Tag Archives: twist

Small Shifts, Big Differences…Where is Your Yarn?

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ScannedImageSimple things can make a huge difference….I was reminded of this just the other day, as I was putting together some “join-as-you-go” motifs.

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Working yarn behind the hook

They would join at through chain loops, and I found that I was working along splendidly, then put things down and come back and have the joins twisting. I could not for the life of me figure out what was causing this difference. I was entering the chain in the same direction, I was making the same number of stitches, and so what was my hold up? Was I distracted? Were my fingers and hook no longer obeying?

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Working yarn in front of hook, being pulled into chain stitch

Then, I noticed a very subtle difference….where was the working yarn drawing from? In every instant that I had a problem with the join twisting the working yarn was in front of my work, in front of my hook. This was the cause of the difference. Usually my working yarn is always behind my hook, this makes for a smooth fabric and joins that behave, but the simple acts of letting the working yarn get in front of the hook and everything goes backward.

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Top join is worked with working yarn behind hook, and bottom join is worked with working yarn in front of hook. Notice the twist of the loops in the bottom join.

This is similar to the effects of how you “yarn over”, the placement has very subtle and telling results (for a description of that post check out “How do you YO?”). The working yarn in front of the hook creates an extra twist to my join and, though creates a more textured fabric, is not necessarily the effect I am looking for.
So I put a little extra knowledge of how crochet stitches work in my basket, and will have to play with it in the future and see what effects it can create, that I actually intend for.

How Do You YO? (Yarn Over)

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ScannedImageIt is funny sometimes how you don’t really think about the little things. I was assisting with a crochet workshop this past week end, in which people were learning crochet stitches by placing an edging around a handkerchief, when the question came up about “yarn overs”.

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Yarn over by coming under the yarn and rotating counter clockwise

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Yarn over by coming over yarn and rotating clockwise

Now talking about something as simple and fundamental to crochet as the ability to put yarn over a hook should be pretty straight forward, but in reality it is not. There are primarily two different ways that this is done, the most common is to place the hook under the yarn and twist counter clock wise, and the other is to placer the hook over the yarn and twist clockwise. I always find it difficult to process the description mentally so I have included photos to help visually.

The effects from this differing yarn over techniques are subtle, but there is a difference, the latter method (coming over the top) adds more twist, and thus twist energy then the former (coming under the bottom). This twist energy is most evident in basic stitch of the chain, it is caused to twist.  Thus more complex stitches, such as picots, do not lay flat and require additional blocking to have a finished look. (Although it was pointed out to me, that if you wanted a really ruffled edge that this yarn over could be a benefit).

samples of yarn over chain stitches, those are the left are from under, and the right are worked with yarn over from the top

Another effect of this method is that the stitches can appear more compact, and tighter, even with the airiest of yarns. The extra twist compacts the yarn slightly and thus creates a stitch that may not be as full as that created by yarning over from the bottom.

If you find that your crochet fabric has a mind of its own at times, you may want to look at the simple steps you use to execute them and see if a small change could make a big difference. I always find it amazing that it really is the little things that can make all the difference.

Learning the Hank (part 2)

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From Hank to Skein with Blue Heron Yarn

ScannedImage(Continued from April 19, 2013 post)…. So I finally understood the concept of a “hank” of yarn, it was intimidating me anymore, so I would simply open it up and roll it into a ball. Needless to say I had nothing but a tangled mess. After freeing the large loop of yarn so that I could unravel it from its loop, I learned that it might want to hold on to its neighboring thread and pull it ever so slightly with it, moving the neighboring thread from where it sat and growing into a mess. It took me hours, and even then I needed to cut places and work out knots that I had made, it was a head ache.  But this time I was not discouraged. I would find a process.

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Let the loops hang smooth, note the yarn that ties to loop together, keeping the yarn in place

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Usually you can fond the end of the yarn tied to a securing yarn, that holds the loops in place

After playing with some hanks I learned that before I even attempt “freeing” the yarn from its loop, I need to make sure the loop in smooth, not twisted, that it hangs nicely, this will definitely help. Then I need to place it somewhere that will keep it taunt, maybe over the back of a dining room chair, but I found that I use my knees (not very lady like but effective for me), I have learned that some people use a swift…it reminds my somewhat of an umbrella, but without the fabric. This expands to the size of the loop and will spin as you pull the yarn). Then I can make it into a ball, if I want to pull it from the center I can wrap the yarn around an empty toilet paper tube (open finishing wrapping it up, I can pull out the tube and use the middle yarn, as pulling from  the center means that the yarn will not be rolling around that floor as I use), or there is a little tool called a ball winder that you place your yarn end in and crank its little handle and it spins it onto a tube, to make a pull from the center skein.

So why is yarn placed in hanks? Is it just to give you a little more of a work out, or to look fancy? Actually it does have a reason; it places less stress on the yarn. By being in that “loop” it helps the yarn to relax, where putting it into a skein or ball, the yarn in the center is under more pressure than the yarn on the outer edges. This may be a subtle thing, but it can make a difference in some processes and designs, especially if the fiber has been sitting in this more pressured state of a long while. If you think about it you have seen this with a basic skein of yarn, when you pull out the beginning end, it is often bent of twisted, where by the end of the skein it is smooth. So if you want to use a hank of yarn, only wind it into a ball when you feel you are ready to use it. It will help the yarn stay consistent.

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Notice the hank lets you view the length of the color change, whereas the skein it is less obvious

One of the benefits I have found with a hank, it a purely visible one, I can open a hank to a loop, and see how long the color changes are for a variegated yarn. This is something that I have difficulty seeing in a skein.

I have found that I am not alone in my understanding of this “yarn hank”, so I hope my experience will help you take the step to attempt a yarn you may not have used because of the way it is presented. (And I have since learned, that most of these Local Yarn Stores, will in fact wind the hank into a skein for you at purchase, you just have to ask). Take the plunge and explore the world of fiber!

Learning the Hank (part 1)

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Hanks of Blue Heron Yarn

ScannedImageOne of the more challenging aspects of my personality is not really wanting to admit that I don’t know something, especially when everyone around me thinks it is common knowledge…This probably caused me not to grow in my crochet abilities as early as I could have, but everything happens in their own time for a reason. So what is this that held me back? Understanding a hank of yarn.

I grew up with all of the big name yarns, I can probably identify most blind folded, and just by feel. These are the yarns that are most readily available for me to buy in larger stores, with a nice skein that has a “pull the yarn from the center” string. They are easy to use, come in a wide arrange of colors, and there are many projects to tackle with them.

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Hanks of Lisa Souza Knitwear and Dyeworks Yarn

I had received a gift certificate to a Local Yarn Store (a.k.a. LYS), and went to check it out. There were rows and shelves of yarn, but none of it looked familiar. There were no pretty little ends to pull from a center, most of these were twisted up and I couldn’t even see an end. People in the store were talking about how nice is or that fiber was, and I began to feel a little uncomfortable. People were purchasing these little twisted “hanks” and were talking about the projects they had in mind for them. I did not have the inclination to ask “how do you use that”, since I didn’t want to appear ignorant. So I found a little ball that looked somewhat familiar, though smaller then I was use to , but it appeared to have a pull from the center once I got the band off it (since the band was run through the center and kind of attached like a hand cuff to the round). I purchased my little ball feeling like a complete novice. I thought about those hanks when I got home, but for the life of me could not figure out how they were to be used.

The little ball I got was nice, and introduced me to new fiber types, but it wasn’t until I took my first spinning lesson that I got a firm understanding of the hank, and the light bulb when off in my head. Basically the hank is a twisted loop if yarn, like I saw in old movies where little Jimmy was having a circle of yarn held between his arms as grandma as knitting. These hanks just have to be opened up, find and end and roll into a ball! Then I could use it fine. Damn my pride for standing in the way for so long… or was it that easy….(to be continued…..the saga continues on the next post)