A La Crab!

So I've been crocheting for years and years, on/off.  I started when I was just a little girl but got away from it for years, having run out of time with school, then work & school and just life in general.  When I finally decided to launch my business however I knew that I'd be bringing back the skill into frequent use.  Since then I have crocheted often, sometimes every day and for hours at a time, even staying up late into the night to get a few more rows/rounds/stitches done.

However, even with all that time and effort there are still a number of things I haven't done or have minimal experience with.  The Crab Stitch (aka Reverse Single Crochet) happens to be one of those things.  But today I conquered my lacking knowledge and successfully executed it (with the help of YouTube).

The project in question is a mat for our over the toilet shelf.  It's a white metal number with thin horizontal rods for shelving set about 1" apart.  Nice enough for a minimalist setting but highly inefficient for storage when it comes to those smaller bathroom items.  With the recent deluge of inspiration I have gotten I have decided to put crochet (or knit) all over our home.  Spruce it up a bit and bring more of me into the home and less blah.  I thought that a mat laying across the shelf might be perfect for this storage problem.  Serving a dual purpose of also decorating the bathroom.  Considering my knowledge or stitches I opted for a mat of Tunisian Simple Stitch.  It would be both simple and sturdy without being too "pretty", after-all there is a man in the house and frills do not belong in our bathroom (it doesn't hurt that I'm not a fan either).

For those who know Tunisian however there is a slight problem.  Much like stockinette in knitting it has a tendency to curl on the edges, the foundation row being the worst.  Typically the solution to this is a border or starting with some sort of other stitch that does not curl.  I knew I wanted something utilitarian and functional but most of the borders I was aware of were either super boring, or served more as edgings (again something inappropriately pretty for our bathroom).  Then I remembered having read that the Crab Stitch was popular as a border and served well to reduce the curl in Tunisian.  I made up my swatch, grimacing at that tell-tale curl and took a deep breath and started the Crab Stitch.  Initially it took a little getting used to, it is a rather odd way to work, but I got it and pleased as punch it looked perfect for what I wanted!

Voila!