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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: diane Subject: organization Comment: i've organized my free patterns in file folders on my laptop computer. Each folder contains several pictures and a separate folder for all instructions. The pictures are a quick reference for the instruction folder. The laptop sits next to me while i crochet. No need for stands, notebooks, paper. Name: Cristin Subject: yarn winding Comment: I was taught this trick by a relative I just met...which was taught to her by my husband's Grandmother, Violet. :) To wind yarn; keeping a 7" tail, start winding yarn around two finger tips in a figure eight fashion - just a couple times and then fold the "8" over itself so it's an "o" and them wind as you normally would. When you are done, you can pull from the tail and it unwinds as a pull skein of yarn would-from the middle!! No more rolling balls of yarn!! Name: Linda Subject: Hints and Tips Comment: 1. I bought a very inexpensive see- through tackle box to keep my hooks, pins, needles, buttons, eyes (for toys), etc. At a glance I can see what I have and don't have. 2. Milk crates (plastic) are great to store skeins in and they are stackable. 3. Every Item I make I take a picture of and put in a photo album. 4. When my hook starts to drag, I use a bounce sheet for clothes on my hands and hook. This gets the hook going again and also smells nice. Name: Joyce Subject: trying something new Comment: When starting a new afghan pattern, I was having trouble holding my instruction book and my yarn, so I went to rummage sales and bought me a music stand. I can adjust it to the right heighth for my chair and I use bussiness "clips" to hold my pages open. This has made it much easier to read and crochet at the same time. Name: Aline Subject: Patterns Comment: If you have friends who crochet, but don't have internet access or a computer; invite them to surf the internet at your place. Or if you find a pattern that someone else with a little more experience would enjoy, print it out and pass it on. Name: katie Subject: tips for road trips Comment: i know alot of you guys put your patterns in binders and i do too but when you are a road trip i think it is alot easier to put the one pattern you are using in a folder it is much easier to slip under the seat when you get bored or tired of the project i would also suggest to only bring the supplies you need some people will take everything the own having to do with crochet just put the items you need in a ziploc one gallon freezer bag they stay safe! Name: Brianna Subject: Left over Yarn Comment: When I am finished with a project and I do not have enough yarn to make anything else, I tie all my extra scraps together untill I have a enough yarn to use. So it is like having a thing of yarn to make another interesting project out of. Name: louise vincent Subject: bed quilt Comment: if you do a square crochet width of a baby's cot you can put a piece of material snd sew them together and also it's a nice present for a new born baby Name: Cindy Subject: threading yarn & organization Comment: The easiest way to thread yarn through a needle: take a twist tie and peel off the paper, leaving a wire. Form a loop with the wire & put thru the eye of the needle. Put the end of the yarn through the loop then pull the loop back out of the eye-your needle is threaded! I keep my wire threaded through a tapestry needle in my needle holder case. I keep all my crochet hooks, needle case, scissors, tape measure, baggy with twist ties & safety pins in a plastic pencil case with a handle that I got at Staples for 77 cents. All my friends now bought one for the same reason. Name: Courtney Subject: organization Comment: One way I can keep up with the different crochet tools, is to purchase very inexpensive make up bags. This is a great way to keep different tools separated and larger needles fit better than hook cases you can buy. The best thing is everything is portable and ready to go with you at any time, anywhere. Name: Gail Subject: Boredom Comment: When making a large "single square" afgan, I occasionally get bored on the longer outer rows. Because I generally alternate colors for each row, I will often stop in mid-row (place the stopping stitch on a safety pin or such) and start the next row, just to get "color relief". When I catch up to the point where I stopped on the previous row, I abandon the new row and return to the first row. Thus, I inch an afgan forward. Sometimes I have more than two rows in progress. It is not confusing, mentally fun, and perplexing to the casual observer...all good reasons to do it! This is one advantage that crochet construction has over knitting. Name: Ricki 10 Subject: crochet Comment: I had made a big mistake getting the fuzzy yarn instead of beginners yarn, but it turned out ok. If you're having trouble with the fuzzy yarn then when you get to the point where you are going to cross the bottom loop over the top loop then put the top loop underneath the hook and then pull the bottom loop over the hook.I'm ten and just started to crochet and my trick makes me go faster. Name: chad Subject: advanced afghan stitch Comment: who says boys can't crochet? i make clothes for people and to calm me down after a long day or a track meet. whet i do the afghan stich ive found that if you flip the piece over when the yarn is on the left side (right handed afghan stitch)you can use a knitting needle to knit it from your afghan hook to the knitting needle. then when you are done flip it back over and knit it back onto the afghan hook. this is what i call ribbing. it makes clean borders on your work! Name: Cassie Subject: practice swatches Comment: Ok, one more. Always do a swatch before embarking upon a project (whether knitted or crocheted). I learned this after making a sweater bigger than a blimp. If you're concerned about wasting the yarn, save the swatches until you have enough for an afghan. Piece them together to make a 3D photo album of all your projects. Name: Cassie Subject: yarn ball Comment: To keep your yarn balls from rolling away while you work, place them in a large mixing bowl on the floor next to your chair. The ball can spin freely as you pull yarn, so you never have to stop to untangle or chase it down. 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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