crochethacks

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What if I taught myself to tablet weave? I've never woven before but I bet I could just... Do it. Will report back.

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honestly yeah, fiber arts is magic. you cast spell of warm gloves, spell of nice hat, spell of stuffed animal.

material component: yarn

wand: single hooked wand or double pointed wands, depending on caster's preference

mechanical component: specific motions repeated in a particular pattern

time component: a while

look seriously the first step in a knitting recipe is "cast on", and then it's a bunch of letters and numbers incomprehensible to anyone not versed in the arcane art. that's a spellbook. yes it's a book of knitting patterns but also. it's a spell book.

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How to tie a shawl.

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Well f you right back casey that’s no way to treat people thanks for nothing at least those stupid bears are gone now so that’s a win I guess

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how to cut out and replace a square in c2c crochet because you fucked it up and didn't notice for several rows and quite frankly if you have to undo it now you will walk into traffic whilst screaming: a guide

step 1: locate the offending square. this one is supposed to be turquoise, not pink

step 2: to work it the right way around, the initial chain 3 (that the next row will work into) needs to be on the right. this square was worked on the wrong side, so, flip that bitch over

step 3: run a stitch marker through all loops of the square above that go through the chain 3

step 4 (optional): put a stitch marker where you would connect to the next square. nothing will fall apart if you don't.

step 5: put your crochet hook into the top of the last stitch of the preceding square. you know. where it would be if you were doing this for the first time and weren't a dumbass who can't count

step 6: take a deep breath and CUT RIGHT THROUGH the middle stitch of the offending square and then unweave the rest of it

step 7: AHHHHHHHH jk lol it's fine

step 8: cut a long enough piece of yarn to work a square and attach in the usual fashion with a slip stitch and chain 3

step 9: remove the hook from your chain (briefly) and then run the took from top to bottom through all the loops from step 3. remove the marker

step 10: grab your chain and pull it through all the loops

step 11: keep pulling until you can grab the workin yarn and then pull the whole thing through

step 12: finish the square, attach to the next square with a slip stitch and fasten off

done!

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Keep a box of dental floss in your notions / on-the-go project bag

Not only can it be really useful as, well, dental floss. It can also help you thread a needle, and serve as a portable yarn cutter that is allowed wherever you go, even on airplanes.

In addition, it can serve you well whenever a length of waste yarn is needed, like as a running stitchmarker, or as a lifeline when knitting.

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quantity over quality is the key when starting a new craft/hobby/whatever

It took me thousands of stitches to figure out the best way to knit, to purl, to tension my yarn. I tried English and continental. Circular and straight needles.

All the advice and videos and tips in the world won’t replace actually doing the thing. Over and over. And ripping it all up and starting over.

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Never lose your place again!

If you have an iDevice, open your pattern in Files or Photos and use the highlighter tool to check off rows or mark/circle the one you're currently working on. Once you're all done, you can erase your notes and revert to the pristine original with just a few taps.

(Something similar has got to exist on Android, but I don't have a device to check it.)

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So you've managed to stain your unworked skein of yarn? And the washing machine would only tangle it beyond recognition?

Don't worry - Fetch a pantyhose, put the skein into it, tie it off and run it through the washing machine. No mess!

(Obviously, don't do this to wool or other non machine-washables. That will still lead to Big Mess.)

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Mend your jeans with crochet!

My jeans shred. No, not in nice decorative places like above the knee, where you could leave it be, or back it with some colorful fabric, an intricate doily, etc. They shred in heavy duty places - between the thighs.

I'm not competent at sewing, and it's no fun. The speedweve intrigued me, and was fun, but only for the first one or two mends. And of course it's utterly useless for big holes.

But I've been having fun with crochet for over a decade now, and maybe you have so too, so why not try crochet to save a pair of trousers?

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How do you make a pattern bigger?

If you like big amigurumi plushies, but are not a fan of chunky yarn, this tutorial can help you scale your pattern up instead of scaling up your yarn and hook.

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Intro to sock knitting?

I'm looking for a video that covers the basics of sock knitting: toe-up vs. cuff-down, different heel and toe techniques, different cast ons and bind offs, what they have in common, what makes them different.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

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scrappy socks

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How I join skeins

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No sir, you can’t take that! That’s my emotional support project!

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You love a good fringe, but hate to attach all those little individual pieces of yarn? What about having a go at this twisted fringe crocheted directly onto your project - no fiddly yarn snippets to deal with.