Crochet tips ahoy:
You know the ch-3, join w/ sl st to form a ring...? When working with thread or laceweight, place a piece of fine yarn on the chain before joining, leave it there, and then you'll be able to see exactly where the stitches in the first round need to go.
Also, when working Irish style motifs where you work in the front loops of the sts on one round, then either work in the back loops or do increases for another base round... before working the first FLO, pull the loose tail through the BLO... the first one of the round is always hard to find, but not this way.
