These spirals are fantastic and versatile. These two are ones that I made and hung on my Christmas tree as decorations this year. As you can see there is a difference depending on yarn weight and hook size.
Another really neat thing I have done with these spirals is to turn them upside down and sort of straighten out the 'curl'. Here is a project where I turned them 'upside down' and fluffed them out for a different look:
And a box of Ginger Ale on the massage table for an added bonus! haha I am going to have to make myself a picture taking area for future photos.
You can change the look of these spirals and curls by changing what stitch you use. For the tight Christmas spirals I used a mix of double crochet and single crochet. For the hanging mobile I used all single crochet.
Here is a look at a project where I pulled all of the curls to the front and used a combination of treble crochet, double crochet, and single crochet:
Using this neat curly stitch is also excellent for whimsical edging like on the rainbow scarf I made. Changing colors for each row created a neat effect:
(After I have finished posting the tutorials for the mobile, dragonfly and scarf I will come back and put in links)
So now that you know how much fun you can have with this technique let me show you how I did this.
The typical spiral technique requires for you to use the same size hook for each row. I have found that I prefer to use different sized hooks to give me a super clean finish. I like how the center looks bolder while the edges have a more dainty look. You can certainly choose to do either one but for my purposes here I am using 4 different hooks.
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
Materials:
Yarn - weight/color entirely up to you.
4 crochet hooks - sizes K, J, H, and I
For this tutorial I am only using a 4 chain base. In your project you would chain as long as you would like for it to be. Remember, the chain will run through the middle and determine the length. If you are using this as edging then do not make a chain and use the last row as the chain.
Start by chaining 4 with the K hook for the base and then an extra 1 chain for the turn.
Now, some people like to crochet into the back of the chain for a more finished look but in this case we want to go through the side of the chain. This gives more flexibility to the curls. Here is our first sc into ch 4.
Here is another difference I have. Most of the tutorials for spirals and curls will have you do 2sc per chain but I often keep my 'bottom' with only 1 stitch. I like the way it tapers the end. The 'top' of the spiral I sometimes do 1 sc and sometimes 2 sc depending on how wide I want the top to be. So we have 1 sc in ch 4 and we are going to do 2 sc in ch 3,2, and 1. This is the first row. The original chain is not considered a row.
Already you can see that the yarn wants to curl. Be careful of your tension and don't pull too hard or else you will have difficulty with the other rows.
Row 2:
This row is going to use the J hook. Remove the K, insert the J and then turn your work without making any stitches. You can see in this picture that the curve is now on the other side. This is what we want.
Using the J hook we are going to make 2 sc into every stitch except the last one. Only 1 sc
The yarn is starting to curl a bit tighter and might even begin spiraling around your fingers while you are working. Don't worry if the curls don't spiral, you can adjust the way the curl falls when you are finished.
Row 3:
This row is going to use the I hook. Remove the J, insert the I and then turn your work without making any stitches.
Keep in mind that we are now starting at the 'bottom' so only 1 sc in the first stitch and 2 sc in every stitch after.
These curls are starting to get serious! haha Don't worry if you have to hold your work straight while you are crocheting. It will fall back in line as it goes. Also at this point your curls may be going every which way. Totally normal and nothing to worry about. As I said earlier you can adjust how the curls fall when you are finished.
Row 4:
This row is going to use the H hook. Remove the I, insert the H and then turn your work without making any stitches.
This row starts at the 'top' so we will use 2 sc in the beginning stitch and each stitch to the bottom with the last stitch having just 1 sc.
At this point you should have curls going all over the place! Snip the yarn, I give myself a good 3 - 4 inches for weaving in the ends, and finish off.
See how springy the picture above is? This is with a base of only 4 chains. Imagine how curly this would be with more chains! Here is what these 4 chains look like flattened out. You can see the progression of the stitch sizes that we got by using different hooks. Nice big stitches in the center out to more delicate stitches along the edges.
There are a lot of super frilly and fringed yarns out there and they would be amazing as edging for this technique. I highly recommend you do NOT use the frilly and fringed yard for making these. The frills and fringe make it nearly impossible to see your stitches. If you want to add some texture to this I highly recommend using the special yarn as edging. To do that simply go up one hook size from what you last used, in this case go from the H back to the I, and then edge with the special yarn 1 sc per stitch. If you try to use 2 sc per stitch you will increase the curl even further and use up tons of expensive yarn.
Just to give you an idea of how much yarn you are going to need for this I pulled out all the yarn and took this photo:
This was all used for only 4 chains and only using a small single crochet. If you are going to use double or even treble crochet then make sure you have plenty of yarn. This is a nice project to use up some of the less expensive yarn for the curls and trim in the expensive yarn for a very luxurious feel.
I sure hope that this gives you another technique to work with and always remember to have fun!
