I haven’t posted about crafting in a while so I thought I’d address that with this post, particularly since I’ve finally made myself something decent to wear using crochet. I sort of taught myself the basics of crochet a while ago but so far I’ve restricted myself to amigurumi (including a cute Cthulu I made as a Valentine present) and a snood that I whipped up with some DK yarn and the treble stitch. While I had tried a couple of hats and granny squares, crochet just seems to be one of those things I do occasionally, unlike knitting which I do almost daily.
But the bug bit, and on Thursday I was in town anyway, and decided I wanted to have a go at something quick and easy, albeit with crochet instead of knitting. I’d found this pattern on Ravelry, which called for Sirdar Big Bamboo yarn, but the shop didn’t have any so I bought two balls of Sirdar Indie, and a 10mm crochet hook. I’ve been working with Sirdar for a long time, and while I love Rowan and Debbie Bliss, Sirdar is more reasonably priced. Sure, the yarn isn’t 100% wool, but for handwarmers, I wanted something more sturdy that would stand up to constant wear, and maybe even getting wet if it rains. I’m particularly fond of self-striping yarns due to the random nature of the colour changes that ensue.
I did have to translate the pattern from US terms to UK terminology, which was no big problem, and I did make a couple of alterations. For example. I added a round of slip stitch after the initial chain to give the mittens some stability, and to make the next round of double crochet easier. I also ignored the tip to work into the back loop for all stitches, preferring the appearance of crocheting as normal. Still, they only took around forty minutes in total, and I finished them on Friday. They were exceptionally easy, and I thoroughly enjoyed making them!
What do you prefer, knitting or crochet?
Have your say!