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| Featured Pattern of the Week: Ruffles Pillow |
        Interested in knitting? Visit our sister site: Knitting Pattern Central  | Tips 'n TricksDo you have a helpful hint or handy trick that will make any aspect of crocheting easier? Share it! Post ideas on scrap yarn usages, stitch markers, starching, hook organization, color changing, maintaining your sanity while following a difficult pattern, etc. There is most probably someone out there that will benefit from your help. Need ideas yourself? Read others' comments--we all live and learn! Name: Judy Subject: crocheted hats for cancer patients Comment: I just wanted to comment that I have a 12 yer old friend who is bald from having a cancerous tumor removed and some ladies made her crocheted hats to wear at night because her head gets cold. The thing is they itch her sooo bad because they were made with that fun fur. So in the future if you are making hats for cancer patients DO NOT use fun fur. She said just regular yarn feels the best. Comfort is first in this situation. Thank you!! Name: Lisa Spicer Subject: Smooth Stitching Comment: When your hook begins to drag or feel "sticky", just slide the hook back and forth at the base of your hairline--it picks up a little natural oil from your scalp and slides smoothly again. Got this trick from The Tightwad Gazette, whick recommends it for baby diaper pins. Name: Ellen Subject: Yarn Storage Comment: I store my yarn in my various sized baskets in the corner of my living room - it also looks nice because they match my earthtone decor. Prior to the baskets, I had them in plastic bags and covered them with a stylish chinese umbrella. Name: Kendra Subject: hook storage Comment: Some of my hooks didn't come in plastic packages where I could get them in and out easily so I thought of using toothbrush containers (you know,the ones for traveling). They're the perfect size and I can have one for my steel hooks and one for my aluminum hooks. Name: Stephanie Subject: Yarn needle storage Comment: I tried to use the magnet to keep my yarn needles together, but they kept falling off. I keep a mechanical pencil in my crochet case and decided to use that for the storage instead. I took the eraser off the end of the pencil, slid the yarn needles in, and put the eraser back on. I don't use the pencil often enough to run out of the lead that's already loaded, so I shouldn't run the risk of loading a needle instead of lead :) Name: Amy Subject: Keeping my place in a pattern Comment: If I have a pattern that I have borrowed off of someone I use a large paper clip to show me what row I am on. I just move the clip down when a row is completed that way I don't have the fuss of copying a pattern or marking the borrowed one. Name: Juanita Subject: crocheting Comment: When making anything that has a duplicate, such as sleeves, I always make both at the same time. First I do a little on one and then the same amount on the second until both are finished. Booties are especially hard to keep even in size unless done in this fashion. Name: Lori Subject: Storing hooks Comment: I use an old jewelry roll with a ribbon tie to keep my hooks together. There are clear zippered sections inside so I can see my hooks easily and I can also keep my clippers and tapestry needle inside. It rolls up into a small size, so it travels easily and keeps everything conveniently together. Name: Julia Subject: recycling Comment: First, I want to thank all of you crocheters for the awesome tips. They've really helped me!!!! I found out that you can cut up plastic bags and crochet with them. First, you find a few plastic bags that you can cut up. Then, you cut them up into 1" strips. You stretch the strips out and tie them together. Use a rather large hook to crochet them. You can also crochet with trash bags. They break really easily when you try to stretch them, so be careful! Name: Bev L Subject: Bargains Comment: I too have found yarn at my local dollar store but, please be careful for what project you are using it for. I found that in the few 50g balls I did buy there were at least 3 or 4 places where the yarn was tied together, more than I like to come across. Name: Julia Subject: Storage Comment: I had the idea of crocheting a bag with pockets for my hooks, thread, and scissors. It lets me practice my stitches while storing all of my stuff for traveling. Name: Missy Subject: tension Comment: No matter what I do, I always crochet tight. So for most of my projects I need to use a hook 1 or 2 sizes bigger than what's listed on the pattern. I always check my gauge before I start any project. Name: Donna Subject: storing patterns Comment: I just read that someone would print out the patterns off the computer and then put them in notebooks all cataloged the way she wanted them. I did that some time ago with all the crochet and cross stitch magazines I bought. That way I had them all in one place and didn't get torn up just sitting around by themselves. Name: Kay Subject: Yarn Storage Comment: My husband's office was getting new furniture. They threw out a nice open metal shelf. It was rescued, repainted & sits up against a wall in my spare bedroom, filled with yarn! Also, got a gently used office chair. :) Name: Kay Subject: Storing Patterns Comment: I have collected many Free Patterns. I store them in 2 inch loose leaf binders, printed out from computer, I double space type. Then catalog them in binders. Separated in binders by tabs (You know, the kind we used in school) & label each section. Then I store them in a section of my computer desk, spines labeled, with what's in each one. This saves me time from searching thru "all my patterns". Bought clear plastic sheets & put a few in each section. When I work on a pattern, I work with a copy only, that way the originals stay neat. Hope this helps others. Yes, I'm a neat nik. :) Select a Page << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 Next >> Share your own hints by filling in the form below... |
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