Wrap the yarn around your fingers

Wrapping the yarn around your fingers will help you to control the tension. This is how I do it. Once I started using this technique, my gauge was consistent in everything I crocheted.

After 19 years of wrapping the yarn this way, I have fewer crochet related pain issues and no carpal tunnel syndrome. Yay!

Sc in row below

The process of elongating the sc stitch, or long-sc.

Using this technique will make a crocheted blanket warmer.

From poncho to skirt

Can a crocheted poncho become a skirt? Yes! For instance, if your poncho is two rectangles joined together, then instead of stitching a neckline, you simply make the adjustment for a waistline.

You add elastic to the waist in one of three ways. You can fold over the top to make a casing to slide the elastic through. OR, you can sew a fabric casing to the inside of the waist and slide the elastic through it. You could even make large stitches in an X pattern to hold the elastic in place on the inside of the waistline.

Don't want to hastle with elastic? Use a drawstring instead.

As long as the poncho will fit the waist, it can be a skirt.