Hankering for Yarn » hooks

Video tute-How 2 make handmade crochet hook

Noreen Crone-Findlay — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:52:32 +0000

When my daughter got married a couple of years ago, I carved her a one of a kind crochet hook. I wrote on it:

Wherever you go

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

whatever you do

be happy

and know

that

I love you…..

Guess you can tell that I adore her….. LOL!

I took pics of the process of carving the one of a kind crochet hook, and have just put them together as a video tutorial.

Remember: Always wear safety equipment and work carefully!

Carving a handmade crochet hook is a slow and meticulous process.

You will need to work carefully, using close grain hardwood that can sustain the pressure of the carving, and even more important: To be able to stand up to the rigours of crocheting later!

By the way: Be gentle when crocheting with wooden hooks! Lighten up on your tension, as you don’t want to break the hook after all that work!

When shaping the hook section, sand after every little nip of the knife, and test crochet with it frequently to make sure it is a ‘happy hook’. If it catches or splits the yarn, it’ll make you crazy, so keep working at it until the hook flows and floats through the yarn.

And, sad to say…. prepare for some ‘fail’ …… sometimes, you’ll invest hours and hours into making a handmade hook, and the stinker will break in your hands. Sigh…. back to the drawing board.

But! when you do achieve a perfect hook, it is just a treasure!

Here’s the video:

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Woodland Woolworks needle sale!

Del — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:12:54 +0000

You knit, you crochet — you need needles and hooks. Now is a great time to shop for any needle/hook sizes you need because Woodland Woolworks has them on sale. Get 15-20% off almost any needle or hook — straights, circulars, double pointeds. The sale lasts until January 11th.

Image: Woodland Woolworks

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Square needles easier on the hands?

Del — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:55:49 +0000

I haven’t yet tried working with square needles, but the word is that they’re easier on your hands than traditional round ones. If you can’t indulge in as much knitting or crocheting as you’d like due to pain, stiffness or arthritis, they may be worth looking into.

Kollage Yarns offers square knitting needles (DPNs and circulars as well as straights) and crochet hooks. The company claims that besides comfort, you also get more uniform stitches with their square offerings.

Have you tried square needles, from this or another company? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Were you able to work faster, easier, longer? How was your finished product?

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