Craft Corner

[Bubbles3]

i dont know @Shaz51
i think its messy

[Shaz51]

way better than mine @Bubbles3 

[Former-Member]

@Bubbles3 I'm only new here yet, a couple of days so far, but I feel very welcomed by everyone. 

Today has been a good day after so many really difficult ones, thank you. 

The creativity of/ in your journal is really lovely, I used to journal feelings and such, but it was only writing, never thought to decorate it like you have. 

[Former-Member]

@CheerBear Nice to see you also. I do enjoy talking craft things, it's still motivating for me too, when lots of things that used to motivate me now aren't interesting. Learning new things, or new ways of doing old things really brightens my day. 

I wonder if you will like the tatting ... I use shuttles, have not yet learned to Needle Tat, but it's on my list of things to try. 

I rarely use a someone else's pattern anymore, I will design my own, probably because I've been crocheting for so long now, and I'm impatient sometimes too. I wish I could properly write patterns though, that would be something. 

My go to calm crochet is Tunisian crochet, I seem to always be making dishcloths or face washers and my bigger projects that are not Tunisian have been put to the side. 

Well, summer could have had a part to play in that too, I suppose. Maybe with cooler weather I will be able to get the big things out and finish them. 

Do you have a favourite yarn or hook? A go to pattern you really like to keep making?

[CheerBear]

Love the journal @Bubbles3. Such a great way to express yourself. There are some awesome journal ideas out there on Pinterest. Hope you find it feels good for you. Wondering whether you've made any more mosaics lately?

Hi again @Former-Member 🙂

I feel the same about learning new things and how it brightens my day. Some things (lots of things) can be much harder for me to do, get into or stick with than I used to find them, but I can almost always count on craft, and especially on my hooks, to make me feel better or give me some comfort 🙂 My favourite hook sizes are my 3.5mm and 4mm ones. I picked up a silicone handle set not too long ago which I love - they've had some decent use recently!

I just had a quick look at tatting - wow! Does that use a thread? It looks like it shares some similarities with macrame which is something I find myself looking at online with interest and a "wow how do they do that!?". I don't know much about Tunisian crochet though I have what I think is a Tunisian hook which came in a set and I have working out how to use it on my giant list of one day to try things. I can't get my head around knitting and it seems a little like knitting (or maybe that's just me)?

I like crocheting all kinds of things. I have made lots of amigurumi style toys, mostly because they're small, quick, colourful, and fun. I also have made a few different Afghans with various patterns (chevron, ripple, granny stitch etc). I'm finishing up a corner-to-corner one (I was working on the border when this post came through) at the moment. I've never made one of these before and found it worked up really quickly and I like the pattern it's made.

I've also made two really big (queen bed size) mandalas through a "crochet a-long" online called Mandala Madness. They both took a little over six months each and are the projects I am most proud of. They're overlay crochet which would definitely be my favourite style, though it requires quite a lot of thinking and concentration sometimes.

I'd love to see some photos of any of your work if you have any and would like to/feel comfortable sharing some time 🙂 Or links to things that are like what you make maybe. I think it's really clever to be able to design your own things!

There are so many creative people here on the forum and often their projects pop up around the place. Here's an art thread you may enjoy looking through also, which has some more art and craft in it 🙂

https://saneforums.org/t5/Social-Spaces/Through-One-s-Eyes/m-p/177135/highlight/true#M41476

Great to see you again and hope to catch you around some more!

[Former-Member]

@CheerBear thank you for that lovely post - was all set to answer but got very distracted by the art thread you linked  will have to come back tomorrow to write more for you. 

[Former-Member]

Hi @CheerBear I made it back here.

I agree that I can always count on craft to brighten my day too. My favourite hook sizes now are 5.5mm, 6mm and then 5mm and 8mm, all of which depends on the yarn and the feel of the fabric I want as a result. That's more important with Tunisian than quite so much with other projects. Denise interchangeables which I treated myself to a few years ago, are my favourites although I also have some Addi Swing ergonomics with silicone handles for my arthritis which are good but the heads need a sharper point imo. 

I like the interchangeables for Tunisian as they are bendy, the long hard tunisian hooks are harder for me to handle for big projects. Tunisian can look like knitting, but it's done with a hook, and the way you do the first pass (there are two passes to each row) decides how the fabric will look. There's lots of vids on the net if you're interested in seeing how it works. I've made a single bed sized blanket using up all the 'orphan' yarns that were never going to be used for anything else. 

Tatting - It does use thread, it's important to have a mercerised thread so the knots will slip along the thread they are on. I tend to use a thicker thread (size 20) these days, the itsy thin threads (like 80) are sooo fiddly for my hands. I bought some 80 spools ages ago, and i look at it every now and then with no idea what to do with it as it's so tiny. Maybe some to scale dollhouse doilies. 

If you like amigurumi, I wish I could but alas, it's not my thing, I don't know what to do with the finished creatures, tatting might just be something you'd like, as there are patterns for animals, mostly flat, but there are 3d shapes that can be made. Not that I have done that, I mostly make lace for clothing, bookmarks or button closures. 

The Antique Pattern Library is an excellent source of free patterns for all manner of crafts with patterns you can download for your own use. 

Your mandalas are truly beautiful works of art. I have a couple of similar patterns and think one day I will do one, but other projects get in the way. LOL

I will have to work on getting some photos, not sure if it will work as they are very distinctive one of a kind pieces. Tried to find the yarn for a long car coat I made for myself but it's discontinued and no images unfortunately. 

Here's a couple of tatted items I made for sale. (edited to fix images & to be clear the tatting is my work)

 Tatted Bookmark          Tatted Necklace      

        

[CheerBear]

Hi @Former-Member 🙂

Wow that tatting! It's beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

It makes sense that you'd have to be particular when it comes to thread. Is it available at craft shops or is it more of a speciality thing? A few weeks ago I decided to have a go at micro crocheting but I got so stuck with the threads and didn't know what to use. There's so little info out there online about it also. I think the really tiny crochet creatures are made with a sewing thread but I need something bigger than that to begin with. I found myself in a big tangle trying to use embroidery thread. I have a deeper level of appreciation for fine and delicate (not words that suit me well haha!) projects like I imagine tatting may be.

I can see how you'd want a comfortable hook with your arthritis. I'm really happy with mine as they were a really good buy on eBay. I don't think I could use an aluminium handled hook anymore after feeling how much better the silicone is. Clover hooks one day for me hopefully 🙂

I will have a better look at Tunisian and Tatting at some stage. Like you, my projects tend to get in the way of each other 😉 It's really not a bad problem to have I think though!

I have kids, so there's a never ending supply of "mum can you make me a ..." which works for amigurumi. That and I also have a little collection of them for myself. My most recent is a dragon and she sits on my desk alongside lots of other special little things for no other reason than she makes me smile 🙂

Have you ever sold any of your work? I can imagine they'd be pretty special!

I'm about to post a post for someone here who is learning to crochet. Feel free to join in and add any tips you may have if you'd like to, or to correct me if I am mentioning anything that isn't quite right or you think could be done differently!

Nice to bump into you again and I am glad you enjoyed the art thread too 🙂

[CheerBear]

Dropping off a "CheerBear's guide to single crocheting in the foundation chain" complete with photos for @Phoenix_Rising and anyone else who might want to join ☺ If anyone is reading and wants to add anything or has a different idea, please jump in!

Phoenix_Rising - you mentioned you were finding it hard to know where to put your first stitch. It is tricky to do your first row - the chain stiches are hard to work out, they're flimsy, there's nothing to hold on to etc. Once you get past this bit, it's much easier. It's one of those annoying things about learning crochet - the start is hard! But with practice it may/will hopefully get easier. Row 1 still does my head in a bit sometimes. 

With single crochet, you'd usually work into the second stitch from the hook. The first stitch from the hook is used to kind of "turn" the work. Hopefully it makes a bit more sense once you see this. 

I wanted to make a row of 10 single crochets so I made a chain 11 to do that. 

They're tricky to count and "see" but I'll try and show you here. 

The pink hook is going through stitch 1

Now stitch 5

The stitch you want to go into when working a row of sc into the foundation chain, is stitch 2 which is here:

These are the parts to a stitch. The "back ridge loop" can also be called the "bump".

There are different ways of crocheting into the foundation chain, but for this example and because it's maybe the easier way, I would go into the "back loop" and the "bump". 

Here's a birds eye view of what that looked like:

(My pink hook is pointing at the bump of stitch 5 so you can see what the bumps look like)

And a view of what it looks like from the front before I have drawn up yarn:

I made 10 sc across. The pink hook is now in the first stitch I made and the tiny hook is pointing at the stitch I 'skipped' to begin with. You may be able to see how it becomes the side by turning up.

Hope that helps. Alternatively you could watch this very quick, very clear demonstration that probably explains it way better than I can with pictures 😆

[Former-Member]

@CheerBear Just a quick response re the thread for your micro crochet and the tatting thread.

also, thank you for your kind words re my tatting. I do think tatting is so pretty and delicate.  

You've piqued my interest with the micro crochet! 

I did some research and noted that some are using fingering weight yarn with 1.25 hooks. You can use beeswax or the Thread Heaven product used for beading for 'hairy' thread if it's not mercerised, but with tatting, that's tedious. You run the thread over or through the wax as you use it. We had to do that on old knitting machines too. I have some Thread Heaven, it sorta works but it leaves a bit of a sticky feeling if you have to frog more than once. Still it can be done. 

I wouldn't recommend normal sewing thread as it's breaking point is too weak and any frogging would weaken it further too, making it very frustrating to use. 

If you use a smaller hook with the appropriate small yarn and a normal amigurumi pattern, it's supposed to make that item only smaller. Just like you can alter sizes by going up or down a hook and/or yarn with a garment. I have to find a pattern to try this myself. 

I wonder if the mercerised threads for tatting would be useful for truly tiny micro crochet - depending on thread size of course. I found a variety of threads under the Theads & Yarns tab at Crochet Australia, who are really good to deal with too. The two big craft chains don't have the thinner threads, only crochet cotton which is too hairy for tatting anyway, it might work for micro crochet though.

Have you found any reference to thread size in any or your images? That could help pin point a start place. 

Just remember that with Thread (different from Yarn) the larger the number, the smaller the thickness. I can visualise micro creatures in the lovely mercerised thread, they would be so elegant and finely finished I think. 

I might just see if I can find an amigurumi pattern I like and make up one with a tatting thread I have. Most of my threads and tools came from Handy Hands in the US from long ago. 

Re selling my work. Yes, so many items of so many sorts over time, now that I think about it. Clothes from day wear to ball gowns, mens shirts, pants (short and long), boys formal jackets, baby clothes from rompers to christening robes. Some to order, some on consignment. Tatting mostly bookmarks and jewellery, some lace edgings too. Crochet garments mostly, although lots of edgings on hankies and washers etc. I craft mostly for myself these days though, 'cos I made some incredibly beautiful stuff over the years and either sold it or gave it as gifts without thinking to keep any of it for myself. I'm a bit selfish with my hand work these days. 

I love sharing tips and teaching others how to craft though, it's such a delight to see someone else 'get' the process and make something for themselves. It's something they then have for life. 

I will probably hang out here a bit.