Love... Crochet. Carol Meldrum
of qualities. Merino wool is made from superfine fibres and is very soft and robust, whereas scratchier wools tend to come from sheep that have longer, shaggier coats. Other animal fibres also include mohair and cashmere, which comes from goats, and angora from rabbits and alpacas. Silk is also classed as a natural fibre; it comes from the unwound cocoons of silk worms spun to make a yarn that has a soft shiny lustre. It is also a very strong and light yarn but can be an expensive choice.
Plant fibres Cotton and linen are the most commonly used plant fibres. Cotton really lends itself to crochet and, like wool, it comes in different forms. Different plants produce different types of fibres: cotton can be matte and soft or if you want a bit of a shine, mercerised cotton has a similar appearance to silk. Linen, bamboo and hemp are among the other yarns spun from plant fibres. Linen has a crisp feel and is spun from the fibres of the flax plant. It has a slightly waxy feel on the ball, but drapes beautifully and feels cool to wear. It’s also environmentally friendly – as is hemp.
Synthetic fibres Acrylic, nylon and polyester are all made from synthetic fibres. They are processed from coal and petroleum based products, so are essentially the same thing as plastic. Yarns made from 100% synthetic fibres are a lot less expensive, making them a good choice if you are on a budget, but it’s best to use one that has at least some natural fibre mixed in if possible. This makes the yarn much nicer to work with and will also give the fabric a more elastic property, helping it to keep its shape.
Getting started
Learning a new skill is great fun, but it is important to understand the basics before starting a project. Work your way through the techniques here, making practice swatches of each of the different stitches. When you come across a new technique in a project, it’s a good idea to give it a quick practice first on some spare yarn.
Holding the hook
There are a couple of different methods of holding the hook. There is no real right or wrong way but the most important thing is to use the method that’s the most comfortable and works best for you. The hook is usually held in the right hand.
Method 1: Hold the hook as if it were a pencil. The tips of your right thumb and forefinger should rest over the flat section of the hook.
Method 2: Hold the hook as if it were a knife, grasping the flat section of the hook between your thumb and forefinger.
Holding the yarn
Again there is no definitive way to hold the yarn, but it should easily feed through your fingers allowing you to create a slight tension that helps keep your stitches nice and even.
Method 1: Loop the short end of the yarn over the left forefinger. The end of the yarn coming from the ball should be under the next finger. Grip the length of yarn towards the ball of yarn gently with your fingers.
Method 2: As before, the short end of the yarn should be over your left forefinger. The end of the yarn coming from the ball should be under your next finger, but then also over the next. Some people also like to wrap the yarn around their little finger in this technique.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.