What shall I make with this? The results of my test squares.
I ended up trying four sizes of hook. First my favourite is the 8mm aluminium It gave a firm texture, which would be fine for a rug or placemat.
Second is a 10mm hook. The texture if this is coming out feeling good, not too tight with a bit of flexibility.
The third one is a 12mm knooking hook. The texture of this initially came out feeling very soft, but a bit loose and slabbery. However, as I carried on, my tension evened out and become tighter. Hence the fourth hook.
The fourth hook is a 15mm. I liked the result I got from this best of all.
So here are my stitch and row counts from a 10 x 10cm square (4″ x 4″) for the four hooks, and photos in a gallery for you.
8mm hook – 8 stitches, 10 rows
10mm hook – 8 stitches, 8 rows
12mm hook – 7 stitches, 9 rows
15mm hook – 7 stitches, 7 rows.
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- 8mm hook work in 10cm square
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- 10mm hook work in 10cm square
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- 12mm hook work in 10cm square
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- 15mm hook work in 10cm square
In searching for a project to use this yarn for I found a crochet version of Claire’s Outland Cowl on Ravelry. I rather like this.
The link for it is here.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/outlander-claires-cowl-crocheted
What shall I make with this? The value of test squares.
I have 650g of super chunky in my yarn stash, which has languished unused for too long, so decided to exlore what I can do with it, or whether I want to pass it on. I tried it out as a first round of a granny square, and it looks good. I like the nubbly texture it has
So now to try and work out what size of hook to use and how far it will go by doing a test square. The recommended hook size is 10mm. I know that I tend to work tightly, so a looser hook might be better.
I always make a test square bigger than the 4″ x 4″ (10cm x 10cm) recommended. This means that I can lay a 4″x4″ cut out square on top of the test piece and count the stitches and rows, without pulling the work out to “fit” the ruler, and getting a false reading.
I am trying three sizes of hook, because I have these immediately to hand. First my favourite is the 8mm aluminium but see immediately that this is a bit small for the yarn. It gives a firm texture, which would be fine for a rug or placemat. But that is not what I want. Still will continue for comparison.
Second is a 10mm hook. It’s actually a knooking hook, but I like this one as it is polished wood, not bamboo. I did try a bamboo hook, but it isn’t as smooth and didn’t move as easily through the work, so I didn’t like the snaggy feel as I worked with it. The texture if this is coming out feeling good, not too tight with a bit of flexibility.
The third one is a 12mm knooking hook. The texture of this is coming out feeling very soft, but it looks a bit loose and slabbery, so don’t think this will end up being the best. We shall see.
Perth Festival of Yarn
I will be tutoring a beginner’s workshop at the Perth Festival of Yarn on Saturday 9 September. Tickets for the event are £10 and go on sale on 15 July. I am really looking forward to this! 🙂
