Expert: Bea Harrell - 3/5/2008

Question
I"m trying to do clusters.  I don't think I have gotten the trick to doing this yet.  Some how I am having trouble understanding this.  Some people have told me its like doing double or triple crochets.  This is what the pattern says:  With right side facing, join green w/slip st in any ch-4 sp; work (beginning cluster, ch5 cluster) in same sp, ch3,sc in next ch-4 sp, ch3*work (cluster, ch5, cluster) in next ch-4sp, ch3,sc in next ch-4 sp, ch3: repeat from * 2 times more: join with slip st to top of beginning cluster, finish off; 8 clusters and 12sps. Also if you can tell me what does it mean when you have ch-4 sp means what is the dash in the middle for.  I know that when it says ch4 means, but lately I have seen this in alot of my patterns when it has a dash in between the ch & number.  Thanks so much for your help the last time helped me alot to understand what I has doing.  Hope you can help me in this also.  So I can understand cluster, they don't sound that hard it's just that I hear one thing from one person and other from other one or the book.  Confussed.  Thanks again

Answer
OK, Lydia!  Just as an example here's how to do a cluster.  For beginning cluster, ch 3, 3 dc in same stitch or space. Now, take your needle out of the dc you made last, stick your hook into the top of the first dc you made, and into the top of the last dc made, grab the thread with your hook, and pull through both loops. For the next cluster, ch 3, make 4 dc in the same stitch, remove your hook, place it in the top stitch opf the first dc, then thru the last dc (4th) dc. Make the remaining clusters just like this one,

Best of luck!  Bea