Popular Stitch

Some stitch patterns seem to come up again and again. This particular stitch seems to have several names: diagonal stitch, crosshatch stitch, and a few more I can't remember. Different people have learned to start the pattern different ways, too. Some start working horizontally and others start in the corner. Starting straight seems to allow for adding a border to the fabric center square, while working from the corner makes its own edging. 

At one of the meetings I looked around and found three members all doing the same thing! On the left is Mary with the rose afghan and the edging showing. Then Chris showing off a softer color. Then Ethlyn with the lightest color. Ethlyn just started crocheting and she produced an afghan just as great looking as the experienced crocheters. 

I personally find this stitch pattern fantastic for variegated yarns. Because the stitches slant in two directions, the pattern seems to resolve any problems with pooling or lightening strikes. Having this stitch pattern in your repertoire seems to guarantee success. I've seen beautiful jackets by Margaret Huber and Dora Ohrenstein using this stitch pattern.