On Crochet Hooks

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Crochet never was a friend of mine. It took me years to understand the concept of one needle only to realise that my hands tire extremely fast even after I had acquired the basic skills.

Well, it seems like the problem was pretty easy to solve. The way I hold the hook just did not match the shape of the handle. While my hands tire and cramp using crochet hooks with thin or cylindrical handles, they do not when I use flattened handles like the Chiaogoo ones.

I deliberately chose bamboo handles as I had one other crochet hook that worked well for me, but whose handle was treated with a soft touch finish. Initially, this was not a problem at all, but the coating interacted with my natural hand cream and became sticky over time.

To test my new hooks and to improve my crochet skills, I decided to challenge myself with a doily. I chose the free Mathilde pattern by Grace Fearon and some cheap, red crochet thread. The pattern is well-written and easy to follow. I had to look up about half of the required skills, but there are tons of good tutorials on YouTube, some are even linked in the pattern. I’m pretty amazed by the result. Maybe, I’ll give crochet another chance.

Potholders

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I do not like crocheted potholders. Most of them look extremely old-fashioned to me and I surely did not plan to crochet any. Then a dear friend of mine asked me for handmade potholders.

As I did not want to decline his request, I started to look for inspiration on Ravelry. I found some projects that actually used a tiny version of the Wool Eater Blanket as potholders. With quite a lot of leftovers of Tahki’s Cotton Classic in my stash, I decided to give it a try. And here they are, still some sort of retro potholders, but not overly ugly. I could even think of using a black based version in my own kitchen.

The pattern is easy and comes with a lot of photos. I appreciate this a lot as I do not crochet very often. It is written in UK terms, so think of it when you have to work the dtr’s (of course, I did not). The yarn is wonderful to work with, slightly glossy, yet still cottony. Well done, Tahki! So maybe, these were not my last crocheted potholders. There still remain some Cotton Classic leftovers.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts

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For the first time, I finished all my handmade Christmas gifts on time! The last ones to be finished were a knitted hat and a crocheted collar.

The collar is a super-easy pattern whose result depends heavily on the yarn used. This is why I chose Rowan’s Fine Silk in cream, a fingering weight, single-ply silk/ wool/ viscose yarn with a light halo. The yarn was easy to crochet and the result is just stunning. A lightweight (12g), yet warming collar you can wear over almost any top or pullover. I will definitely crochet another one for myself!

The hat is, as announced previously, a Double Crossed hat. The pattern is easy to follow and not difficult at all as long as you are not afraid of cabling. I used 53 g of some leftover Rowan Kid Classic in smoke. As usually when I use this yarn, I am very happy with the result. To obtain a tam shape, I have blocked the hat using a huge dinner plate. Sadly, I did not have time to take a proper picture of the finished hat, but it turned out beautifully.

Holey Purple

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This sweater has quite a history. When I first stumbled over the Coldwave Sweater pattern on Ravelry back in 2014, I wanted to make one instantly. Sadly, I did not know how to crochet that time, so I postponed the project and decided to learn how to crochet first.

I have to admit, that until I actually started crocheting my Coldwave Sweater this March, I did not find any crochet pattern I wanted to use as practice. This was a very bad idea. The pattern is rather complicated and poorly explained at once. Nonetheless, I succeeded thanks to a lot of help from another Raveler. I am sure I would have despaired of it otherwise. This was learning how to crochet the hard way.

However, I have finished it and I love it! My first intention was to wear it at this year’s WGT or at least the Amphi Festival indeed, but I had too many problems understanding the pattern. Did I mention already that I love that sweater? Although it is not black? Well, I will always wear black underneath, so this actually is no point. The big holes make it a great finger trap when you (try to) put it on, by the way.

I have used a really cheap DK weight cotton yarn I found deep down in my stash. My finished sweater, crocheted in the smallest size, weighs 342g . As this pattern has only 15 projects since 2014, of which only 6 are finished, be adventurous and crochet it! Once you get the hang of it, it will turn out a quick project. In case you succeed, you will get a wonderful layering piece you can wear both to goth events and in public.

Crocheted Leis

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I am not entirely sure how it happened, but my boyfriend and me were invited to a Hawaii themed party and accepted the invitation. Of course, we would wear black as we usually do, but how to incorporate those horrible fake plastic leis the host would hang around our necks upon our arrival?

As I felt the urgent need to avoid this, I decided to bring our own leis in acceptable colours. With less than one week preparation time, the idea to crochet 80 flowers and make them into two leis seemed ambitious but feasible. In the end, I succeeded and am very happy with the result!

The yarn used is Schachenmayr Bravo, a 100% acrylic yarn that excels only by its low price. I followed Corina’s tutorial on how to crochet a Hawaiian lei. The tutorial is well written and easy to follow. Nonetheless, it takes a lot of time to crochet so many flowers. Each one took me a minimum of 8 minutes. And please do not ask why I know…

large purple flower

small black flower

large pink flower