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02-20-2015, 02:30 AM #61
Dear, here is a link for you Crochet Spot » Blog Archive » 5 Tips to Prevent Yarn from Splitting While You Crochet - Crochet Patterns, Tutorials and News Hugs! Ada.
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02-22-2015, 03:14 PM #62
I have a collection of aluminum crochet hooks which I use all the time. 3 different brands - Susan Bates (my favorite), Boye, and Hero. Boye and Hero are very similar while Susan Bates are distinctively different. SB hooks are shorter and the hook on the end, when looked at from the side, appears to be a slot that is cut into the hook. The thing I like most about the SB hooks is that the throat does not taper in as it gets close to the hook. I hold my hook using a grip that is called the overhand grip - 4 fingers over the top of the hook and thumb underneath. The other most common grip is called the pencil grip and holds the hook between the index finger and the thumb, much like you would hold a pencil, with the hook laying across the index finger. Given this information, I have noticed some distinctions.
1. I like to hold my yarn tension on the tight side. When using a Hero/Boye hook with the tapered throat, my loops start out the right size, but then get tighter as they move from the shaft to the tapered throat. BTW, the shaft is the actual "size" of the hook, not the tapered "throat".
2. Notice that the "hook" of Boye/Hero hooks is more pointed than that of the SB hook. I find that the point can come in handy for pushing the hook into a rather tight stitch, but it also more easily splits the yarn than the SB hooks, which have a more rounded end.
3. The thing that I like least about the SB hooks is that they are shorter in length than Boye or Hero hooks. Due to my overhand grip, just about any hook tends to rub on the side of my hand just where my pinky finger begins, but the SB hooks seem to aggravate my hand more than the others. To eliminate this rubbing I have found a particular size bandage - 1 3/4" x 4" - which, when I wrap around the edge of my hand, protects it from the rubbing. This might also be accomplished by getting foam rubber hook grips, but I have not found any available. If anyone knows where to get them, please let me know.
Note: In reference to yarn splitting, I also find it to be related more to the yarn than to the hook. I also HATE Eyelash yarn and even the Boucle and Homespun yarn can be difficult to work with.
4. Plastic hooks, in general, just suck!
5. Wooden hooks may start out smooth, but almost always wind up catching on the yarn. Not my favorite.
I hope this has been helpful and informative."We cannot do any great things. We can do only small things with great love."
Mother Theresa
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02-23-2015, 07:49 AM #63
Hi trueblue,
You can get grips for crochet hooks at the dollar store. The dollar store doesn't have the real skinny grips for skinny crochet hooks but they do have the bigger ones. If you need the real skinny grips then I think I got mine at Walmart near the yarn on one of the isles by the craft stuff. Joannes or Hobby Lobby or Michaels or another craft store might have the skinny crochet grips too.
I've heard of putting a rubber band on the end of the crochet hook so it doesn't rub your hand.
Jean Marie
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