September 25th, 2007 at 11:04 am » Comments (0)

In case you have been wondering why so few blog-a-mentries this month, I have been preparing swatches and samples of some wonderful yarns and will start blogging about that rather soon. Good as I am I cannot crochet and type at the same time.

The pleasant combination of:

– the gradually developing Symbol Crochet cross reference

– a question on the Crochet Partners about finishing, and

– my rather happy current pass time of swatching and sampling several yarn lines for crochet.

means that many of my Crochet related References are “handy” (read piled around my sit’n'stitch chair)

So with my usual caveat about turning chains, the book for those who wish to move beyond the square or rectangle and begin to take advantage of the many wonderful new patterns for garments (not to mention wonderful yarns just asking to be hooked) I really really like Nancie Wiseman’s book:
The Essential Book of Crochet Techniques.

Tiny URL To Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/2s4mrb

This is not a stitch book – although it does cover the basics. Nor, is it really a book covering the many niche techniques of crochet such as hairpin, broomstick, double-ended and similar speciality techniques.

There are several areas where I could wish Nancie had gone further, and at least one thing that would have *really* helped the Crochet who wants to upgrade the quality of thier finished work by using yarns available in your local Yarn Shop or on the Internet rather than just limited quality of product sold in most craft or other chain type stores.

The Essential Book of Crochet Techniques really is a quick reference with good visuals for the details essential to creating a well done garment.

According to the publisher,

From the first chain stitch to buttonholes and blocking, readers will find expert guidance for mastering America’s hottest comeback craft! Dozens of tips guarantee a frustration-free adventure for first-timers, and will help seasoned crocheters sharpen their skills.

• Take an easy walk through each technique with close-up, color photos and detailed illustrations

• Start with basic crochet stitches; then learn about gauges, increases, decreases, seams, trims, edgings, and finishing

• The book’s take-along size and lay-flat binding allow you to easily crochet on the go

• Includes introductions to filet crochet, intarsia crochet, and the afghan stitch

In the “Wheat’s Reference Rating” This book is rated:

Even with two small “wish she had” in the layout and organization of information; this is a great little book.

Rated CDF, (the only way you will get me to give it up is to pry it from my CDF/Cold Dead Fingers

May 2nd, 2007 at 00:01 am » Comments (1)

This table is “current sizes” based on information provided at the manufacturer web sites and (added September 2007) for the corresponding US Knitting Needles, as shown at the yarnstandards.com resource website

You are welcome to link to this page or create your own.

Speaking of size, If Size Matters for your finished project, be sure to make a gauge swatch (I recommend TWO, one for reference and one to wash and dry as the project will be)

Shameless self promotion – my online store, ItsAllJustString.com offers all Crochet hooks offered by either Clover or Pony.

If you find any errors, be sure to let me know.

Wheat’s US-Metric Aluminum Crochet Hook Reference*

Wheat’s US-Metric Aluminum Crochet Hook Reference*
Alum Milli Meter	UK	US Yarn Std	Clover or Tulip	Clover Soft 5.3/4″	Clover Wood 6″	Pony Set Gift	Pony Pearl	Boye Alum 6″	Bates
2.00mm	_	A-0	2/o	-	-	-	-	-	-
2.25mm	1	-	3/o	B	-	-	-	B	B
2.30mm	_	B-1	3/o	-	B	-	-	-	-
2.50mm	_	-	4/o	C	-	2.50	-	-	-
2.75mm	2	-	-	-	C	-	-	C	C
3.00mm	_	C-2	5/o	D old	-	3.00	-	-	-
3.25mm	3	-	-	D new	-	-	-	D	D
3.50mm	4	D-3	6/o	E	-	3.50	-	E	E
3.75mm	5	E-4	-	F	D	-	F	F	F
4.00mm	6	F-5	7/o	G	E	4.00	G	-	G
4.25mm	_	G-6	-	-	F		-	G	-
4.50mm	7	-	7.5/o	7	G	4.50	-	-	-
5.00mm	8	_-7	8/o	H	H	5.00	H	H	H
5.50mm	9	H-8	9/o	I	I	5.50	I	I	I
6.00mm	10	I-9	10/o	J	J	6.00	J	J	J
6.50mm	10.5	J-10	–	-	-	6.50	-	K	K
7.00mm	_	K-10.5	-	-	-	7.00	K	-
7.50mm	_	-	-	-	-	7.50	-	-	-
8.00mm	11	-	-	-	-	8.00	-	-	L
9.00mm	13	L-8	-	-	-	-	M	N	-
10.00mm	15	N-13	-	-	-	-	-	-	N
12.75mm	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.
15.00mm	19	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.
19.00mm	35	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.
25.00mm	50	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.
Metric mm to in Conversions prepared using utilities found at: Metric Conversions.Org Hook Photos Used With permission and thanks to US Distributors: & Clover-USA and Muench Yarns-Pony Needles last updated 2010-11-12 © Wheat Carr

Once again,

* Based on Data Current as of February 2007.
* ALWAYS MAKE A GAUGE SWATCH
* ALWAYS check/measure the diameter of your hook
- Older Hooks often do NOT have the same Diameter as those made today.
-
* If you find an error, please do comment or email with the correction.
2007-05-03: Thanks to Kim Guzman for catching the typo for the Clover H-I-J

2011-06-08: Thanks to Sarah for catching the “size N” glitch

April 8th, 2007 at 06:05 am » Comments (1)

After doing this bit of Research, it was pretty easy to see why the Craft Yarn Council did not publish any standards for Steel Hooks in its Yarn Standards.Com charts

Most Steel Hooks Look like this:

However, for those who appreciate Gentle on your hands and wrist, it is so cool that Clover will be bringing the Steel Soft Touch to the US so they can be more available (now only one supplier has them and it is in the Japanese packaging.

This will be great for those who like to do wire work as well.

Now back to the chart… It is fairly simple to see why good pattern editors (and designing authors) ALWAYS include the diameter of hooks and needles used – rather than just a “generic” letter or number.

I always prefer to base my Steel hook references and suggestions on metric measurements because all “brands” are made outside the US, in countries that base their engineering on M
etric standards, not Imperial.

If you would like details on Clover’s Soft Touch Steel hooks, including the thread sizes they recommend for each of their hooks, please visit our on-line retail shop ItsAllJustString.com

In a perfect world, these manufacturers will someday agree on “Size/Measurements” but probably not anytime soon.

Wheat’s US-Metric Steel Crochet Hook Reference* Updated: 2008-09-14 © 2000-2008 WheatCarr
R o w 0	Col 1 Steel MM	Col 2 Clover	Col 3 Clover SoftTouch	Col 4 Pony	Col 5 Boye	Col 6 Bates	Col 7 Inox	Col 8 tulip Skacel	R o w
1	0.40mm	–	–	–	–	–	No 16	No 24	1
2	0.45mm	–	–	–	–	–	-	No 23	2
3	0.50mm	–	No 14	–	–	–	No 15	No 14	3
4	0.55mm	–	–	–	–	–	-	No 13	4
5	0.60mm	No 12	No 12	No 14	–	–	No 14	No 12	5
6	0.70mm	–	–	No 13	–	–	-	No 11	6
7	0.75mm	No 10	No 10	No 12	No 14	–	No 13	No 10	7
8	0.85mm	–	–	no-name	No 13	–	-	No 9	8
9	0.90mm	No 8	No 8	no-name	–	No 14	-	No 8	9
10	0.95mm	–	–	–	–	No 13	-	No 7	10
11	1.00mm	No 6	No 6	no-name	No 12	No 12	No 12	No 6	11
12	1.05mm	–	–	–	–	No 11	-	-	12
13	1.10mm	–	–	–	No 11	–	-	No 5	13
14	1.15mm	–	–	–	–	No 10	-		14
15	1.25mm	No 4	No 4	No 8	–	No 9	No 10	No 4	15
16	1.30mm	–	–	–	No 10	–	-	No 3	16
17	1.40mm	–	–	–	No 9	No 8	-	-	17
18	1.50mm	No 2	No 2	No 7	No 8	No 7	No 8	No 2	18
19	1.60mm	–	–	–	–	No 6	-	No 1	19
20	1.65mm	–	–	–	No 7	–	-	-	20
21	1.70mm	–	–	–	–	No 5	-	-	21
22	1.75mm	No 0	No 0	No 4	–	No 4	No 6	No 0	22
23	1.80mm	–	–	–	No 6	–	-	-	23
24	1.90mm	–	–	–	No 5	–	-	-	24
25	2.00mm	–	A-0	-	-	-	No 4	2/0	25
26	2.20mm	–	–	–	–	–	No 16	3/0	26
27	2.25mm	–	-	2/o	-	-	-	-	27
28	2.30mm	–	B-1	-	-	B	-	-	28
29	2.50mm	–	-	3/o	-	-	-	4/0	29
R o w	Col 1 Steel MM	Col 2 Clover	Col 3 Clover SoftTouch	Col 4 Pony	Col 5 Boye	Col 6 Bates	Col 7 Inox	Col 8 Tulip	R o w
* Based on Data Current as of February 2007,   updated to add photos on 2007-May-02   updated to add Tulip on 2007-May-24   updated to add on 2008-Sep-14 * ALWAYS MAKE A GAUGE SWATCH * ALWAYS check/measure the diameter of your hook - Older Hooks often do NOT have the same Diameter as those made today. - * If you find an error, please do email me with the correction.

Incidentally, you can often find reasonably price templates intended for measuring screw sizes at your favorite Hardware store, (mine is ACE then Sears Tool department, since they are independently owned and the people at the ones nearest to me don’t ever laugh when I explain how I plan to use “stuff” – okay they do shake their head a lot, but they always understand what I want, if not why) As soon as I can find it, I will post a picture of my favorite one.

COMMERCIAL: If you want to add Clover Soft Touch Steel hooks to your collection, you can find them at: ItsAllJustString my on-line shop