Home

[Kachina624]

I find the crochet stitches very easy to learn.  I taught myself from looking at pictures in a book during olden days before YouTube.  It's the instruction that can be hard to read and comprehend at times, especially when you get into more complex projects.

I can't use any hook except the Susan Bates brand.

[qualitygal]

@Kachina624, I'll look that hook brand up.  What I have now is for people with arthritis.  Are you doing much crocheting now?  

[riley1]

@qualitygal - Have you given up the idea of quilting? I thought you had people helping with instructions. Crochet isn't really that hard to learn, but as @Kachina624 said, sometimes the instructions are a little confusing.

[qualitygal]

Oh no, quilting is on  the back burner.  I love quilts.  I just felt a bit overwhelmed.  So I'm doing one thing at a time. LOL.  @riley1

[alliswell]

@sfnative:

Thank you, @sfnative  for sharing your knowledge and excellent tips and advice!

[sfnative]

---

@alliswell wrote:

@sfnative:

Thank you, @sfnative  for sharing your knowledge and excellent tips and advice!

---

@alliswell

You're very welcome!

And I could kick myself for not including amigurumi for @qualitygal, a crocheting animals and the like is another ball of wax requiring a number of skills.  Foremost, one should take care to "work down" using crochet hooks in decreasing sizes until you can comfortably work with a 3.0mm; become at ease crocheting in the round; know how to increase & decrease without fretting about it; know how to join different colors properly; purchase and know how to install eyes (these cannot be pulled or yanked out by babies or kids);  purchase a number of tapestry needles, including 1 or 2 with the crooked tip to facilitate sewing parts onto the body; when ready to add fill, would recommend "poly fill," which should be pulled apart into small "clouds," then pushed into the body part with a chopstick or something similar.  Certain acrylics, acrylic/cotton blends and cotton yarns are best for amigurumi.  Iff all cotton, it will shrink when washed, so keep this in mind.  Thing about amigurui, or crocheting of animals and other creatures or inanimate objects, is that many will actually say "Beginner Level," which couldn't be farther from the truth.  I'm wrapping up 12 Star Wars Amis for my granddaughter and the designer qualified them as "Beginner."  Truly a joke!  Am sure she did it to sell more kits.

[Free2be]

The best dish clothes I ever owned and wore out into shreds were crocheted.  I recently ordered one through Etsy but what I received was more like a piece of blanket that would hold water rather than allow water and food particles to run through open spaces.  I put it to use underneath the Aquasana to catch any drips.

The dishclothes I loved were more like heavy thread material or a very thin yarn than yarn used for throws or hats.  Wish I could find more.  I would not know what to buy to make my own, it's been decades since I've crotched anything.

[qualitygal]

@sfnative, Thank you, got it and read it on the animals.  Good to know ahead of time, there may be some listed as "easy" that aren't, but I do value all your comments and your knowledge on this subject, that you've been so good about sharing.  I appreciate you!

[alliswell]

---

@Free2be wrote:

The best dish clothes I ever owned and wore out into shreds were crocheted.  I recently ordered one through Etsy but what I received was more like a piece of blanket that would hold water rather than allow water and food particles to run through open spaces.  I put it to use underneath the Aquasana to catch any drips.

The dishclothes I loved were more like heavy thread material or a very thin yarn than yarn used for throws or hats.  Wish I could find more.  I would not know what to buy to make my own, it's been decades since I've crotched anything.

---

@Free2be  I think I know the type of dishcloth you mean.   Maybe @sfnative could give you an idea about the type of yarn to use.

[Free2be]

@alliswell  What I received from Etsy is like the photo examples you posted.  What I had before was more like doiley but a heavier material than one would make a doiley with.  If you held it up there was an all over pattern of open spaces for sunshine, lol - yet it made good scrubbers and held just enough soapy water. 

I sort of knew I was getting something "tighter" when I ordered through Etsy, thought I'd gamble.