Getting Ready to Scrapbook
You're going to love scrapbooking. So much so that you'll be glad you're investing time and energy into finding out all you can — before you begin your first album. In this chapter, we give you some advice about planning landmarks: collecting items for your pages, organizing your materials so that your scrapbook albums have the finished look you want, and creating a workspace that keeps you happy and productive as you complete those unique albums you envision.
Deciding on your scrapbook's purpose
Some people scrapbook because they love the craft. Others care more about highlighting their current family events — for the enjoyment of those living now. Still other scrapbookers focus on preservation and the archival aspects of scrapbooking — always thinking about how long their albums will last.
Understanding your general and specific purposes for scrapbooking focuses your decisions about the direction of your work. The following list helps you determine what your own purpose or purposes for scrapbooking may be:
- Documenting events and milestones: Scrapbookers make pages and albums about every conceivable event and life milestone. The industry creates themed products that work well with all your events. Whether you want to scrap graduations, birthdays, confirmations, weddings, or travels, you can find stickers, stamps, and plenty of other materials to go on your pages.
- Focusing on individual biographies: Perhaps you want to scrapbook the life of one family member, an illustrious ancestor or some relative who lived in an interesting historical era.
- Giving a gift or gratitude book: You can make a mini scrapbook album relatively quickly to give as a gift for a special event (such as a birthday or anniversary), to say thank you, or just because you want to help someone feel better.
- Illustrating an autobiography: Some of the best scrapbook albums are illustrated autobiographies. No one knows the details of your life as well as you do.
- Promoting healing: Many a scrapbook served as therapy for people experiencing pain, suffering, and loss by reminding them of the many wonderful experiences they and their loved ones have had and of the sheer fullness and diversity of their lives. The terminally ill often scrapbook their own lives, and many people scrapbook the lives of lost loved ones.
- Recording an illustrated family history: These albums are like glorified genealogies that chart a family's history as far back as possible.
- Setting examples: Your purpose may be to use scrapbooks as places where you can make your voice heard and where you can influence your children, your grandchildren, and many others. With photos and journaling, the albums you make document your own and your family's travels, successes, school activities, relocations, deaths, and other experiences that illustrate life's challenges and triumphs.
Hunting down M and Ps
At the backs of drawers and shelves or somewhere tucked away in the corners and crevices of a garage, attic, or closet, you have a hidden treasure that we call your M and Ps — your personal and family memorabilia and photographs. When you begin scrapbooking, just finding your M and Ps may require a major effort. But be resolute! Press forward! Your goal is to gather all the memorabilia and photographs together in one place — the bigger the place, the better. Try Print File's drop-front, metal-edge containers for this initial gathering effort. Professional photographers and museums use these lignin-free, acid-free boxes — which range in size from 8-1/2 x 10 inches to 20 x 24 inches and are priced from $10 to $19.95. You can order them direct online at Printfile.
You don't want to store your M and P treasures in just any big cardboard box you find in the garage. Corrugated material in some of those boxes is not good for your photos, and even though your intentions are noble, you may not get all of those M and Ps out of the box and into archival-safe photo boxes or page protectors straightaway.
Your memorabilia can include anything you've saved that's small enough to put in a scrapbook: matchbooks, airline tickets, keys, house deeds, and so on. Collecting memorable items can add dimension to your daily life. When you're constantly on the lookout, you come upon memorabilia stuck in the most unlikely spots — and probably smile or shed a few tears as you put an item in your memorabilia holding place.
After you put all the photographs and memorabilia you can find in the same place, you need to go begging. Ask family members and friends for photos or negatives you may want to use but don't have. Negatives are better because both parties then can hold on to the photos. Whenever possible, make prints from negatives rather than copies of photos because photos made from negatives always are clearer than copies of photographs.
If you're missing documents, such as birth, marriage, and death certificates, call the counties where the events took place. County officials usually are glad to send you copies of the documents you need for a nominal fee.
Don't scrap that: Choosing items to include in your scrapbook
As you get ready to select the items you want to put into a particular scrapbook, ask yourself this question: Does this item contribute to or detract from the unified look of the album? Unity is as critical in scrapbooking as it is in any creative work. You want your scrapbook to look cohesive and to convey a sense of purpose and order. You achieve unity when each part of your scrapbook becomes essential to the whole.
Following the suggestions we give you in the list that follows can help you narrow your item choices and ensure that you choose items that contribute to the unified look of your album.
- Decide on a theme. Choose the event or experience that you want to scrapbook @ -- your infamous vacation, for example. Find all the M and Ps from that vacation and put them into page protectors. Then you can select an album (think of the album as your first item) that goes with your vacation theme.
Just because you put all the big vacation M and Ps into your page protectors doesn't mean that you're going to use all of them in your scrapbook. The selection process is about refining and sifting through the many to finally decide on a choice few.
- Select the same photographic look. "Photographic look" doesn't mean that all photos you use in your album are exactly the same size or that they all have exactly the same colors. But if you want to create a historic, old-world look with black-and-white photos, use black-and-white pictures throughout the album. As a general rule, using black-and-white photos alongside color photos doesn't contribute to the unified feel that an album needs. But modern scrapbook stylists experiment with breaking a rule and do so successfully. Scrapbooking is full of rule-breakers.
- Choose a color scheme. You may get ideas for your color palette from your album cover, from one or a series of your photographs, or from some other source.
- Choose memorabilia related to your purpose and storyline. Look at all the memorabilia that may go into your album and then use the items that best complement the purpose, theme, story, photographs, and colors you've decided to use. A mix of types of memorabilia can add interest: maps and other flat items on some pages and bulkier items on others.
- Use materials consistently. Choose stickers, papers, and other materials that go well with your photos and memorabilia, the colors in your palette, and each other. Careful thought when making these choices pays off big time in the finished album. Pick an ink color (or colors) for journaling that complements the M and Ps and other items on your pages, and make sure you use quality materials like journaling pens with pigment-based inks.
Just because you bought out the scrapbook store doesn't mean that you have to use everything in one album. Gather a few goodies that coordinate with your theme and color scheme and have at it! Make it fun and keep it simple, especially when this is your first album. Even seasoned scrappers get carried away when choosing album materials.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
∗
A symbol (asterisk) in a written stitch pattern indicating that whatever follows gets repeated.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
∙
A symbol (bullet) in a written stitch pattern indicating that whatever follows gets repeated.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
acrylic
A synthetic fiber used to make yarn that mimics the look and feel of natural materials.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
Afghan
1. The Afghan crochet stitch produces a rather solid fabric that closely resembles a knitted fabric. 2. An afghan (lowercase a) is a soft blanket or shawl, crocheted or knitted, often in a geometric design

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
approx
Abbreviation for approximately.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
back cross
To knit or crochet stitches at an angle on the back (or wrong) side of a fabric, producing a pattern in which the stitches overlap.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
back post; BP
A type of crochet stitch in which you insert your hook around the post of a stitch that's one or more rows below the current row, creating raised patterns that appear to recede on the side of the fabric facing you.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
backstitch
A stitch used to assemble knitted pieces by using a tapestry needle, going in and out of the stitches in knitted fabrics.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
ball
Yarn wound around a cardboard center or an open hole.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
band
A knitted border on a piece of knitted fabric that keeps the center edge from stretching; adds a neat trim to an otherwise rough-looking edge; and creates a place for fastenings such as buttons. Most often appears on cardigan sweaters.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
bar
1. A type of knitting increase that leaves a horizontal bar under the increased stitch. 2. In filet crochet, a long space that crosses over the two blocks or spaces, or the one lacet, below it.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
basketweave
A knitting stitch pattern that creates a fabric that looks like a woven basket.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
beg
Knitting pattern abbreviation for beginning.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
bet
Crochet pattern abbreviation for between.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
bind off; cast off
To make a finished edge by securing the knitted stitches in the last row worked, which prevents unraveling.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
blanket stitch
A crochet stitch used to assemble crocheted pieces, adding some stability to the backside of a seam made with long stitches, such as triple crochet.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
block
1. (verb) To wet down or steam a piece of knitting or crochet in order to coax it into its final shape. The moisture and/or heat smoothes out uneven stitches and straightens out wavy, rolling edges. 2. (noun) The actual crocheted substance of a filet crochet design.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
blocker
Wooden sock- or mitten-shaped template with biscuit-type holes cut out to aid air circulation when blocking a knitted or crocheted piece.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
blocking board
A flat surface made from a material that you can stick a pin into, often marked with a 1-inch grid to aid in blocking a knitted or crocheted piece.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
blocking wires
Long, slightly flexible stainless steel wires in various lengths that you thread through the edges of your knitted pieces so that you can pin a knitted or crocheted piece into place for blocking without the edges becoming scalloped at the pin sites.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
blp
Crochet pattern abbreviation for back loop only.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
bobbin
A piece of shaped plastic used to keep colored yarns separate while knitting or crocheting with multiple colors and strands of yarn. You wrap one color of yarn per bobbin. Commonly used in Fair Isle and intarsia knitting.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
boucle
A highly bumpy, textured yarn composed of loops.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
box
A knitting stitch that has the same look and feel as seed stitch, but on a larger scale.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
brocade
A thick, heavy fabric into which raised patterns have been woven.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
C4B
Knit pattern abbreviation for cable 4 back, meaning a cable worked over 4 stitches from behind your work.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
C4F
Knit pattern abbreviation for cable 4 front, meaning a cable worked over 4 stitches in front of your work.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
C6B
Knit pattern abbreviation for cable 6 back, meaning a cable worked over 6 stitches from behind your work.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
C6F
Knit pattern abbreviation for cable 6 front, meaning a cable worked over 6 stitches in front of your work.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
cable
A knit pattern in which you cross one group of stitches over another by knitting them out of order.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
cable needle; cn
A short knitting needle that's point at both ends, has a divot or curve toward the middle, and is used to hold stitches temporarily while you work on their neighbors.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
carry
When knitting or crocheting with different colors, the process of moving yarn not in use to the next position it will be used by working it into the stitches being made in another color, rather than fastening off and rejoining the yarn with each color change.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
cast on
Create a series of loops on one needle as a knitted starting row. The opposite is to bind off or cast off.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
CC
Crocheting or knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for contrasting color.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
chain; ch
A simple, common crocheting stitch used to make a crochet piece's foundation and to start new rows.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
chenille
A type of yarn material (usually made of rayon or cotton) with an attractive appearance and velvety texture.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
chevron
Knitting pattern that makes the fabric form arrow-like shapes.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
circular; in the round
A crocheting or knitting technique that works the stitches in a continuous, spiral-like fashion without turning the piece; also called crocheting or knitting in the round.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
circular needle
A knitting needle designed especially for circular knitting, made up of one long double-pointed needle in a circular shape.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
cluster
A set of crochet stitches that you work across an equal number of stitches and join together at the top, forming a triangle shape that resembles an upside-down shell stitch.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
colorway
Color combination.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
Continental
Knitting style in which you hold the yarn in your left hand and pick the stitches through each loop.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
cotton
A soft, white natural fiber from plants, often made into yarn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
crab; reverse crochet stitch
Worked like a single crochet stitch, but from left to right, rather than right to left.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
crewel
A style of embroidery that's worked with any type of yarn, rather than thread.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
crochet
A kind of needlework in which loops of a yarn are interwoven by means of a single hooked needle, or crochet hook.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
crochet hook
A specialized needle with a hook at one end used to create crochetwork.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
cross
To knit or crochet stitches at an angle, producing a pattern in which the stitches overlap; crosses can be in the back or front of a stitched fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
cross-stitch
A type of needlework, usually done with thread, in which stitches are crossed in the form of an X on some surface.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
cuff
A band or fold at the end of a sleeve.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
decrease; dec
Removing stitches from a crocheted or knitted row to create a piece with sophisticated shaping; abbreviated dec.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
double crochet; dc
One of the most common crochet stitches, it's about twice as tall as a single crochet; abbreviated dc. Compare with single crochet.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
double decrease; dbl dec
Decreasing 2 stitches at the same time; abbreviated dbl dec.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
double increase; dbl inc
Increasing 2 stitch in the same place; abbreviated dbl inc.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
double space
A long space in filet crochet that crosses over the two blocks or spaces, or the one lacet, below it.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
double triple crochet; dtr
A tall crochet stitch that creates a loose and holey fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
double-pointed needle; dpn
Knitting needle that has a point at each end.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
drape
How a knitted or crocheted fabric falls, including how much movement the fabric allows.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
drawing up the loops
Adding loops to your crochet hook by crocheting a row onto a foundation chain.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
dropped stitch
A knit stitch or purl stitch that has fallen off the knitting needle, leaving that stitch unworked.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
duplicate stitch; Swiss darning
A simple way of adding an additional color to your knitting without actually knitting with that color; instead, you embroider the additional color on the fabric, mimicking the stitch it covers.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
dye lot
The batch of dye with which a certain yarn was colored.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
elasticity
The quality or condition of being elastic, meaning springy, flexible, and resilient.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
embroider
To decorate a fabric with a design in needlework, usually by using embroidery floss.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
English
A style of knitting in which the knitter holds the yarn in his or her right hand and wraps it around the right-hand (RH) needle as he or she creates stitches.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
eyelet
1. A small hole through which you pass something, such as a button. 2. A type of lace pattern characterized by small openwork motifs distributed over a solid fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
fabric stiffener
A liquid medium that you apply to a worked piece during blocking, which dries invisible and makes your fabric rigid.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
faggot
A kind of knitted lace pattern composed of nothing but the simplest lace-making unit — a yarn over followed (or preceded) by a decrease.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
Fair Isle
Knitting technique, also called stranding, that involves color patterns using more than one color in a row. You can work with two strands of yarn, carrying them along the back of your work, and picking up and dropping them as needed.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
fancy stitch; lacet
A filet crochet stitch that looks somewhat like a V and is worked across five stitches or the width of two spaces.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
fasten off
To cut the yarn in a crocheted piece and then draw it through a loop on the crochet hook at the end of the design or the end of that particular yarn's use in the design.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
felt
To transform knitting or crochetwork into a dense, sturdy fabric by running the finished piece through the washing machine.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
filet crochet
A crochet technique that imitates a 17th-century form of lace worked on mesh netting stretched across a frame, which has evolved into a series of blocks and spaces that form a design.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
fleece
Wool from a sheep or similar animal.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
float
The strand on the wrong side of loose stitches that connects those stitches.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
floss
A soft, loosely twisted thread or yarn used in embroidery.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
flp
A crochet stitch pattern abbreviation for front loop only.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
foll
A crochet or knitting stitch pattern abbreviation meaning follows or following.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
foundation chain
A series of chain stitches that creates your first row of crochet.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
fringe
A border or trimming of cords or threads, hanging loose or tied in bunches.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
front cross
To knit or crochet stitches at an angle on the front (or right) side of a fabric, producing a pattern in which the stitches overlap.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
front post; FP
A type of crochet stitch in which you insert your hook around the post of a stitch that's one or more rows below the current row, creating raised patterns on the surface of the fabric facing you.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
garter
A knitting stitch that you create by simply knitting (or purling) every row.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
gauge
The number of knitted or crocheted stitches and rows there are to an inch of fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
graft; Kitchener stitch
A way to join two knitted pieces that mock knits by using a tapestry needle, creating a very stretchy and almost invisible join.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
half double crochet; hdc
A crochet stitch in between a single crochet and a double crochet in height, which you work by drawing the yarn through three loops on the crochet hook.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
half linen
A knitting stitch that creates a fabric that looks and feels like a woven fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
half-closed
A technique used to make combination stitches, such as the puff or cluster. The stitch is worked only partway, and then finished at the end of the combination.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
hank
A large circle of yarn twisted into a figure-8 shape.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
heather
A type of yarn that has been blended from a number of different-colored or -dyed fleeces, and then spun; muted in color.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
hem
A border on a garment or piece of cloth, usually made by folding the edge and sewing it down.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
I-cord; idiot cord
A technique used to knit a cord that curls in on itself.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
increase; inc
To add stitches to a row so that the row has more stitches than the previous row.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
intarsia
A knitting technique that works with different colors without using floats; instead, each color area has its own strand of yarn, and you intertwine the yarns when it's time to work in another color.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
join
To connect separate pieces of knitting or crochet by using one of a variety of techniques.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
k2tog
A knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for knit 2 stitches together.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
k-b; k1b
A knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for knit in stitch below

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
key
An explanation of symbols used in a stitch chart.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
knit; k
1. (verb) To make cloth by interconnecting loops of yarn or thread in rows of stitches by using a pair of special needles. 2. (noun) A particular stitch in knitting that goes into the stitch from front to back.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
knit stitch; Tunisian stockinette
A crochet stitch that looks like rows of Vs nesting in the row below, much like a knitting knit stitch.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
ktbl
A knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for knit stitch through the back of the loop.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
kwise
A knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for knitwise (as if to knit).

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
lace
A fabric knitted or crocheted in ornamental designs with various-sized holes.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
lacet
A fancy crochet stitch that looks somewhat like a V and is worked across five stitches or the width of two spaces.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
LH needle
Left-hand needle; the knitting needle that you hold in your left hand.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
lifeline
A slick, smooth strand of floss or yarn that you thread with a tapestry needle through the last row of stitches below a mistake you've made in knitted lace, which allows you to put stitches back on your needle if you rip out too many when correcting the mistake.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
linen
A yarn, cloth, or thread made of flax, a plant fiber.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
live
Description of a stitch that's still on the knitting needle.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
long stitch; spike
A single crochet stitch that you work into either the tops of stitches or spaces between stitches one or more rows below the current row, creating a vertical spike of yarn that extends over several rows of stitches.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
loop
1. The section of yarn wrapped around your crochet hook or knitting needle with which you work to form new stitches. 2. Three or more crochet chain stitches worked in a row.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
make 1; m1
A knitting increase in which you create a new, separate stitch between 2 stitches that are already on the needle.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
marled
A type of plied yarn in which the plies are different colors.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
mattress
A type of knitting stitch that creates a practically invisible and nicely flexible seam for joining pieces side by side.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
MC
A crocheting and knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for main color, used in multicolored patterns.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
mohair
A fuzzy yarn made from the long, silky hair of the Angora goat, often mixed with other fibers.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
mosaic
A knitting pattern of repeating geometric shapes.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
moss
A knitting stitch that's an elongated version of seed stitch, in which you work 2 rows of the same sequence of knits and purls, then alternate them.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
motif
A crocheting or knitting design with a repeating figure or shape.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
needle
A knitting needle; an eyeless, usually long, needle of metal or plastic that has a blunt point at one or both ends, used in pairs when knitting by hand.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
nylon
A synthetic fiber with great strength and elasticity.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
open lace
A lace pattern that has more openings than solid spaces in its composition.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
p2tog
A knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for purl 2 stitches together.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
pattern
The sequence of crochet or knit stitches that, when repeated, create a certain fabric; either written out with abbreviations or presented in a chart. Abbreviated as pat.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
p-b; p1b
A knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for purl in the stitch below.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
pick up
1. To use knitting needles and yarn to pull up new loops along a knitted edge and knit a border on that edge. 2. To fix a dropped stitch.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
picot
A little round-shaped crochet stitch that add a decorative touch to an edging or fill an empty space in a mesh design.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
pin
1 (noun) A small, thin piece of rustproof metal, often T-shaped. 2. (verb) To secure a knitted or crocheted fabric to the blocking board by using rustproof, non-plastic pins.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
placket
A finished slit on a garment that has a fastener, such as on the collar of a shirt, to make it easy to put on and take off.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
ply
The number of smaller strands twisted together to form the larger single strand of yarn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
polyamide
A type of synthetic compound, such as nylon.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
polyester
A fabric made from synthetic material also used in making plastics.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
pompom
An ornamental ball or tuft of yarn often attached to garments and curtains.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
popcorn; pc; pop
A crochet stitch that forms a rounded, compact oval that stands out from the fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
post
A crochet stitch made by inserting your hook around the post of a stitch that's one or more rows below the current row; can be worked in the front or back of the post.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
psso
A knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for pass slipped stitch over; used for decreasing.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
puff; puff st
A crochet stitch that gently puffs up into an oval shape.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
purl; p
A knitting stitch that you create by working a knit stitch backwards, going into the stitch from back to front.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
purl stitch; Tunisian purl
A crochet stitch that looks like rows of rounded bumps, much like a knitting purl stitch.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
rayon
A synthetically produced textile fiber produced by pressing a cellulose solution through small holes and solidifying it into filaments.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
rem
A crocheting and knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for remains or remaining.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
repeat; rep
A given stitch sequence or combination. Stitch patterns are based on stitch repeats and row repeats. A given stitch sequence repeats horizontally across a row. A series of rows of given stitch sequences repeats vertically. Together they make up a stitch pattern that makes the fabric smooth, bumpy, cabled, or striped.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
RH needle
Right-hand needle; the knitting needle that you hold in your right hand.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
rib
A crochet or knit stitch pattern that creates textured vertical stripes.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
rip out
To undo knitted stitches by removing the loops from the needle and pulling the yarn to unravel the stitches.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
ripple
A knitting stitch pattern in whcih purl stitches make wavy lines.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
round; rnd
A single line of stitches crocheted or knitted in the round; abbreviated rnd.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
row
A single line of stitches crocheted or knitted in a flat pattern.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
RS
A crocheting and knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for right side, meaning the side that will be displayed when used/worn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
running thread
The horizontal strand of yarn that connects the first stitch on each needle when working a make 1 increase.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
schematic
A small outline drawing of each piece of a knitted or crocheted project pattern.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
seam
1. (verb) Joining two pieces of material with a line of stitches. 2. (noun) The line along which two pieces of material are joined.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
seed
A knitting stitch that has a regular texture of little bumps that look a bit like seeds.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
selvedge
An extra stitch at the edge of your knitted fabric that (in combination with others) serves to create an even, stable border. Also spelled selvage.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
sew
To join or fasten with stitches using a sewing needle and thread.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
shaft
The portion of a crochet hook that holds the loops you're working with; its diameter largely determines the size of the stitches.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
shank
A projection, such as a ring, on the back of a button by which you sew it onto a fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
shell
A crochet stitch that involves working from 3 to 5 double crochet stitches all in the same stitch; the pattern looks like a seashell.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
silk
A yarn material made from the soft, shiny fiber produced by silkworms from their cocoons.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
single crochet ribbing
A long crocheted strip of very short vertical single crochet rows.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
single crochet; sc
A compact, fundamental crochet stitch that creates a tight, dense fabric. Compare with double crochet.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
skein
The most common form of yarn packaging; an oblong, machine-wound bundle of yarn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
slip
To move a stitch from one knitting needle to the other without working that stitch.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
slip knot
The first stitch you form on your knitting needle or crochet hook to begin a project.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
slip stitch; sl st
A flat or small knitting or crochet stitch that you use mostly as a utility stitch or a technique for activities like making a seam or joining a new ball of yarn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
space
The opening in a piece of crochetwork created by working 1 or more chain stitches in between other stitches.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
spray block
A process to block your crochetwork or knitting by spraying the fabric with water to dampen it, then laying the fabric in the intended shape.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
ssk
A knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for slip, slip, knit the slip stitches together, which creates a left-slanting decrease.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
starch
A tasteless, odorless substance used to stiffen and shape fabrics.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
steam block
Using a steam iron to block the shape of a knitted or crocheted piece.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
steek
A shortcut used to open up a knitted tube in which you sew or crochet two vertical lines of stitches an inch or so apart, then cut the stitches that fall between those lines.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
stitch marker
A small ring that you add to your knitting or crochet work to remind you where you need to make a change to your needlework, such as the beginning of a round or the spot to work an increase.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
stitch; st
A single loop of yarn worked off a needle in knitting or crocheting.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
stockinette stitch; St st
A knitting stitch which you create by alternating a knit row with a purl row.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
surface crochet
To crochet, generally with yarn, onto a crocheted background; resembles embroidery.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
swatch
1. (verb) To make a sample of knitted fabric for various reasons, including measuring gauge and practice. 2. (noun) The knitted fabric sample created by swatching.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
swift
A tool that looks like a wooden umbrella, which is specially designed to help untwist a hank of yarn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
tail
The loose bit of yarn left after you finish knitting or crocheting your pattern.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
tapestry needle
A large-eye needle with a blunt point that you use to sew knitted pieces together.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
tassel
An ornamental tuft of threads of equal length, hanging loosely from a knob or from the knot by which they're tied together.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
thread
1. (noun) A light, fine, string-like length of material made up of two or more spun fibers. 2. (verb) To put a thread through the eye of a sewing or tapestry needle, or to work that threaded needle through a fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
throat
The part of a crochet hook that does the actual hooking of the yarn and pulls that yarn through a stitch.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
tog
A crocheting and knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for together.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
toggle
A type of closure that has a ring on one end and bar on the other; the bar slides through the ring vertically and then lays on the ring horizontally to keep it from coming back through.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
triple crochet; treble crochet; tr
A crochet stitch which is slightly longer than the double crochet and which creates longer openings between the stitches, producing a very loose fabric.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
triple triple crochet; trtr
A crochet stitch that involves creating a length equivalent to 5 chain stitches by using a yarn over 4 times.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
turn; turning your work
Reversing your crochet work so that you can start a new row of stitches.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
turning chain
The 1 or more chain stitches that you crochet after you've turned your work and are about to begin your next row so that your yarn is at the height necessary to work the first stitch of the next row or round.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
tweed
A wool yarn with a background color flecked with bits of fiber in different colors.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
twist
A smaller version of a knit cable that consists of 2 stitches, 1 crossing over its neighbor.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
variegated
Dyed in several different colors or shades, such as yarn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
viscose
A synthetic material often used to make rayon and other synthetic yarns.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
V-stitch; V-st
A crochet stitch made up of a double crochet, chain, and double crochet stitch all in the same stitch, forming a V shape.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
weave
To work the remaining bit of yarn into already-created stitches to hide the tail.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
weight
The thickness of a yarn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
welt
An ancient name for a knitted horizontal stripe.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
wet block
Getting a piece of knitting or crochetwork completely wet in a sink or basin of water before laying it out to shape it.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
whipstitch
A stitch used to join crocheted rows of short stitches, such as single crochet, worked with a tapestry or sewing needle and yarn or thread.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
winder
A machine with a crank that turns a spindle, which can wind and unwind a skein of yarn attached to the winder.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
wool
Yarn spun from the fibers of sheep, goat, llama, or other animal hair.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
wooly board
An adjustable wooden frame with arms that you can dress with your wet, knitted or crocheted garment to block that garment.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
work across
Crochet a designated stitch or stitches across the whole length of a row.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
worsted
A smooth, firmly twisted thread or yarn made from long-staple wool combed to make the fibers lie in the same direction.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
WS
A crocheting and knitting stitch pattern abbreviation for wrong side, meaning the side that will be hidden when used/worn.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
yarn
Any fiber, such as wool or nylon, spun into strands for knitting or crocheting.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
yarn hand
The hand that's feeding the yarn from the ball or skein. In crochet, the hand not holding the hook.

Knitting & Crocheting Glossary
yarn over; yo
1. A knitting method of making an extra stitch on your needle and creating a deliberate little hole in your fabric, as in lace. 2. The most basic step to every crochet stitch, in which you wrap the yarn over your crochet hook
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