling, stitch in crochet. It works up more rapidly than single crochet, without the long bars and open spaces of treble crochet, double treble, or bullion stitch.

In ruffle yarns, the longer stitch of double crochet presents a deeper ruffle than single crochet. On the flip side, the longer stitch means a longer length of unruffled "back side" between rows on The Scarf, while reducing the "z-direction" — the thickness of the scarf. It makes for a thinner, more flexible scarf, and in a ribbon yarn, can bring to mind the curls of natural fleece or the evenly-spaced curves of an Elizabethan ruff.

Insert hook through next open loop of yarn.
	Insert hook through next open chain or stitch; wrap next open loop of yarn around hook. Use hook to draw the last thread through the chain or stitch.
Wrap next open loop of yarn around hook. Draw thread through the loop and yarn-over on the hook.
Yarn over once again, and draw through both loops on hook.
Row of Double Crochet (Flamenco by Trendsetter)	Row of Double Crochet (Twist & Twirl by Bernat)
After a few rows of stitches:
Flamenco (Trendsetter) Twist & Twirl (Bernat)	Top to bottom: Flaunt (Loops & Threads) Sashay (Red Heart Boutique) Starbella (Premier Yarns)

Basic Stitches: Single Crochet

Single Crochet

Single crochet creates a dense, thick, shallow ruffle.

Flamenco by Trendsetter Yarns	Insert your hook through the chain top of the previous row or round, or the top of your foundation chain.
Slip the next free loop of the yarn's working edge over the hook.
Draw the thread through the previous-row loop.
	Slip the next free loop of the yarn's working edge over the hook.
Draw the thread through both loops on the hook.

After the first row:
After several rows:
The other side of the work:

Examples

Top to bottom: examples of single crochet in Flaunt (Loops & Threads), Sashay (Red Heart Boutique), and Starbella (Premier Yarns). Note the short yarn height, shallow ruffles, and dense texture.

Starting Work: Crocheting in the Round

In traditional crochet, we start with a central ring, whether it's made of plastic or bone, padding threads, chain stitches, or a single chain stitch.

It's not so different in ruffle yarn crochet, except that the ring comes from the threads and spaces of the yarn's width.

The Foundation Ring

Starbella Note how the hook comes under the embellished edge.

Accordion-fold the raw edge, matching all spaces from the working edge to the free edge. Insert hook through the open edge space from working edge to free edge, with the hook coming under the free edge and the ball coming to the left of the hook (if you are right-handed).

This is equivalent to the usual foundation ring or the chain stitch that supports all the stitches of the first crocheted round. Work all of the gathered threads as a single initial padded ring, except as noted.

The First Round

Single crochet: Slip the hook through the next free loop of the working edge, and bring the thread through the foundation ring.

Hook is inserted through the first free loop of the working edge

Slip the next free loop of the working edge around the hook from the back of the work. Draw through both loops on the hook to complete the stitch, just as in traditional crochet.

Yarn drawn through foundation ring

Continue to crochet around the ring, working in the raw edge of the yarn.

Another view of the foundation ring

Drop threads from the ring
as they start to get in the way

At some point, about a third to half-way around the ring, the threads will want to separate and it will become difficult to keep all of the threads in the ring (or, it will seem as if you would be adding more threads into the ring). Drop the threads that want to separate (or draw in more bulk) as you continue to crochet around.

As you come back to the beginning of your work, pick back
up the threads just before your first stitch to complete the circular round.

Ready to join: this Starbella first round
has 14 single crochet stitches

Note that this first round will have more than the six stitches to which you may  be accustomed. (I average eight to ten double-crochets for Sashay, about the same number of single crochets for Flaunt.)