The Yarn That Binds - Connecting TSS To Knit Edges

The first afghan/blanket that I ever made was some forty years ago.  Mama crocheted the granny squares.  I crochet squares using the "afghan stitch" which is now known as Tunisian Simple Stitch (TSS).  Mama sewed the whole thing together and off I went to my first dorm experience at Louisiana College.

TSS is quite popular (finally or once again.  I can't figure it out) and has many variants and extensions such that Tunisian Crochet is a genre unto itself.  I still consider it that old stitch from way back when.

TSS has made it into the 2014 blanket.  Oh, don't get started lecturing me about it still being 2013.  I am an artist.  I am whimsical.  If I want to work on the 2014 blanket in November of 2013, I can.  Just smile and nod and go with the flow.

Meet Ida.  She is the 2014 blanket of my own design and is sketched out in this post.  Because I am not Mama (Ida Mae), I avoid seams whenever possible.  Each section will be attached to the previous as it is worked. 

The first section is knit in seed stitch and all edges are slipped so as to create a chain that is easy to pick up.  Section 2 of Ida is TSS that is connected to Section 1 on the bind off edge and a slipped stitch edge.  It is very easy to accomplish. 

 Let's assume that you already know how to work TSS or you watched a video.  To connect TSS to a knit edge is quite easy.

1.  Work the TSS forward pass until ready to pick up the last loop.
2.  Pick up for the TSS stitch AND the back loop from the knit bind off or slipped edge.

3.  Yarn over and draw through both the knit edge loop and for the TSS  loop to create the last stitch of the TSS forward pass.






4.  Connection is made!
5.  Work the TSS reverse pass in the normal way. 

It is so easy.  Working through the back look on the knit edge creates a decorative twist where the different styles of yarn work meet. 

Can I get a Voila?

Short Memory

Forget Washie.  I'm quite over her.  Meet my new best friend.

 This is Miss Scrubby Dubby.  She is a sturdy gal due to her internal fortitude of TSS. 

The double pass of Tunisian crochet is too thick for delicate projects, but it is perfect for something that will be used and abused like an afghan, pillow, rug or wash cloth.

Both sides of the TSS field have texture.  Especially the reverse side which is all bumpy.  That textured cotton is ideal for gently washing skin.  Indeed, for some five or six years now, the only cleansing device (other than my hands) that touches my face is a hand made wash cloth. 

Like Washie before her, Miss Scrubby Dubby has my signature crochet chain edging that wads up into a brilliant buffing ball of cotton and then dries quickly for the next use.

Even before her first use, I am looking at MSD and thinking that perhaps she does not want to live in the bath where it is sometimes dark and lonely during the day.  Her bright happy yellow tint is perfect for the sunshine.

Just look at her edging!  Absolutely lovely and ready to live under a window in the sunshine.  Yes, I do think that MSD wants to live an active and rigorous live in the swimming pool known as the kitchen sink.  She will be perfect for a life twirling around glassware and removing evidence of too much coffee from the mugs.

Welcome to my world, Miss Scrubby Dubby!

Narrow It Is

The recent move necessitates many changes.     A few years ago, I read the book, and the term rightsize  has stuck with me in all matters except yarn, chocolate and coffee.  We have made a conscious decision to start the process of rightsizing life.   Notice that I said start the process.  This is by no means done.  When I die, hoards will come from far and near hoping to score in the big stash sale.  Historians will covet the man's library of books that are not available in the digital world. 

Sometimes this rightsizing works really well.  Like when you recycle all of those weird vases from the valentine/anniversary roses or decide that the hall closet can hold something other than headless Barbie dolls.

Sometimes this rightsizing does not work so well.  Take the case of the narrow balcony off of my new  kitchen.  There is a deck drain (for all of those torrential rain storms that plague southern California, she noted with a whole heap of sarcasm) about 15 inches away from the door.  Right there where any purchased wipe-your-feet mat will cover the drain.  I try to be a good person.  I read the CC&Rs.  I know not to cover the grated hole.  But the space is too narrow for anything normal.

Thankfully, I have not downsized the stash!  And thanks to my recent reacquaintance with TSS and the purchase of the complete Denise hook set,  I can crochet a rug and make it the perfect width for the narrow spot.

Here is the beginning.  Double strand of basic Bernat Handicrafter cotton and TSS results in a nice thick sturdy fabric.  It will be the best thing since Mama's crocheted oval  rug made from strips of old clothes. 

If only I had that huge wooden hook that she used. . . .

A Stitch By Any Other Name

Thirty-eight years ago, Mama & I made an afghan.  I was going away to college dorm life and needed something decorative and warm.  She made the granny squares and I made squares for the afghan using the Afghan stitch.  At the time, this struck me as quite clever.

Thankfully, Mama sewed the whole thing together and, if I recall correctly, I did the edging.   Time has taken a toll on the afghan.  The seams are giving way; there is proof that Red Heart eventually breaks down.  But still, I keep the threads that we worked.  I hang on to our joint project.  A weak seam, a broken thread, a smell of decades past. . . this is our history - Mama and I.

Fast forward to this week and the Afghan stitch is still part of my repertoire,  only now it is known as TSS or Tunisian Simple Stitch.  To refresh my skills and add to my own personal stitch knowledge, I signed up for an online class.  Check out Craftsy for a huge selection of learn at your own pace classes.  Craftsy lets you learn from the masters! 

Tunisian Crochet with Jennifer Hansen, of Stitch Diva Studios fame, is a fabulous class.  What I love most about this online video it the ability to adapt the excellent teaching to my style of learning.  Stop.  Rewind.  Take a video note.  Move faster.  Move slower.   Come back next week or next month.  I've bought the course and it is mine for as long as I need it.  


Look at my new Tunisian Crochet square.  It is a spa cloth.  I love the mix of stitches.  Yes, I had first learned the TSS in that afghan from the 1970s.  Somewhere along the line, I played around with the TKS (Tunisian Knit Stitch).  But never ever had I gotten to all the other possibilities such as the TRS (Tunisian Reverse Stitch).  I am enthralled.  


When life calms down a bit and my mind quits vacillating on "four different colors of DK weight yarn"  I will start the fantabulous multi-garment from the class.  

Are you excited yet?  Click on over and check out the super Craftsy classes, workshops and patterns.  I'm glad I did.