It's Crochet, Knit & Natter 10: New Year, New Yarn, New Thread!

[QuantumWeatherButterfly]

Time for a new thread for all the lovely yarn crafters!

Old thread here: http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/artsandcrafts/4557189-its-crochet-knit-natter-9-so-many-projects-so-little-time-oh-well-i-almost-made-it-rhymee_

You would be very welcome at my club @QuantumWeatherButterfly ! That jumper is stunning- very bold and eye-catching and very beautifully made.

Hi @SparkleMonster - I didn't know what tubular yarn was either, so I Googled it just now and I recognise the type, even though I didn't know what it was called. Apparently it's a type of super chunky yarn which is made of a tube of woven fabric filled with polyester stuffing. It looks pretty cool, but I've never used it.

I made a basket quite like that, @SparkleMonster , but it was made with multiple strands of normal dk yarn crocheted together.

Thanks @Fairislefandango , having some some more digging I think it might be bungee yarn. It seems I can get it from hobbii but it's around £12/ball.....
I've tried working up the instructions this afternoon in a DK yarn which seems to be giving the right result. As a new crocheter I don't want to spend on yarn for a pattern that might be way beyond me!

Wow @QuantumWeatherButterfly that's beautiful, love the colours.
I finished the lace scarf, it's just about long enough but still needs blocking.
My next job is to unpick and recycle a big cable sweater I knitted 20+ years ago. The moths got this one too unfortunately. Sob, it was my favourite and fitted really well.
It's really good quality pure wool - though I can't recall what, except that it was quite expensive, maybe Vogue brand? Anyway this is going to keep me busy for a while. Sorry, could not get good lighting for the pic.

Here is the baby blanket I’m doing. Rainbows and clouds.

please excuse my attempt at an artsy picture lol, it was for Instagram.

That's a lovely blanket, and I like the artsy picture

Much as I'm enjoying making my alpaca hat and my sleeve scarf, they are both in very... neutral colours, which admittedly is the norm for me, as thread regulars will know! I suddenly felt like I need a bit of colour in my life, so I've ordered some gorgeous fibre to spin. It's a mix of merino, mulberry silk, sari silk and llama, and I bought two beautiful, bold colour blends!

Thanks for the lovely comments - I really am very proud. I've kind of started the poncho, in as much as I'm doing a gauge swatch. It's annoying, as the stitch to use isn't specified, and the pattern doesn't (I don't think) lend itself to counting stitches and rows, so I'm just doing DC, and hoping for the best.

On the plus side, the yarn is working up beautifully. I'm so excited to get started properly.

Beautiful work, @fidgetcube and @GlowWine

@Fairislefandango Look! IKEA fan gear

Thank you guys.

@Fairislefandango i love love love the blue one!

@Fairislefandango our Ikea is similar distance but we don’t have much else nearby so we make the journey. Knitting and crochet club sounds fun and it should be really interesting hearing from the lady at the local yarn shop.

@QuantumWeatherButterfly lovely top for your DD. I’m thinking of jumping on the granny hexi trend. I’ve half sorted my yarn stash today and I have so much scrap wool so I need a few scrap projects - a granny hexi square cardigan for DD might make a dent without being too big of a project. And if it looks a bit odd, well that’s what nursery clothes are for!

@SparkleMonster have a look at the website yarn substitute as it’ll give you an idea of what other ideas work. However, I’ve seen a few baskets worked with the hooked zpaghetti yarn which always look really pretty. Love crafts is probably your best bet for chunky cotton type yarn.

@GlowWine ne those gloves are gorgeous!

@fidgetcube etcube I love the colours for your temperature blanket. And the baby blanket looks lovely too. I like a nice artsy picture

@QuantumWeatherButterfly mWeatherButterfly those colours are fab! I bet your DD loves it.

@Fairislefandango oh my! I love that so much I almost posted a non MN emoji

My local church (which some of you will remember I spend a lot of time at) is opening as a "warm space" as of tomorrow. Its a little late, end of last year would have been better but whatever. Anyway, Tuesday is "craft cafe". Naturally yours truly is in charge of that. I'm hoping someone who owns a yarn swift and winder will come along!

I have identified the next pattern I want to do. Persian tiles by Janie crow. Wowzers it’s gorgeous.

I'm a bit grumpy this morning, because I finished my swatch for my poncho and my gauge was off, and by quite a lot - 2 full stitches too many. This gives me 2 problems.

1. I used the recommended 6.5mm hook. I don't know what to try next. I have both a 7 and an 8, but I do not have a 7.5. I looked online and it seems it's an unusual size so limited choice if I buy one. I don't know which one to try next.

2. the yarn looks so gorgeous when it is worked up, but when I frogged the swatch, I discovered that it is an absolutely bugger for splitting. It's kind of mohair-y (although it's acrylic) and so easy to catch random fibres. You can't see you're doing it, or that you've done it and I don't think it will matter in the finished garment, but it was SO HARD to frog. I'm dreading having to frog another swatch and go back to fix any mistakes.

#2 is just for me to get my head around, but can I ask WWYD about the hook size? Try a 7 (which might not be big enough, given the difference), try an 8 (which might be too big) or stop and wait for a 7.5 to be delivered?

@fidgetcube Persian Tiles is gorgeous. I especially like the Eastern Jewels colour way.

@QuantumWeatherButterfly oh that sounds so frustrating! I would try the 8 first but and measure as I went just to see where that might take me, abandon if clearly too large after the first rows? And use a 'new' bit of yarn rather than the frogged bit. I can see that 'too small' is an issue but is 'a little bit too big' also a problem? Sorry if I'm talking rubbish, just deducting from my knitting. But I have to admit that 8 sounds HUGE....

I'm going to be exposed to so many beautiful crochet patterns on here that I might have to try teach myself! @fidgetcube did you know that pattern has a Facebook group? Which colourway were you thinking of?

I have unravelled (can't really call it frogging) most of my jumper. Why did I have to be so very very thorough when weaving in the ends? Now I have to wash & stretch it, can anyone recommend a detergent? I usually use a very small amount of non bio liquid but maybe I should invest in proper wool detergent?

@QuantumWeatherButterfly for two stitches I would probably try the 7mm hook first but I tend to go up in half sizes where I can anyway. I don’t have the attention span for a swatch so I do a couple of rows and check how it’s getting on before working out the whole swatch. So if it’s 10 rows at 10cm then two rows should be about 2cm and I’ll frog it back after 2 rows and try again. This way if it does affect the yarn over time, then you can cut that bit out and not have wasted too much.

Thank you, @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally - I'll give the 7 a try. Perhaps with a bigger hook/looser stitches I won't catch so many random fibres either. I'm nervous about having to frog another swatch though! It took me over 10 minutes to take back just 11 rows/20 stitches last night. I think I'll press ahead with another swatch though, as each row is 139 stitches and the thought of having to frog all that when it's a bit tangled fills me with horror!

Also, if I use the 7, I can try my new Prym ergonomics hooks that I got for Christmas😀

@GlowWine I think I’m gonna do the Eastern Jewels colour way but haven’t decided yet. Apparently it’s not too difficult only normal stitches used so I’m hopeful, as I’m totally a beginner lol.

I’ve got to finish a baby blanket and a baby soft toy before I can do the Persian tiles one.

I also really like the mystical lanterns one. So pretty.

Oh, I somehow missed @GlowWine 's post suggesting an 8, and now I am confused! But - it's a very good point that bigger probably doesn't matter, it's a poncho so meant to be roomy. I'm tempted to go big. And yes, I'm going to try and avoid using the frogged yarn unless I absolutely have to, it's very fuzzy. That's why I think I'll so another swatch rather than start and measure, I'll lose less if I'm wrong.

@QuantumWeatherButterfly Nooooo - don't listen to me! I have no experience in sizing crochet, just could not stay quiet :-) and decided to share my opinion...

@QuantumWeatherButterfly I was saying half a size based on being two stitches out and that would work for me. Try with some scrap yarn to see how much difference half a hook size makes versus a hook size. That might help you decide what works with your technique. Obviously you’ll still need to swatch with the yarn you want to work with but you can get a handle of how much half a hook size changes it for you.

@WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally Oh, that is such a good idea! I'll get out some scrap aran tonight and see what the different between 6.5, 7 and 8 is.

How sad - I am genuinely excited by this experiment hahaha.

@GlowWine I am very easily led:-)

@GlowWine you must have wanted to annihilate the moths for damaging that amazing sweater!

loving seeing everyone’s projects, they are so beautiful!

I discovered that a yarn subscription is a real thing this year (hear my bank account weep!) and I was VERY excited to get my first month’s delivery today…

Joining! Haven’t had time to crochet properly in years as I have two tiny children and no energy, but now they’re both in childcare/with PILs 3 days a week I have all this GLORIOUS time to myself! I made a C2C scarf last year for my Secret Santa which was my first ever completed project and I’ve just started Abi McIntyre’s Snowscape mosaic blanket. But most excitingly… after 3 and a half years of keeping all my yarn in various boxes and bags dotted all over my tiny home, I cleared out the little cupboard that houses our fuse box and have turned it into my own little crochet cupboard. I know it’s nothing to a lot of people’s enormous yarn-filled woman caves but I love it so much!

@WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally thanks for tip, I've found a cotton yarn that looks promising that's much cheaper than the bungee yarn 😁

Now, having developed ideas above my station, I'd like to crochet a blanket for each of my boys' (newly decorated) bedrooms. Single crochet I think, approx 130cm x 160cm, but I don't know how to work out how much yarn I need. Is there a magic formula? Or do I need to swatch and do some complicated maths? I'd appreciate any expert advice!!

OMG that Persian Tiles pattern is amazing!
@AngeloMysterioso - your cupboard looks great! I am kind of gradually turning our small spare room into my crafting room by stealth . It has my spinning wheel, wooden 'sewing box' (I don't sew) and another big box with a cushioned top,full of yarn etc. There's a single built-in wardrobe in there which I'm desperate to claim for craft, but it's currently where all our bedding lives. Still - who needs bedding, eh?

Bedding is basically blankets which can be crafted so they're actually the same thing, aren't they @Fairislefandango?

I spent a fun hour (in 15 minute chunks, because I'm a mum🙄) making gauge swatches, and I dropped 1.5 stitches and 1 row per 10cm square when I went from 6.5mm to 7mm hooks.

On this basis, I'm going to go with 7mm for my next swatch with the poncho yarn, and try and ignore the fact that I lost exactly the same number of rows and stitches when I went from 7mm to 8mm, which makes no sense.

Love that cupboard, @AngeloMysterioso - my stash is occupying a selection of plastic boxes stacked in our bedroom, which DH is politely ignoring.

I have started my temperature blanket again, 3rd time lucky lol.

the hexagons we’re taking too long for me to do daily. I’m not a fast crocheter, tbh I’m not very good but I enjoy it lol.

so I’m doing a 12 point start. Took me 4 hours to do 6 rounds plus 5 rows. Yeah.

I used a new technique, blocking acrylic with a hair dryer, works really well.