Gift Afghans

It is time to get started on those Christmas Afghans. I crochet extremely fast and tend to wait until the last minute to get started on my gifts. Not this year, I need a little less stress and some serious stash busting. I am going to start my afghans in June. A timely tip section was included in Carol Alexander's newsletter:

Talking Crochet ... with Carol Alexander, May 23, 2007

Tips for Making Great Afghans: The Final Four
Our final professional tips for making great afghans all come from long-time designer Isabelle Wolters. Isabelle shares the following helpful suggestions to make your afghan projects more enjoyable and successful.
Joining Large Sections: Save the plastic hooks which are used to keep new shirts folded in their package and use them to hold afghan sections together while you join. These hooks work better than pins, which tend to slip out. However, if using pins, use two pins instead of one, crisscrossing them to help keep them in place.

Weaving Ends: Leave at least a 6-inch length when fastening off your crochet work. Using a tapestry needle, weave the length through stitches on the wrong side of the project, then weave it in the opposite direction, splitting the plies of yarn for the last few stitches. This will ensure that no ends poke through to the right side after laundering.

Mix and Match: When trying to use up leftover yarns of different weights for scrap afghans, combine two or more strands of a lighter weight yarn to achieve the weight of thicker yarns. For example, two or more strands of baby or sport weight yarn can be used to equal one strand of worsted weight yarn. Two strands of worsted weight, or one strand of worsted and one strand of sport, can be used for one strand of bulky weight yarn.

Use similar colors for a uniform look, or combine different colors for a tweedy effect. Just be sure that the care requirements (washing, drying, etc.) are the same for all combined yarns.

Take the Long View: When choosing colors for an afghan you plan to make for your own home, work up swatches in several possible color combinations. Look at them from a distance rather than close up, and preferably in a location where you plan to use the afghan. You will get a more realistic view of how the color combination will look and which combinations you prefer.