Tips 'n Tricks

Do 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!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011Name: Connie

Subject: Threading beads

Comment: I find if I am using crocheting thread it is easier to thread beads if I use fingernail polish and paint the first 1/2 inch of the thread and let it dry hard. Beats using a needle.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011Name: Nichelle

Subject: Hook Storage and Saving Your Spot

Comment: My good friend Alecia stores her hooks, yarn needles, and a small pair of scissors in a plastic eyeglass case-- works great!

When I have to put down a project for a while, I save my spot with a simple safety pin hooked through the last loop of yarn. It's a very cheap way to not lose your place!

Monday, November 14, 2011Name: Jo Ann

Subject: Yarn Holder

Comment: I have a Golden Retriever, so to keep him from "retrieving" my yarn while I am crocheting I put my skein of yarn in a plastic pitcher. You can use it with the lid on or off. keeping it in the pitcher keeps it from rolling around, getting caught by a pet, and keeps it clean (if you have a shedding pet, you know what I mean).

Thursday, November 10, 2011Name: Malea

Subject: Organization

Comment: I've found that it's helpful to have a clear plastic zip bag (the kind sheets come in), to store things in. I currently have one for my WIPs with yarn attached, WIPs without yarn attached, Yarn, and completed projects I have no idea what to do with. This way you can see what's in the bag before I get into it. I also have a tote bag I carry the one WIP I'm working one along with it's pattern, and my hooks, which are in an even smaller make up pouch.
Hope this was helpful

Monday, November 07, 2011Name: Casey

Subject: storage

Comment: Im pretty new to the game but I started around christmas last year and my son had received a tube of mini m&ms for christmas. After he ate them all I found that it was a perfect holder for my hooks and easily able to fit in my purse or to go bag.

Sunday, November 06, 2011Name: Jennifer

Subject: A Place for my Stuff

Comment: A friend at work keeps all her crochet doodads in a cheap plastic pencil box. They're small enough to stash in a tote bag but large enough to hold scissors/pencil/hooks/stitch markers/needles/etc.

Myself, I carry a tote bag that holds my current WIP along with the case my kids got me for christmas. I have most of my hooks in it, along with a small altoids tin (yes it fits in the case) that holds a pair of foldable scissors, stitch markers and needles. With a magnet in the top of the tin, all the needles stick to it, and I don't need to worry about them falling out when I open it up.

Friday, November 04, 2011Name: Kaitlyn

Subject: Storage in a College Dorm Room

Comment: I am a college student and dont have a lot of room for keeping my oodles of yarn. So I bought one of the storage ottoman cubes from wal-mart and told myself that if it doesnt fit in the cube, then it needs to get stitched up and out of the room.

My mom and I also use the shopping totes you can get from walmart for our big projects when we are carrying them around. And then we each have a pencil case that has all of our hooks and stitch markers and such.

Thursday, November 03, 2011Name: Ginnie

Subject: Scraps of yarn

Comment: My friend that taught me to crochet 6 yrs ago (69 now), her daughter and I crochet lapghans for an area nursing home. My friend makes mostly Granny Squares and I make something similar to the Farmhouse? pattern. We give them around Christmas time. Some of those folks never see anyone except staff and they like getting a little something special.
My second hint is save the ends of your yarn, even the smallest, in a ziplock and in the spring sprinkle it in trees and bushes for the birds to use in building their nests. They really do, much to my husband's surprise when he grudgingly sprinkled for me. I have a picture of the nest with blue and white yarn!!!

Thursday, November 03, 2011Name: Pat

Subject: Left over yarn

Comment: Many seniors enjoy knitting or crocheting,and have extra time on thier hands.Yarn is very expensive and not always affordable for a person on a limited income. I give my extra yarn to my 97 year old neighbor. She knits or crochets and donates to charity. Most of the yarn ends up as small hats to warm the heads of premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. Because the hats are so small, left over yarn from 1 skein is often enough to finish 1 hat. sometimes even a small sweater. Young and old both benefit. Contact your local senior center to see if anyone is interested , as well as the maternity or neonatal ward of your hospital.

Wednesday, November 02, 2011Name: Judie Bohnstedt

Subject: crochet thread/yarn holder

Comment: I remember when I was in gradeschool I made a yarn holder for my mother. It was made from a round oatmeal box and had a whole at the top. Now days the box has a plastic lid, so I don't think the yarn would pull through easy. I use one of those small travel bags to keep my needles, spacers, markers,measuring tape,and etc. in. It has three pockets . It is like a cosmetic bag. The pockets are clear plastic so it is easy to see what I am looking for. Happy Hookin'.

Sunday, October 30, 2011Name: Nancy Drew

Subject: Binders of Pattern

Comment: A little trick I learned while on this site was that there's so many patterns there's no way I'd ever find the right one again. So I took to writing each pattern down before I tried it. Then, because there were so many, I found a spare binder from school last year and a bunch of dividers and organized it. I even put a label that said it was my Pattern Binder. It keeps all the patterns together and organized and I took to writing comments in the margins in a different color.
It's quite useful.

Sunday, October 30, 2011Name: Trish

Subject: Purchased yarn totes

Comment: The best yarn totes I own started as scrapbooking bags. Most of the major craft store have frequent sales for scrapbooking or they have 40% coupons which makes these very inexpensive. I use clear quart bags for my notions to keep them together in one of the many pockets. I hung my yarn cutter with yarn off of one of the handles and keep frequently used items in separate pockets of the tote.

Saturday, October 29, 2011Name: Cathy

Subject: Newspaper Bags

Comment: I use the bags my newspaper is delivered in to hold the yarn I am using. It fits perfectly with the yarn end coming out of the opening. It says put while crocheting and stores easily until I pick up my project again. If you have small skeins, cut the bag in half and secure one end with a rubberband. It really does prevent tangles and keeps the yarn clean.

Friday, October 28, 2011Name: diane watson

Subject: keeping track of your row

Comment: I use a counter, like they used to sell years ago, it has 4 numbers on it and you push the button down and it will go from 1 to 9. I click it every time I finish a row. I am not sure they still sell these or not anymore.

Thursday, October 27, 2011Name: Amie Ramsey

Subject: Storing Yarn

Comment: I store my skeins and balls of yarn in an over the door shoe organized in my craft closet. Each pocket can fit 1 skein of yarn or 2 balls. Works great for seeing what I have on hand also.

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