Standing Double Crochet join , Changing Color, Adding New Yarn to Crochet

 I've started to use a new join technique.  I've known about this one for years, I don't know why I didn't embrace it before. I think with this project I finally embraced it because it is critical to the solid stitching that the motifs be as seamless looking as possible.  Above, is how I typically have joined new yarn,  with no slip knot, I just pull the yarn through the st and begin chaining. In this case chaining 3 (sometimes 2) to begin a double crochet.

 Then if I were to continue with dc, it would look like this (above). The beginning ch-3 just kinda hangs out.

 But, If I do a standing double crochet join (you can do this with all the stitches though, not just the double), you start with a slip knot, yarn over and carefully holding the yo on the hook, insert the hook into the st and finish the double crochet.  The tail end of the yarn is now at the top (instead of the bottom) of the stitch. 

 When I continue in dc, it looks so much more like it belongs with the others. Immediately, I tucked the cut tail down and stitched over it.  Just don't pull on it too tightly because then your first standing double crochet would be all hunched over and not standing tall.

At the end of the round, if you do the invisible join with the yarn needle (do you want this lesson too?) it is much less obvious where the round began and ended.  To further close up gaps, when weaving in ends, I generally put the ends under the lowest part of the stitch under it's "legs" where it goes into the stitch, but here, I wove it more horizontally through the middle of the stitches to literally "fill up" any space that remained between the first and second stitch.  I will likely never join a new yarn the old way again.