Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with crochet

The acrylic...it burns!

echolalia67 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:31:28 -0800

I'm trying to teach myself to knit/crochet and have found that one of the major barriers to learning is the yarn - acrylic yarn to be exact. It irritates my skin. Seriously, it's feels like extra-fine steel wool against my skin and the tips of my fingers are beginning to crack, something they are prone to in wet/cold weather. Since I'm new to the whole knitting/crochet thing, I don't want to invest a whole lot of money into yarn in case it turns out that I don't have the knack for it. Is there any way to make the yarn less irritating to my skin while I learn enough to see if knitting/crocheting and I are meant to be?

Tunisian crochet hook sources?

fairytale of los angeles — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:40:35 -0800

Where do I buy aluminum or bamboo Tunisian (afghan) crochet hooks in Los Angeles? Alternatively, is there a reputable online source for them? I'm looking for something in the smaller sizes-- it's for a scarf, so no size-Q monster hooks. I've seen plastic ones here and there, but I'm tough on plastic hooks and would prefer to avoid them. Thanks!

Stitch 'n' Bitch party of one? I hope not!

Diagonalize — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:45:40 -0800

Can a novice in Boston turn casual crafting into a social outlet? Growing up, I was never very crafty and never really hung out with anyone who was, so even though I'm not especially shy or introverted, crafting has always been a solitary activity for me. While I'm probably most in need of a crafty Obi-Wan to mentor my clueless self, what I'd really like some company to keep me from feeling like a crafty hermit. Is there somewhere in Boston/Cambridge where I can meet other crafters who won't snicker at my newbie attempts?

I'm not really looking to become a hardcore crafter, but it seemed like a good way to meet more female friends to balance out all the geeky science guy-types I tend to hang with. (I'm a non-science girl.) I guess age is something of a factor, since I don't fall into the grandmother or even mom bracket, but I'm probably also getting a little too old to hang with the high school kids or even undergraduates. Is there even a crafting niche for clueless 20-somethings? Online communities like Craftster have been great, but I suspect I spend too much time on the computer as it is, and creating a Meetup group when I'm the clueless one seems a little weird.

Crafting cred: My non-English speaking grandmother taught me the basics of crochet when I was very young, but the language barrier made it hard to get any more complicated. Attempts to teach myself knitting have generally been pretty tragic, but I recently picked up embroidery, which has been fun, but I'm still very much a noob. I don't have a sewing machine, and scrapbooking kinda scares me.

Manga Amigurumi

asras — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:25:56 -0800

MangaFilter: I know nothing about manga but my friend is a huge fan. I'm pretty handy with crochet, so I wanted to knit her a plushie (amigurumi) of something manga-related. Here's where you come in... I want the amigurumi to be of something from a manga series she likes. I know she's read and liked Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club, and Crossroad, and that her current favorite is Highschool Debut. She's also a fan of Miyazaki's Spirited Away.
I would prefer if the amigurumi was an item instead of a character (the only example I can think of would be a Pokeball for a Pokemon fan.) Something from any of the above mentioned series would be perfect. Also, if you could link to a picture of the item in question, that would be awesome, since I would have no idea what it is otherwise. Thanks!

Don't get me wrong, clotheslines are great, but help me make one AWESOME!

variella — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:10:27 -0800

Items weighing less than 1lb that make you think "WOW that's cool!" or "GOT to buy that!" on first glance? Catch: items already in your home or could do a bang-up job of creating in two weeks. The bartering comm I belong to (which also uses local alternative 'currency') is having a community centre sale. Theme: anything you can hang up on a clothesline (celebrating National Clothesline Day). I have to book a table ASAP for June 10- time to create but not much to decide if I have enough ideas or not. Food is the only forbidden item.

I'd love to participate because the theme sounds fun. I have a half dozen brand new blouses (with tags on), knitting patterns, and sheet music that I could have up. I'm willing to trade/sell these and anything else I have up for token amounts just to participate. All profits/exchanges go to me, the group considers my mere participation to be their return on giving me the space :)

Any ideas for other hangable things I could sell? Token items are fine, not looking for a huge return, just a full display of useful/fun items. I've got tons of used books but they aren't clothesline friendly.

Skills: sew, knit/crochet, papermaking, calligraphy, photography, etc., generally crafty and creative but help me brainstorm some basic and/or crazy out-of-the-box ideas!

Honor thy grandmama...

eatdonuts — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:22:08 -0800

Crochet experts plz hope me figure out dis pattern... I love this pattern...

... but I can't figure it out. I haven't been crocheting long but I know the basics, chain, single, double & triple and can figure out granny squares. It looks like single crochet x2 and then double crochet x8 in the same hole... but it doesn't look 100% right to me and doing the second layer looks like a nightmare. No matter how much I try and follow the stitch, I'm missing something. Anyone have to skills to map it out for me? I love this pattern and want to make pretty little blankets for chickens and bunnies!

Need help remembering a product from an old infomercial!

LiquidKarma — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:31:00 -0800

Does anyone remember an infomercial from the late 80s/early 90s that advertised a product that you could easily crochet "granny" squares? I think the squares actually popped off this thing and then you could sew them together. I can't remember the name of the product!

Do you remember the L'Eggs Crochet Elephant

odragul — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:10:47 -0800

Does anyone remember a crochet L'Eggs Elephant toy? My wife makes crochet puppets and someone asked her to make a stuffed crochet elephant like the one they remember, but their description consisted of "It was blue with red trim." If you remember this toy, and have a gift for description, more details would be great! Size? Sitting up/Standing on all 4s? Big floppy ears/Stiff shell ears? Where was the red trim? Sewn eyes/Button eyes? thanks:)

yarn

octomato — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:00:12 -0800

Where to buy yarn in NYC? My friend is going to teach me to crochet this weekend. Where should we buy some good/cheap yarn in Manhattan?

Thanks!!

What is my hard work really worth?

purpletangerine — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:28:58 -0800

How much should I charge for a baby blanket I crocheted for an acquaintance? I was recently commissioned to crochet a baby blanket for a girl I know through work (we do not work together). She offered (naturally) to pay me for it, and suggested she provide a gift card to Micheal's to purchase the yarn. I told her I would buy the yarn and have her reimburse me for that. We did not talk about specific pricing. I am almost done with the project. The yarn was inexpensive ($5 per ball, 4 balls total) and I won't use all of it on this project. I estimate that my total time spent will be about 15 hours. I've never sold my crafts before. What's a reasonable price to ask? Bonus points for suggestions about how to approach the conversation.
P.S. The purchaser has already seen my progress so far, and is really impressed and pleased (yay me!) but we still didn't talk about a price.

The fuzzums! They're everywhere!

giraffe — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:58:32 -0800

Can you recommend a yarn that won't make me feel sick? It seems that every time I knit, a bunch of tiny fiber fuzzums fly off the yarn, directly into my face. As a result, my eyes and cheeks itch, bits get inhaled and choked on, and my day is pretty much ruined. I have worked with exactly one yarn that has not caused this reaction and it was Moda Dea's Bamboo Wool, which did not shed at all for some unknown reason. I guess acrylic yarn doesn't bother me, but what I have tried has left this weird sticky residue on my fingers, and that's just gross.

I was thinking that maybe I was allergic to wool or something, but a soy/cotton blend did the same exact thing to me a few days ago. Google seems to think that I could be allergic to whatever the yarn is being treated with, which doesn't make a ton of sense to me. Oddly enough, I can wear knitted things once they're done, it's just actively working with the yarn that bothers me for some reason. Knitting with a bandana over my mouth and nose stopped the inhalation problems, but still made my exposed face itchy (and made me worry that someone would mistake me for a train robber).

So, 1) can you recommend specific yarns that will not go all fuzzy on me? and 2) can you teach me how to figure out if a yarn is going to make me sick before I buy it? The soy/cotton yarn seemed perfectly innocuous and solid until I started working with it. I would like to figure out how to make cables without condemning myself to an itchy, fuzzy grave.

Help me crochet without getting a headache

dogmom — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 10:36:09 -0800

Crochet filter: I can read and follow symbol patterns, but not so much with the written instructions. I need advice or, better yet, symbol-centric websites and books. I learned to crochet using the Crochet Stitch Bible, which uses international symbol charts as well as written instructions for each stitch. Now, when I try to follow written instructions, I end up with a headache: "1 ss, 3 ch, 4dctog..." It's too much for my sad little brain. I need a visual. So, I ask you, crocheting Hivers, what books/websites do you recommend that have crocheting charts so that I can increase my repertoire? Barring that, do you have any advice for me on reading instructions without getting a headache?

How can I make these sandals, part deux

orange swan — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 07:51:58 -0800

Followup to this question: where can I find a sturdy, inelastic fibre with which to make the uppers for a pair of flip flop sandals? I'd like to use leather, but it seems to cost $1 a yard, and at that rate it'll cost about $50 to make just the uppers for the sandals. Can anyone recommend a cheaper source for the leather cord, or failing that another, less expensive fibre? My cord criteria is: dark brown, inexpensive (i.e., under $20), crochet-able, strong, and inelastic.

Knitting Projects

pomegranate — Wed, 15 Dec 2004 07:53:10 -0800

No more scarves or hats! Looking for non-hippydippy crochet or knitting projects. I like the ACT of crocheting, but I'm really not a hand-knit kind of girl in terms of fashion. Know of any creative crochet or knitting projects I don't have to wear or make my friends wear? If by some miracle the project has a bit of modern style, so much the better!