Scheepjes Colour Lab CAL
Published on January 4, 2023

Scheepjes Colour Lab CAL: Tips and Tricks Page (UK Terms)

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Hello, lovely Colour Lab CALer! Welcome to the Tips and Tricks page. This page is full of all the information you should know before you begin, and it’s a great place to come if you’re ever stuck during the crochet-along.

The official Scheepjes Tips and Tricks PDF is also very handy, and can be found on the Scheepjes website and as a file in the Scheepjes Facebook groups, where the Colour Lab CAL is hosted. Please read through this entire post, as you may have questions that are answered within. Note: If you work out any of these photo tutorials, it is best to use stash remnants, so as not to break into any of your kit yarn just yet.

This page has photo tutorials in UK Terms. If you would prefer to see them in US Terms, click here!

Related Links

As these sites become live, I will hyperlink them.

Where to Find Me

Buy an Official Kit!

To purchase a kit, you can see if there is a Scheepjes Retailer near you, or please consider heading to one of the links below, as I am personally affiliated with these two shops. Purchasing through these links will gain me a small commission to help support my work, at no additional cost to you. I appreciate your support!

Where to Get Support

During the CAL, if you need pattern support, there is definitely a ton of help out there! It has been proven time and time again that the Scheepjes CALs turn beginners into rock stars. Please do not worry if the pattern looks complicated, as this safety net of support points will be there for you, just a click away.

  • Facebook Group Support – Definitely join the Scheepjes Facebook Groups, so you can post progress pics, get inspired by others, and of course, ask for help. The groups are wonderful and very supportive! Worldwide: Scheepjes International Facebook Group and for Dutchies: Scheepjes Dutch Facebook Group
  • CypressTextiles Website Support – For each pattern release week, I will make a blog post here on the CypressTextiles website where I will include many, many step-by-step photos of any possibly tricky parts. The entire pattern won’t be photographed here, but I will do my best to make everything clear in my still photos.
  • YouTube Support – The very talented Esther of It’s All in a Nutshell has graciously made videos for this CAL which will appear weekly on her YouTube Channel. Her videos are well known worldwide, and she is an absolute treasure.

CAL Start Info

Contents of this Post

Below you will find information on how to help you get gauge. You will also find a full list of the terms and abbreviations used in the pattern, and some general photo tutorials that will be useful to know before you begin the blanket. These abbreviations and all tutorials below are in UK Terms, since the Colour Lab CAL pattern is in UK Terms.

If you will be following the US Terms version, click here for Tips and Tricks in US Terms.

  • Making gauge: Adjusting the height of your stitches to meet vertical gauge (golden loop)
  • Full list of special terms and abbreviations plus repeat formats
  • Beginning treble crochet: A Closer Look
  • Beginning Stitches: beg tr, beg dtr, beg cluster, beg popcorn, beg decrease
  • Joining Rounds: beg tr, beg cluster, beg popcorn
  • Changing color mid-round: dc, tr, cluster
  • Making your tall sts neater: ttr
  • PLT Join: General overview of this joining maneuver
  • Hidden stitches in the corners

You will notice that weaving ends is missing! Please don’t worry! That’s because as each part is released, I will have photo tutorials on how to weave the ends on that part.

Of course, when each CAL part is released, I will provide photo tutorials for the trickier portions, and how to weave the ends during your project. Reference the official Tips and Tricks PDF for a lot more detailed info.

Making Gauge

Gauge is important for this project in order for all of the panels of the blanket to fit together. Pay attention to the height of your treble crochet especially as this can be greatly affected by the manner in which you crochet. There is a maneuver made during the creation of a treble crochet that determines its height, and this is called the Golden Loop. Please check out this blog post and watch this video by Esther of It’s All in a Nutshell to learn more about the Golden Loop.

There will not be a separate gauge swatch made before the CAL begins, rather we will use the first motif of the blanket to make sure and get gauge during Part 1 in the first official week of the CAL beginning January 11.

Special Terms and Abbreviations (UK Terms)

Please read through these as we will be discussing them in photo tutorials below.

  • beg 2tr-cl beginning 2 treble crochet cluster: (beg tr, 1tr) in same st/sp
  • beg 3dtr-cl beginning 3 double treble crochet cluster: beg dtr, *(yoh) twice, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, (yoh, draw through 2 lps) twice; rep from * once more (3 lps on hook), yoh, draw through all lps
  • beg pc beginning popcorn(s): (beg tr, 3tr) in indicated st/sp, remove lp from hook, insert hook front to back in ch of beg tr, place lp back on hook, draw lp through to close pc
  • beg dtr beginning double treble: 1dc, ch2 (counts as 1 dtr)
  • beg tr beginning treble crochet: 1dc, ch1 (counts as 1 tr)
  • beg tr2tog beginning tr2tog: beg tr, 1tr in next st/sp (counts as 1 tr2tog)
  • beg tr3tog beginning tr3tog: beg tr, tr2tog (counts as 1 tr3tog)
  • beg tr4tog beginning tr4tog: beg tr, tr3tog (counts as 1 tr4tog)
  • beg tr6tog beginning tr6tog: beg tr, tr5tog (counts as 1 tr6tog)
  • bobble bobble stitch(es): (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw through 2 lps) 4 times (5 lps on hook), yoh, draw through all lps
  • pc popcorn(s): 4tr in same st/sp, remove lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first tr, place lp back on hook, draw lp through to close pc
  • picot ch3, work 1dc in side of st at base of ch-3 (instead of in third ch from hook)

Repeat Formats

*…….; rep from * x times/to end work instructions after * and then repeat that section as specified; the same applies to any number of asterisks: **…….; rep from ** etc.

(…….) once/twice/x times work instructions between brackets the total number of times stated

Beg tr: A Closer Look

The beginning treble crochet is my favorite substitute for the first treble of the round. I’ll talk about this more below in the “Beginning Stitches” section. For now, let’s focus on the beginning treble crochet, since this is the most common beginning stitch in the blanket.

Making the beg tr

Work double crochet into the stitch or space indicated, and then chain 1, as follows:

Double crochet

Chain 1

Joining into a beg tr

To finish the round, join with a slip stitch in the chain of the beg tr, as follows:

Ready to join the round

Slip st in chain of beg tr

Starting the next round

The pattern will state in which stitch to begin the next round. Sometimes it is required to begin the next round in the same stitch as the join, but for the most part, I will have you work into the next stitch or space to start the new round, because that is how the beg tr looks its best.

Compare the beginning tr with a regular full tr

In the photo below, the beg tr is on the left, and a full regular tr is on the right. Especially when you work into the next st/sp for the following round, as is typical, you can see that the dc looks like the bottom half of the tr (black arrow comparison), the ch1 looks like the top half of the tr (blue arrow comparison), and the slip st join looks like the “V” that is across the very top of the tr (red arrow comparison). Doesn’t the beg tr look a lot like the real deal?

Beginning Stitches

For a crochet pattern in general, there must be a way to jump to the height of the stitch on the next round. For example, many times you will see “chaining up”, like ch1 for a (UK) double crochet, ch2 for a half treble crochet, ch3 for a treble crochet, and so on. Or perhaps you will find standing stitches in a pattern, or there are other solutions out there.

In CypressTextiles patterns, I use something called “beginning stitches” which refer to the first stitch of the round from (UK) treble crochet and taller, as well as any cluster stitches, bobbles, or popcorns, etc. I do not use any method before a (UK) double crochet, because for that short stitch, I just go right into making the dc without chaining up. Since the double crochet is the foundation for the beginning stitches, there is no “chaining up” in my patterns.

beg dtr beginning double treble crochet

Make double crochet, then chain 2, as follows:

Double crochet

Chain 2

beg 2tr-cl beginning 2 treble crochet cluster

Make beg tr, then 1tr in the same st/sp, as follows:

Beg tr

1tr in the same st/sp

beg 3dtr-cl beginning 3 double treble crochet cluster

Make beginning dtr, then make 2dtr cluster in the same st/sp, draw yarn through all 3 loops, as follows:

Beginning dtr

2dtr cluster in the same st/sp

Draw yarn through all 3 loops

beg pc beginning popcorn(s)

Make beg tr, then make 3tr in the same st/sp, remove the loop from the hook, insert hook front to back through the chain of the beg tr, grab the loop, and pull it through to the front of the work, closing the popcorn, as follows:

Beg tr

3tr in the same st/sp

Remove the loop from the hook, insert hook front to back through the chain of the beg tr,

Grab the loop, and pull it through to the front of the work, closing the popcorn

beg tr2tog beginning treble 2 together

Make beg tr, and then 1tr in the next st/sp, as follows:

Beg tr

1tr in the next st/sp

beg tr3tog beginning treble 3 together

Make beg tr, then make tr2tog over the next 2 sts/sps, pull yarn through all 3 loops, as follows:

Beg tr

Tr2tog over the next 2 sts/sps

pull yarn through all 3 loops

More Special Stitches

bobble bobble stitch(es)

A bobble stitch is just a 4tr-cluster st worked between 2 dc sts so it is squashed down. The round is worked on the WS so that the bobble stitch pokes out on the front side of the piece, as follows:

Here, I am working on the WS, and I have completed the first dc, and the 4tr-cluster step,

Now, you can see once I make the next dc sts, the cluster can no longer be seen very well from the WS because it is squashed down,

When we turn the work to the RS, you can see the bobble st poking out!

pc popcorn(s)

4tr in same st/sp, release loop from hook, insert hook front to back in first tr of 4-tr group, grab loop, pull loop to front of work, closing popcorn. This is very similar to the beginning popcorn, and here is the stitch circled below.

picot

Note: Photos for instruction “ch3, work 1dc in side of st at base of ch-3 (instead of in third ch from hook)” will be added in a few hours. For now, shown below, the dc is worked into the 3rd chain from the hook.

Chain 3, and dc in 3rd chain from hook, as follows:

Chain 3

Dc in 3rd chain from hook

Here is how the picot looks when you continue the round:

Joining Rounds

When working in the round, you will need to join with a slip stitch to the beginning stitch of the round. For the following beginning stitches, I’ll show you how to join with a slip stitch. Since I already showed how to do this for the beg tr above, I’ll demonstrate for beg 2tr cluster, beg 3dtr cluster, and beg popcorn.

beg 2tr cluster

Insert the hook through the front two loops of the first full tr stitch of the beg 2tr cluster (skipping the beg tr), yarn over hook, and make the slip stitch to join, as follows:

Ready to join the round, and the blue arrow shows where to insert the hook to prepare to slip stitch,

yarn over hook,

Make the slip stitch to join

beg 3dtr cluster

Insert the hook through all 3 loops of the beg 3dtr cluster stitch, yarn over hook, and slip stitch to join, as follows:

Ready to join the round,

Insert the hook through all 3 loops from the beg 3dtr cluster stitch, and yarn over hook,

Slip stitch to join the round

beg popcorn

Insert hook through ch of beg tr on beg popcorn, yarn over hook, and slip stitch to join, as follows:

Ready to join the round,

Insert the hook through the chain of the beg tr,

Yarn over hook and slip stitch to join the round

Changing Color

To change color in the middle of a round, pull the new color yarn through during the final step of the stitch in progress, as shown in the photos below. I am showing examples below for dc, tr, and cluster.

double crochet

treble crochet

cluster

Make Neater Tall Stitches

Tall stitches like ttr can look looser than shorter stitches like dc, resolve this by wrapping
yarn (‘yoh’ steps) around hook tightly and close to hook tip.

First let’s look at a ttr when the wraps are not close to the tip:

Note the large gap.

And now let’s see what happens when we bring the wraps tightly toward the tip of the hook:

The gap is gone! Much neater.

PLT Join

Use this method to join motifs as you go as folls: *remove hook from lp, insert hook from
front to back through corresponding st/sp of adjoining motif, place lp back on hook, pull
up lp to front of work (first PLT join complete), work st as indicated; rep from * to end.

Below, I demonstrate the PLT Join in general, not from the actual pattern, just so you can see what the joining maneuver is like.

—————————————

The PLT is just a simple maneuver to connect the motifs, so you can use it in many different ways, as you’ll see. I’m showing you the join with a certain granny square motif, but it’s just an example.

First, remove the loop from the hook. Then insert the hook through the exact corresponding stitch on the completed motif. So, since the stitch I’ve just worked on the motif in progress is the second tr of the corner, that’s the same stitch I put the hook through – reference the photo below.

Replace the working loop on the hook.

Pull Loop Through to the front of the completed motif.

Work the next stitch on the motif in progress – here it’s the next tr – notice you don’t work any chains or slip stitches. Just work the next stitch as normal.

Now, repeat the PLT maneuver – here in the next photo, I’m all ready to Pull Loop Through.

Keep repeating until you’re done with the stitches indicated in the pattern.

Hidden Stitches in the Corners

Be aware that when working stitches into a corner space, sometimes the next st will be “hidden” by the sts you have worked into the space. Be sure not to skip any of those sts when you continue down the side. In the example photo below, the potential hidden stitch is indicated with an arrow.

And that should be it for the Tips and Tricks! I am so excited to begin the Colour Lab CAL with you! I will be working on my own layout of the Scrumptious Kit for the duration of the CAL, and holding your hand through the entire process, and especially through the two largest mental hurdles that I have seen in the Facebook Groups: The color layout, and “all those ends”!! Don’t worry! We will work through that as each part is released.

Thank you for reading along with the Tips and Tricks, and I do hope they help you to see a little bit more of what is to come during the Colour Lab CAL.

Happy crafting!

Rachele C.

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