A Little Bit of Crochet

These pictures have been posted before, on the main blog. But here they are again!



Tools of the trade.

Crochet hooks are made from assorted materials such as plastic, steel, aluminum, wood, bamboo. I prefer aluminum, as it wears well and stays pretty smooth. You don't want a hook that is rough or splinters, the hook needs to slide through the yarn. This one is the one I use the most, I think it's a size G but I can't remember. I'll eventually check the gauge. The purple thing in the middle of it is a cover that is actually designed to go on the end of knitting needles to protect the points. I snipped the end off of it and slid it down onto the hook because it makes it more comfortable on my fingers. The yarn pictured is acrylic, which is the most common yarn around and probably the least expensive. It comes in a wide variety of colors and I use quite a bit of it. I am very allergic to wool, so I am somewhat limited in my yarn choices at least if I want to stay below a certain price range. Price ranges are not always a big consideration, it depends on what I'm making and also how strong I want the yarn to be. Acyrlic yarn, as well as polyester, wear very well and both are tough, strong yarns.

I have made several pouches, the pattern I have calls them jewelry roll pouches and they are basically a flat piece consisting of the foundation chain, which is the first row and then the rest of the rows are single stitches. Single stitches are a tight stitch and also a fast one.

The original pattern called for a ribbon to be attached about middle of the piece, it would overlap at the top and bottom and then the piece would be rolled up & tied with the ribbon. But because I like to do my own thing, I changed it around slightly. I fold the pouches about 1/3 of the way and sew it closed at the sides. Then it's turned inside out - with crochet, and especially this stitch, there is no right or wrong side because each row goes the opposite direction from the previous row.

The top piece has not been sewed down and can be folded down to make a flap. Although it's not in this picture, I usually attach a 1/2" (more or less) round button and then make a chain stitch loop on the edge of the top flap in the middle so it can be closed. This was originally going to be a holder for my glasses, but it was a lot bigger than I needed and it was too bright to go with the quilt that Bill was making for me at the time. So it is now a nail kit, it is in the bathroom in one of the drawers and it works great. I made another one for an eyeglasses holder. I've also made several of these as gifts, in various colors.

Crochet is a fairly old art, it's believed that it originated at sea with sailors being the inventors. A lot of the stitches and the process of making the stitches are very similar to the way that fishing nets are made and repaired. In all probability, the crochet hook is was originally a fish hook that was broken into a shorter piece and then used to hook the rope that the nets were made of.

Lace making is a type of crochet, but it's one I have no interest in. You've probably seen lacey doilies, probably most of our mothers & grandmothers had/have them! They are crochet, made with a very thin gauge yarn called thread. It's not the same as sewing thread. I've given it a try, and decided to stick with something a little larger. The hooks are impossibly tiny and the thread is very small.

I mentioned being allergic to wool. Usually, it's not too bad because I try to avoid coming into contact with it. Bill wears wool socks and I can put them up when I'm doing laundry, but I am fast at it. Today, Otter and I stopped at a fabric store and of course I had to go check out the yarn department. I picked up a skein that I liked and held it for a few minutes. Then I realized that the palm of my hand was tickling. That was my first clue! I looked at the ingredient list and it was pure wool yarn. I usually look at the fiber content first, but I didn't think about it for some reason this time. I wasn't where I could wash my hand, but I did use my anti-bacterial lotion since it was all I had. It helped some, but my hand was red for a very long time.

There are several types of yarn, even acrylic & polyester come in different gauges or strand sizes as well as different processes to make the yarn so it doesn't all look the same. I just have to be careful with wool. I have some yarn made from bamboo, it's very soft, but I haven't found a project for it yet. I do have some that could be a problem for me - it's made from alpaca wool (think llamas) but I'm not sure if it will set my allergy off like sheep or lamb wool. I won't actually attempt to use it yet, my skin has to be perfect before I'll be brave enough to try.