Category: Craft

Wood crochet hooks

On By CarynIn Craft

I have discovered a new method for making wood crochet hooks that I quite like. I flatten the middle of a dowel using a spindle sander, and flatten the end perpendicular to the middle with a band sander. This sets up the grip and the head of the hook at a comfortable angle. I then thin the neck to the size hook I need, and shape the head.

Stages of crochet hook shaping

The bulk of the work goes into hand sanding the final shape. I use sandpaper rolled into tight tubes to access the inside of the hook, and flat sandpaper to smooth the outside shapes. I then use several grades of sandpaper until I’m down to 600 grit.

Hand-sanded crochet hook (left), raw shape (right)

I’m teaching an amigurumi class that uses blanket yarn to make marshmallow animals. The blanket yarn calls for a larger hook than is in most hook sets, so I’m making the hooks the students will use. The next step is to finish and make them nice and shiny so they slide through the yarn loops.

Ten hand sanded crochet hooks, unfinished

Tough Resin

On By CarynIn Craft

I have been collaborating with a local 3D printer, X of All Trades, to design a spindle that can be used as a supported spindle or a drop spindle, adjustable weight, and a body which acts like a nostepinne to make center pull balls as you spin. The challenge has been the narrow neck breaking, so we have been experimenting different materials. The last round of prints using bottle plastic looked promising, but the filament printing isn’t precise, and tended to bubble and create rough edges. Then they found Tough Resin. 3D printed resin can make much more precise and smooth objects, but tends to be brittle, as I found out on our first printed rounds. Tough Resin fixes the brittleness and with some tweaking of the head and neck of my model, X of All Trades has printed a lovely tool that so far has not shattered when dropped.

Rough filament printed spindles (left) Smooth tough resin printed spindles (right)

I couldn’t wait long to test the spindle. I was pleased that it still spins well with the head changes, and I really like the black resin, which has a prismatic effect along the print lines.

Spinning with the new 3D printed spindle

I have put in an order for a small production run, which is quite exciting.

Potential

On By CarynIn Craft
Freshly painted, mostly empty room

With our great room switch this summer, I have decided to move my crafting hoard into the spare bedroom. The kids’ rooms have been painted and moved into, with just a few extra projects to be done, and now I can get started on this last room. We fixed the holes in the walls, painted, touched up the ceiling, and painted the trim. It is a very long room, the picture above only shows about half the space, but the other half is where I shoved the painting paraphernalia so I could take the potential picture. Now is also the daunting part: going through my craft supplies and figuring out new ways and places to store things. I will have a couple tables out all the time, rather than just as needed, which is exciting. My husband is looking forward to having a master bedroom closet again, rather than just a corner of the closet (in my defense, the “closet” is 10’x10’).

Or maybe it’s soot

On By CarynIn Craft

I had the idea of heating up a metal stamp and burning a letter into a wood crochet hook to mark the size.

Holding a metal stamp with a silicone holder over a candle flame
Letter “L” marked on the bottom of a wooden crochet hook

I tested several times on paper before trying to burn the letter on the wood. It works OK, but I’m not sure if I actually burned the wood, or just stamped on some soot. Either way, it is marked, but for future hooks I should be able to find a more elegant way.

Frogging and recycling

On By CarynIn Cats, Craft

Years ago I crocheted the mermaid tail blankets that were all the rage for my girls. The idea was cool, but they never used them. Getting in and out of a leg hugging device is a pain.

Crocheted mermaid tail blanket

With my girl’s great room switch this summer, I found the blankets tucked in the back of their closets. One got sent to recycling, but Izzy the cat gave me an idea for the second.

Izzy lying on the blanket draped over a chair.

Rather than sending the blanket for someone else to recycle, I could frog it (rip it, rip it out) and reuse the yarn. Bernat makes a wonderful blanket yarn that doesn’t shed and holds up well after years. So I found the end (by the way, weaving in the ends really does secure them well, it took forever to free the yarn!), and rather than undo all the stitches and wind a ball, I’m crocheting from one project to another. I frog a bit, crochet a bit, repeat. It skips the ball winding part and deprives the kitten of an opportunity to unwind the ball of yarn. What am I making? Cat mats. I use a smaller hook, and a single crochet stitch and make a rectangular mat. The blanket yarn and stitch make it thick and sturdy, and Izzy completely approves of the finished project.

Izzy laying on a mat crocheted with Bernat blanket yarn

In the background of the picture is an amigurumi bunny, also made of blanket yarn. I’m developing a mix and match pattern and will be teaching an upcoming class. The yarn from the blanket it too dark for critters, but I can take the mats to our local no-kill shelter.