I’m going to be hosting a give away! I have two Locker Hooks looking for new homes with crafters wanting to learn how to Knook. Come on, you know you want to give it a try!
All you’ve gotta do is leave a single comment (duplicates will be deleted) telling me your favorite crafting tip. You must provide a valid e-mail address, but you do not have to have a blog. International friends are welcome to enter too!
I’ll be collecting comments through Thursday night at midnight (CST). On Friday, January 15th I’ll hold the drawing using a random number generator and announce the winner! Tell your friends!
Good luck and thanks for playing!
Knooking 
my favorite crafting tip is, basically, join as you go as much as possible. The less you have to sew together at the end, the better! amylnelson AT gmail DOT com
My favourite tip is that when creating chains or at any stage where you have to count a large number of stitches, put stitch markers in at key stages then you just have to count the stitch markers rather than the individual stiches
My favourite crafting tip? If you’re going to be making narrow stripes, don’t cut the yarn. Just carry it along with the other yarn and that way you can pick up the other yarn when you change colour!
cshuy at earthlink dot net.
I like to look at my yarns as if they were a REALLY BIG box of crayons….don’t be afraid to play with the colors….mix….match….be fearless!!!!!! No one is going to get hurt….it will not blow up…..and even if you get mad and throw it no one can get hurt! And it won’t catch fire unless you are knitting or crocheting REALLLLLLY FAST….in which case, invite me over cause I wanna watch!
My favorite tip is for joining new yarn, which I learned from the new Lily Chin ‘tips’ book. That first stitch always seems too loose because it isn’t really anchored, and it looks off, especially if you have to join in the middle of a row. Lily suggests tying the end of your new yarn to the old yarn in a simple knot at the base of the last stitch. Then you just slide the new yarn up snug against the stitch and your next stitch will be well anchored. My own twist on this, for those who refuse to put a knot in their project, is to use a slip knot. After you work a few stitches, you just tug the end to release the knot. Once you have worked a few stitches, the anchoring knot isn’t needed. You can always untie a regular knot, too, since you don’t pull it tight.
ETA: Oh, I should have said “tying the end of your new yarn AROUND the old yarn …”
ETA: How many times have you gotten a ways into a wip and realized that your later rows looked so much nicer than the first ones? Swatch! Yeah, we all hate that word. But the swatch is more than just checking guage. It’s a chance to experiment with and get comfortable with a new stitch/stitch pattern/yarn/hook/etc.
cb UNDERLINE mcb AT yahoo DOT com
Somewhere on Ravelry, I once found a tip to reduce yarn barf when trying to find the end of a center pull skein. First, make sure you pull out the outside end that should be tucked into one end of the skein. Then push both index fingers into the center of the skein, one finger from each side. Twirl your fingers in opposite directions a few times. The free end should be found on the opposite side that the outside end was tucked into.
For some reason, I always find the yarn end pretty easily if I do this.
Most of my “tips” have been gotten from other stitchers. The only one I know I came up with myself was when I had to solve the problem of keeping my daughter’s white wedding dress clean during the five months I worked on it. I kept working on the knit skirt out of a plastic bag. At first it was a gallon Ziploc … then a kitchen trash bag. Later on and until it was finished I worked out of large green trash bag. I washed my hands before each time I touched the dress. And these two things kept the dress in perfect shape until the wedding day.
Taking a picture of EVERY FO. I always forget, especially on small projects that only took a few hours to complete. Without pictures it’s so easy to forget how many things you make, and how many things you give away.
My favorite crafty tip is: Use small post it notes for pattern reading. You can just pick it up and replace where you need it, and write notes on it as you go along!
I’m so curious about knooking! I want to know more about it. I guess that leads me to my tip: if you want to learn something, you’ve really got to WANT to do it! If you only try half-heartedly, you won’t get anywhere.
My favorite tip is that when you’re working with short(ish) lengths of yarn in any multi-color project, is to use clothespins as bobbins to wrap and organize your colors.
My favorite tip is one that absolutely must follow. When I crochet an item without a pattern (I often do this for baby blankets and rugs) I try to remember to keep a small piece of paper with the pattern noting the hook size, number of stitches per row and type of stitch. If I set the project aside to work on something different, I may not remember these details. Though I could count the stitches per row, if I “borrow” the hook to work on another project, which I have been known to do, determining the correct hook when I pick the project up again can be tricky.
I love all the prior tips. My tip is make a copy of patterns to write notes on and use highlighters to mark rows as they are done. This helps a lot with cross stitch patterns used on Tunisian Simple stitch.
Join a Group! Stitch & Bitch in your area, Yahoo group, MeetUp group. There’s so much to discover and learn from people of like interests.
Crocheting the first row into the back of the chain makes that bottom edge of the piece look SO much nicer!
My favorite craft tip is for keeping balls of yarn untangled. I cut the top off of a knee high stocking, throw that part away, then pull the rest of the stocking over the skein or ball of yarn, making sure to pull it up a few inches more than the height of the skein. Keeps a center pull ball or skein neat, clean, and untangled. Saves space over using hard plastic ball/skein holders.
Dee
My favortie tunisian tip isfrom Carolyn Christmas. She says to take the first loop completely off the hook and place a stitch marker (or paper clip or whatever) on it. Then, continue across, replacing it when you do the return pass.
It keeps the edge nice and even.
My craft tip is to start a crochet project with a Single Crochet Foundation wherever possible. It creates the chain and a row of SC all at once. It is stretchy, and because it includes the SC and the foundation chain all in one, it is already the size that the piece will be once more rows are added. This prevents the problem of when you make a standard chain, and start crocheting rows, of having the chain side shorter than the rest of the work. Also, when crocheting where a pattern says “make a chain measuring 20 inches”, if you use a standard chain, you are almost always going to end up with much more than 20 inches once you’ve crocheted the rows, as the crocheting expands the chain. But with the SCF, the start size is the same size as the end size. This has solved the tight short chain problem forever for me 🙂 Once you get used to it you can do it so quickly. There is a way to do a Double Crochet foundation too. xx
ETA: This not an extra entry, just info in case y’all want SCF / DCF info re the above 🙂
Single Crochet foundation:
Double Crochet foundation:
Read the ENTIRE pattern before starting the project, especially if you have a hard time reading patterns or have never made anything from the pattern before!
Tip: Check to see if there is an errata before you start your pattern, if possible (speaking from experience). Cuts down on the frustration. 😀
When following a pattern, I put a check mark by each row or round as I complete it. If 1 step in the pattern says to work several rows the same way, I use hash marks to keep track of how many I’ve worked. Keeps me on track every time.
I am intrigued by knooking.
I so love to crochet and I adore the look of garter and knitted items
I can see myself getting addicted to this
Here’s my tip: If you’ve got an iPhone, smart phone or even a paper notebook that you always have with you, make sure to write down the yarns + yardage that you’d need to do the projects you’re interested in making.
You never know when you’ll walk into a shop and find some fabulous yarn on sale.
Bonus tip: always buy a little extra yarn in the same dye lot for your projects. Better to have a bit left over than run out of yarn!
Never be afraid to try a pattern.
My favorite crafting tips – 1. don’t be stuck by what you know – EXPERIMENT; 2. the frog pond isn’t a bad place to visit.
If you know how to make stitch A in a particular way (ex. insert hook, y/o, draw up a loop, etc.), try to do it differently and see what happens! If after a few rows it looks like your swatch is having a bad hair day, frog it. If it looks like something worth keeping, you may have invented a new stitch/method and the crafting world will be forever grateful – and may pay you bejillions of dollars to learn/use your new found techinque. (OK, I got carried away on that one, just a little bit!)
My favorite crafting tip is to use bread closure tabs for holding long tails and small amounts of yarn when doing color knitting. They are inexpensive yarn bobbins and I always seem to have an abundance of them.
First, I ALWAYS scan and print the pattern I am using so I can write on it.
For making garments or other projects where you have changes for sizing, I like to read through the pattern first and using a highlighter or colored ink mark the correct information for the size I am making. Doing this has really made a difference in the length of time it takes to complete my project. Just be careful as you mark the correct numbers throughout! (I have been known to make a few errors here and there….. LOL)
My tip would be when working on a “non-patterned” project and you know you have to put it down for an extended amount of time, make a row of picots on the last row (to be ripped out later) to mark hook size used. Example: 1 picot = B hook, 2 picots = C hook, 3 pictos = D hook, etc. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve “borrowed” the hook for something else, then can’t remember which one was used!!
Ooh, there are some great tips here! My best tip is that if you’re single crocheting (e.g. making amigurumi) to use the invisible decrease instead of a sc2tog. Tutorial here: http://www.planetjune.com/invdec – it truly is practically invisible!
I think joining a group on the net is the best tip a person needs to know. being a real newby of a group 2days I have alreay learned so much. Also when chrocheting tunnisian pul the first row it keeps it from curling. Thanks Roma
The best tip I know of is to take a break to stretch your hands, forearms, shoulders and neck. I know I get carried away and forget about time when I crochet, but doing this can save you from a repetitive stain injury.
This knooking looks so interesting!
Here’s my favorite crafting tip — forget the expensive project bags! Hit the dollar store for cheap drawstring bags, or even better, cheap child-size drawstring backpacks. The project stays clean and portable. The yarn feeds nicely through the opening, and for $1 apiece multiproject folks can have one for every project. And a bonus — most cheap nylon bags can be tossed in the washer and dryer. If the project is a gift, just tie a gift tag onto the project bag with the finished project inside and it becomes a reusable gift bag.
Hmmmm so many ideas of what to post for a crafting tip!
Wheather you are crocheting, knitting, or knooking here’s my tip for contending with yarn ends in a project. Many feel that knots are taboo and/or simply rely on weaving in the ends and just hoping they don’t worm their way out in the wash. Here’s a way to have your know and weave it too.
Weave in the end(s) as usual BUT before trimming the yarn, use a double strand of thread in a color that comes as close as possible to the color of the yarn and double knot that around the loose yarn end and a strand of yarn on the inside of the garment.
With some practice, you can strategically place the thread knots in a position so that they are completely hidden in your work from both sides of the fabric!
T-
Awwww 1:08am … I didn’t make it lol.
My favorite tip is one that I had come up with because in tutorials I hadn’t seen it done and someone on a blog said we couldn’t do it. This tip is a k1f&b. What I do is knit the st though the front of the loop right to left, then I bring my hook around and insert the hook through the same loop left to right. I had to give a little twist at this point but it worked in order for me to do my increase from three to six stitches. If anyone knows of a better way I would apperciate the infor.
Best tip I can give would be when you get fustrated with the project to put it down, walk away for at least 1/2 hour. Do something like make yourself some Hot Chocolate or brownies. Then when you come back to it you will be able to think and can see where the problem was and begin again. It also helps when you need a break from chasing a 3 yr old with all the energy in the world!
Another tip on project bags is to save the clear “bags” from misc purchases, such as sheet sets or even from a purchased yarn storage bag. I got a small clear bag with a bottle of water in it after a root canal. It’s perfect for my sock projects. The zippered bag I got from a new sheet set and keeps my felted purse project clean and dry. Just bought a drum type yarn bag and I’m keeping the outside clear bag for something else.
I like using a wine holder for a skein of yarn – they are pretty, inexpensive, have a handle and a lid – and if going to someone’s home can be used to actually carry a bottle of liquid stuff.
tip,use your knook methods NOT leisure arts ,
To make a beautiful edge on any knitted project, just single crochet around it from the wrong side. Looks great every time!
My tip? Do any hand craft if you are a hair puller (tricholomania). My husband suggested that I start back up knitting and to make him a sweater. He was perfect in his role. He complimented me often. He tried on the WIP often and willingly. The sweater ended up being too small for him( it was a great gift for his father…lol…) and I have mostly broken the habit. I have projects on the go ready in whatever room I am in. No excuses!