Crochet Test Lab #2

Ok, so the results of the second round of crochet testing are in! See previous efforts HERE… I know I said I’d write about these after I’ve done 5, but I was unwell the week previous, so ended up doing 7 instead.

Waffle Stitch

4mm hook, Divante DK Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 1 hour 25 mins

Amount of yarn used: 13g

Foundation chain is multiples of 3, plus 4

I started with a ‘fun’ one, at least in my opinion! I wanted to have a go at this stitch for the longest time, because it looks really cool and is super textural. Like many of these patterns, they’re usually a variation on the ‘basic' stitches, so once I got the hang of the process, it wasn’t too bad. Though, I did go wrong at the start slightly, which you may be able to see in the photo- looks like I added an extra stitch on the beginning row. Doh! It creates a pretty structural, stiff fabric, so wouldn’t be suitable for every project, but it would lend itself nicely to some really creative pieces. I was stoked to have finally got round to trying this stitch and would be amazing if I could try to incorporate it into one of my designs at some point…

Half Double Back Loop Only

4.5mm hook, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 55 mins

Amount of yarn used: 9g

Foundation chain is to the required size, plus 1 for HDC

From the sublime to the quite basic, we go back to my HDC BLO mission, in the shape of testing out my perceived ‘Goldilocks’ hook in the form of a 4.5mm. If you cast your mind back to my previous post on this, it is for a sweater vest, which will become my next project. Which is why this specific stitch is currently under so much scrutiny! I still don’t know if the 4.5mm is the ‘one’; I feel because I didn’t crochet this test swatch in the same yellow colour as the other experiments, it’s made my decision making process even harder, as it didn’t feel like it was a direct comparison. Though, I know for a fact I don’t want to use the 5mm and the 4mm does seem a little on the dense side, so I should really just bite the bullet and make the garment using this hook. I mean we’re talking fine margins here, so why I can’t just pick a hook size and start the thing is beyond me…

Almond Stitch

4.5mm hook, Wendy Supreme DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 50 mins

Amount of yarn used: 6g

Foundation chain is multiples of 8, plus 5

Again, my quest for the ‘perfect’ hook continues into the Almond Stitch. Aforementioned in my previous post on this, I feel I might have actually hit the sweet spot with the 4.5mm. Has Flora Martyr actually made a decision here? Watch this space to find out!

Basket Weave

4.5mm hook, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 1 hour, 10 mins

Amount of yarn used: 9g

Foundation chain is multiples of 8, plus 7

This was another one I’ve been wanting to try for a while now, because I absolutely love the stitch pattern. Admittedly, it was slightly difficult to get the hang of, but once I got in the rhythm of it, it was all good and I didn’t make any glaringly obvious mistakes. Well done me! If I’m getting pernickety about hook sizes here, then I feel the 4.5 was a bit too much of a middle ground for this stitch- if it was for a garment, I would have sized up to a 5 to allow slightly more stretch/ drape, because it does work up a quite stiff swatch. And if it was for an item such as a cushion or bag or what have you, then I would have sized down, to give it a really compact feel and even more structure and less stretch. I do really like how this one turned out, so I’ll definitely want to try something in this stitch in the future. My ‘to crochet’ list is not getting any shorter!

Houndstooth

4mm hook, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 1 hour, 10 mins

Amount of yarn used: 12g

Foundation chain is multiples of 2, plus 1

Following on from a few of the others in this post, again this is one I’ve been wanting to try for a long time. It’s a nice relaxing stitch to work up, though the amount of ends you need to weave in with this one is not enjoyable! I think this might actually be my favourite of this batch- the colour scheme I used is quite striking and it has a lovely finish. There WILL be a garment out of this in the coming months. Maybe longer, she quickly adds, realising she might not have time right away with all the other stuff she’s got going on! I would say a 5mm hook would be more desirable for this one for clothing, because it would allow for a less dense feel to the fabric.

Moss Stitch

5mm hook, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 30 mins

Amount of yarn used: 5g

Foundation chain is any even number

I wanted to try this one to see what all the fuss is about- people seem to love this one in the online crochet-sphere. Please don’t hate me, but I kind of think it’s a bit ‘meh’. Not that interesting, but not offensive either. I do like how neat it works up, but at this point, I doubt I’d make any plans to use it in the immediate future. Sorry, internet!

Shell Stitch

4.5mm hook, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 1 hour, 10 mins

Amount of yarn used: 9g

Foundation chain is multiples of 6, plus 2

And lastly, we have the Shell Stitch. I’ve been curious about this one- mainly in the mechanics of it. It’s sort of like a much more elaborate granny stitch, in my opinion. And before I go any further, yes, I appreciate the colour scheme is an absolute shocker here! It really was a scrap yarn project in the truest meaning of the term. These were yarns that I had left over from the Christmas projects and which I’m unlikely to use in any of my upcoming pieces, because they’re just not the sorts of colours I wear. So I don’t think the colour choices are doing this stitch many favours- I think if I had gone with more subtle tones or similar shades of the same colour, then I would have been able to make more of an informed opinion on the appearance of this one. But I definitely can see the potential here- maybe for something more like a scarf.

These might be the last swatches I do for a while, because I want to crack on with an actual project now (if I can make up my mind about the hook size, that is)! It was nice to get a few of these out my system though! Plus, I do have a film project to be getting on with- remember I used to make animations, not just crochet?! I am actually working on another big animation project right now, but that is all under wraps currently, though I will reveal all about that when the time is right. Until then, see you in the next one xo

Crochet Totoro!

My latest crochet make is this super cute multi coloured Totoro, following THIS pattern. I used 100% acrylic yarn, the brand was 'Divante' which if I recall correctly I picked up from The Range. I found the yarn to be quite slippery and not the best for creating amigurumi, but I think the colour worked out super well, being as I wanted it to match my teddy bear (pictured)! Don't ask, yes I'm in my thirties, but I thought it would be really cute to make a matching Totoro!

I'm quite pleased with it, but not sure if I stuffed it as well as I could have done, so not overly happy with the shape, but that's me being picky- you know what I'm like!

I also crocheted the leaf for the top of his head (above image), which I didn't do previously when I made him in December. I was really pleased with how the leaf turned out and for this, I used 100% cotton yarn, 3mm hook. Oh yeah, before I forget, for the rest of the project I used a 3mm hook as well, using the yarn under/ yarn over technique, which I feel provides a really clean finish for amigurumi designs.

Got a few more Totoro ideas I'd like to explore, so watch this space as usual xo

Worcester City Women FC Photos

Sunday (8/3/26) was a trip to the Weston Homes Stadium for Peterborough United Women 7-2 Worcester City Women FC, in the FAWNL Division One Midlands, attendance 1,719.

While it wasn't our day results-wise, there was no other way I'd rather have spent International Women's Day than photographing my favourite team, playing in front of over 1,700 spectators. Since starting taking my football watching seriously (I know, I know!) back in 2017, the growth of the women's side of the game has been phenomenal and a pleasure to witness. And yeah, it definitely gets me emotional seeing all these people turning out for a domestic women's fixture, especially at step 4 of the women's pyramid. If you're regular here, you will know I can write actual essays on this kind of thing(!), but I won't today and hope you just enjoy the photos! Full set on my Flickr as usual, 12 below.

Crochet Test Lab

So this week in crochet land, I went a little bit scientific and decided to embark on creating a load of swatches to test yarns, stitches and hook sizes (all in different combinations) in aid of learning a lot more about the properties of all the stated variables. The catalyst for this was me being slightly disappointed in how my last jumper turned out in terms of how it hangs/ fits- I figured if I knew a lot more about the craft itself, then perhaps I would have known not to have used such a tight stitch or used a bigger hook size and therefore had a garment I was much happier with. Don’t get me wrong- I do absolutely LOVE the creation and have been wearing it a LOT, but deep down I am aware that the hang could be better. And since washing it and with wear, it has definitely improved and with time, I expect it to do so further, but there’s zero harm in learning about the materials you’re working with- something I’ve not looked at in much detail since starting in autumn last year.

Suppose though as a beginner, maybe learning all that stuff from the off wouldn’t have been appropriate and be too much of an info overload. Plus, I likely wouldn’t have really understood what I would be looking for in my experiments anyway. I think now is a perfect time to familiarise myself with all the above, because I know what I want from crochet and how I want my finished objects to look and feel, as well as my curiosity getting the better of me. And if you’re a regular reader here, then you will know that it’s no news that I like learning and improving all the time, so here we are. My crochet laboratory is well and truly open!

I managed to make 10 in total for this round of testing. Some were stitches I’ve been curious about for some time, some came from when working in one stitch, leading me to try other ideas and sort of seeing- ‘well what if I did it this way’, or ‘what if I add an extra stitch here’ etc. I actually had an extremely fun time doing all these swatches and I learned a lot.

I do have notes attached to them all (the pink tags on the above photo), but I wanted to have them in here as well, to go into a little more detail and also so that my notes are in one place. OK, here goes, on to the results… I’m using USA crochet terminology by the way, because that’s the one which feels more universal.

Granny Stitch

4mm hook, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 1 hour 40 mins

Amount of yarn used: 10g

Foundation chain is multiples of 4, plus 6

I thought this one worked up really nicely in this specific acrylic. It’s still a fairly stiff feel result, though I expect that to soften up when washed. It would definitely work well for some kind of top, which I expect to create at some point. I also would like to try this with a 5mm hook, which I feel it’s screaming out for me to try! I think it might appear a little more flow-y in a larger hook size. I am looking to make something using this stitch, so do watch this space.

Granny Stitch

3mm and 2.5mm hooks, ‘Hello’ 100% cotton amigurumi yarn

Time taken: 1 hour 15 mins

Amount of yarn used: 8g

Foundation chain is multiples of 4, plus 6

I wanted to try the same stitch in cotton, as I thought it would be well suited to a summer style top. Cotton is a lot lighter material than acrylic, though the only cotton I had at that point was amigurumi cotton- a kind which I quickly realised wasn’t especially appropriate for garment creation. It formed a quite heavy/ bulky fabric, more suited to something such as a homeware item rather than a wearable. I tried with two hook sizes on this- the 2.5mm working slightly better IMO, but obviously depends what sort of look you want to go with. I’ll save the rest of this cotton for amigurumi, or indeed other items that I’m not planning on wearing…

Filet Crochet Mesh Stitch

4mm hook, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 1 hour

Amount of yarn used: 6g

Foundation chain is an even no., plus 6 for DC, or 5 for HDC

As a continuation from the Granny Stitch, I wanted to try other stitch patterns with holes in, to see how they work up, especially as it’s coming to spring now and jumper season is, unfortunately, slowly on its way out. Don’t worry, I still very much dislike the cold weather, but I do enjoy a good jumper(!), which is why I say ‘unfortunate’. I do really like the look of this one and the smaller holes make it feel slightly more modest than the aforementioned Granny Stitch- I don’t know if I’m brave enough to wear a top with that amount of holes in! But you never know… And to be honest, I’m just thinking of how much sun cream you’d need to put on for this sort of garment!! That’s something I’d not be looking forward to. Some of the mesh style garments I’ve seen online do look amazing though, so I’d potentially want to try a creation using this.

Filet Crochet

4mm hook, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 1 hour 10 mins

Amount of yarn used: 8g

Foundation chain is an even no., plus 6 for DC, or 5 for HDC

Continuing from the previous two stitches, I decided I’d want to try filling in every other hole of the mesh stitch, which I’m assuming is Filet Crochet. It gives a similar feel to Granny Stitch, but I don’t think the pattern/ structure is quite as appealing as the former. It does feel lighter than that one though, so there is that, but if I were to choose between the two, Granny Stitch would be my pick.

Half Double Back Loop Only

4mm hook (first 8 rows), 5mm thereafter, Women’s Institute DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 55 mins

Amount of yarn used: 9g

Foundation chain is to the required size, plus 1 for HDC

Going back to basics here! As I purchased this yellow yarn with the intent of making a ribbed sweater vest, I wanted to create a swatch to see how it would work up. And I think it looks lovely! It also feels super nice to touch and is really stretchy- I really can’t wait to get going with this one. I’ve rarely used my 5mm hook, so after doing 8 rows in my standard 4mm, I decided to switch out of curiosity. I really like the chunky ridges that the 5mm creates, but the tightness of the 4mm is simultaneously desirable. I still can’t decide which one to go with and for that reason, I purchased a 4.5mm hook, which might just be my Goldilocks moment! We shall see…

Almond Stitch

4mm and 5mm hooks, Wendy Supreme DK Premium Acrylic yarn

Time taken: 55 mins each

Amount of yarn used: 5g and 6g

Foundation chain is multiples of 8, plus 5

Very early on in my crochet ‘career’, I had this idea to make a cable style cricket vest. I love, love, love cricket and used to play and every now and again cricket vests/ jumpers come into fashion. This used to annoy me because not a lot of people I knew liked cricket, but they were happy to wear one of these garments! I was always disappointed when I eagerly asked them if they liked cricket, though said they didn’t. Anyway, regaling stories from my youth aside, I’ve been wanting one of these vests for some time, but never bit the bullet, because the legit ones for cricket are either pretty pricey and/ or have giant logos on, as is the nature of lots of sportswear these days. Oh capitalism… The one I have in my head is a simple off white affair, with a couple of dark green stripes on the ribbing to represent my beloved Worcestershire County Cricket Club. So, now I’m able to crochet, I will be making it and there will be zero sponsors or logos!

Once I found the Almond Stitch, I knew that would be the perfect one for this garment and it really does work up nicely. It’s so textural and comfy looking, I honestly can’t wait to make this one. I tried two swatches here, though only one photo will be sufficient, because from the pictures, they do look very similar. The 4mm works up quite tightly, though the 5mm is much too loose in my opinion and will definitely go looser after washing. Perhaps this will be one for the magic 4.5mm hook as well. I definitely need to put that into practise…

Granny Stitch

4mm hook, Women’s Institute That’s So Cotton DK

Time taken: 1 hour

Amount of yarn used: 9g

Foundation chain is multiples of 4, plus 6

After using the amigurumi cotton yarn and disliking the properties for garment making, I wanted to purchase some cotton more suited for clothing. I saw a few nice ideas for some crochet shirts I’d like to try, so these next few tests are with the purpose of that in mind. Because the previous cotton test was for the Granny Stitch, I wanted the first swatch I made out of this cotton to also be Granny Stitch, so I had a direct comparison. And as expected, this one worked up so much softer and could definitely be something one could wear. It feels really lightweight and flow-y.

Filet Crochet

4mm hook, Women’s Institute That’s So Cotton DK

Time taken: 40 mins

Amount of yarn used: 8g

I chained 22 plus 3

Continuing in the same cotton, I wanted to make something with less gaps in, as I knew this would likely be the yarn I use for when I make my shirt. I didn’t want to use the previous stitch and a shirt tutorial I found on YouTube used a similar stitch pattern to this one, so I thought I’d give that a go to see how it worked up using this cotton. I really like the result in terms of look, and it feels super light with a nice drape, so perfect for a shirt. It’s safe to say I’ve already purchased the required amount of yarn ready for this project!

Filet Crochet

4mm hook, Knitcraft Cotton Blend DK

Time taken: 45 mins

Amount of yarn used: 9g

I chained 22 plus 3

And lastly, (wow this has been a wordy post- I think I’ll post after each 5 swatches in the future, as opposed to 10, because it is quite a lot otherwise) I wanted to try some 50% cotton, 50% acrylic blend, out of curiosity. I found myself in a quite fortunate position with all this, because I was gifted a Hobbycraft card at Christmas, so felt like I had the means to purchase yarn types I wouldn’t usually, with intention of having a good play. This yarn really does feel like a cross between the two, but works up a slightly heavier feel fabric than the 100% cotton yarn above. I used the same stitch pattern to act as a direct comparison. I won’t use it for the shirt I’m planning on making, but it might have its uses at some point down the line, though I can’t think for exactly what at this point. Perhaps some amigurumi, or more swatches just for the fun of it- I do have 91g left to mess with!

Right, leaving this here! See you next time xo