Hey, gorgeous crafter! Today I am sharing the first alternate joining method for the 2020 VVCAL. This join is perfect for the suggested yarn amounts of the Scheepjes Stone Washed and River Washed 10g Colour Pack version. It’s also great if you want a simple and narrow join, or if you don’t have a whole lot of yarn for joining.

SC JAYG/CJAYG with PLT Join

It’s a mouthful, but this is the Single Crochet join as-you-go and continuous join as-you-go featuring my PLT (pull loop through) Join.

I’ve published these 2 methods previously, and you can find them here:

• SC JAYG with PLT Join
• SC CJAYG with PLT Join

I have also formatted these 2 joining methods into an ad-free condensed PDF file if it’s more convenient. You can find that on Etsy and Ravelry.

The cool thing is, you can a lot of mix and match versatility with these joining techniques. You can make a DC JAYG with PLT Join, or an SC CJAYG with PLT Join, and really mix it up any way you want. Even a granny stitch with work! But that is a spoiler for the next alternate joining method…

What’s the Difference?

So what’s the difference between the JAYG and the CJAYG?

JAYG just means Join as-you-go, which means that on the final round of your square edging, you join the square onto the blanket, and then complete your round, and cut the yarn. So, after you join each square on, you cut the yarn and start to join on the next square.

For this pattern, with JAYG, I am edging the squares with a round of single crochet, and joining every side that is adjacent to a completed square. See the photo below, the next square to join will be the lavender square with aqua edging. You can see that with these (2016 VVCAL) squares, I have edged them in contrast color with DC, but the concept doesn’t change.

CJAYG means Continuous Join as-you-go, and it is a little more complicated than the regular JAYG, but once it “clicks” you will love it!

The best way I can describe this CJAYG pattern is that you are making a single crochet path around the squares like if you were drawing around them without picking up your pencil. The path makes it seem like all 4 sides of the square were edged at once when the blanket is done, but it’s just a Jedi mind trick..

Note the difference in the photo below versus the photo above. In the above photo, the squares are joined one at a time, and in the below photo, they are joined one whole column at a time.

You can pick which method you prefer! Want to go with what you know? The JAYG is just right! Feel like an adventure? The CJAYG is for you!

I’ve published these 2 methods previously, and you can find them here:

• SC JAYG with PLT Join
• SC CJAYG with PLT Join

PLT Join

This photo is very popular on Pinterest and leads dozens of people to my website every day. It is a photo of my PLT Join, which is featured in both the JAYG and the CJAYG. If you want to see a very detailed post just on my PLT Join, you can head here! I created the PLT Joining method for my first published pattern in 2012 (The Gumball Blanket!).

Either way, whether you choose the JAYG method or the CJAYG method, your blanket will end up looking joined like this.

2020 VVCAL Demo Blanket

Alrighty! So let’s see how my little demo blanket looks with this join. And I have some close-up pics to share too.

For this demo, I gathered some of the squares I made for the Scheepjes Stone Washed and River Washed 10g colour pack version of the 2020 VVCAL blanket.

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Of course I had to lay out the squares in a color fade. This time I chose to cut the rainbow in between the blue greens and the yellow greens, so that the pinks and reds are in the middle of the blanket.

I am only using 63 squares (7×9) for this layout because it’s just the join demo blanket. You can see the actual 108 square layout for this blanket on the post for this version.

I just love playing with this yarn. As I always say, it makes me feel like more of an artist when I work with Stone Washed and River Washed because they feel so lush and artful. The saturation and the juiciness of the colors is really lovely.

There were a zillion pics on my phone, y’all. Choosing just a few was tough!

Okay, I am doing the continuous JAYG for this sample. Of course the detailed instructions are on the blog posts for the JAYG and CJAYG, but I have these close-up pics for more views of what’s going on.

Here is how the join starts out. Just edge 3 sides of your square – simple!

Then you make a start on the first edge of your next square… And here is a little refresher on my PLT Join as well.

Release the loop from the hook,

Insert the hook front to back through the corresponding stitch on the previous motif, and grab the loop,

Pull the Loop Through to the front of the work. PLT Join mission accomplished!

Now just work the next st as normal. In this case it’s a single crochet. There is a common mistake made where folks think you need to make a chain after you PLT, or where they think that a slip stitch is involved somehow. But just the act of pulling that loop through after every stitch (or every other stitch for a braided effect) is what joins the squares together.

Here you can see I have worked (sc, PLT) across in every stitch until the first sc of the 3sc corner is worked. I also stopped making PLT for those last couple of sts, but that is all explained in the pattern post.

Now, instead of making the corner sc in the square in progress, you hold the motifs wrong sides together and make the sc in the corner st of the previous motif. see below that sc I have made will face the wrong side of the work.

And here’s what it looks like when you make that third sc of the 3sc corner, and then continue down the edge.

Finish out the 3 sides of the square now – easy peasy.

And keep joining on squares this way. Doesn’t it look cool? I love continuous JAYG.

More Joining Fun!

There are so many methods out there to choose from, and writing up joining methods is so fun! I have a YouTube Playlist of all my video joining methods, and you can check out my written joins on the blog here. Of course there is also the official joining method for the 2020 VVCAL Scheepjes Catona 10g colour pack version – the Celtic Lace Mini II Join.

There are also some collections I have curated of my crochet joining methods.

• 8 Crochet Joining Methods for Square Motifs
• 4 Crochet Joins for Hexagon Motifs
• Joining Options for the 2016 VVCAL

Thanks for checking out this alternate joining method! Hope you enjoy it!

Happy crafting,

Rachele C.

Another Bonus Option!

want a narrow join that has a lacier look to it? Try Flat Braid Join or Continuous Flat Braid Join!

• Continuous Flat Braid Join
• Flat braid join (on my old website!)