Lately I’ve been trying to be a little craftier, apparently idle hands are the devils playground. At least that’s what my grandmother used to tell me. So, I’ve taken up crocheting in the evenings while I watch re-runs of Friends and impatiently wait for Season 7 of Doctor Who to arrive on Netflix. Because ya know, I can’t spend the $14 to buy 6 episodes of my most recent television obsession, that would be too easy. Anyways, during my TV time the past couple of months I’ve been making this:
A baby blanket, a WHOLE baby blanket. That’s like 20 scarves all put together! I’m a beginner when it comes to crocheting or crochet?? What would be the proper terminology here? See? I’m that new I don’t even know the proper verb or pronoun whatever the correct terminology one would use in this situation. But I digress, I’m new to this craft and have only really mastered the single crochet, so that’s how this blanket was woven together (and love, woven with lots of love, you can’t have a handmade item NOT contain love!). Nothing but single crochet stitches and the chunkiest and softest yarn I could find, Bernat Baby Blanket, in Baby Pink. I found the cheapest selection at Wal-Mart, it was $2.97 for a 3.5 oz skein. Certain colors can be purchased in a huge 10.5 oz skein, which is what I did with another blanket I’m currently working on, but that’s another story.
I LOVED working with this yarn, it’s the perfect material for a beginner like me who tends to be a bit fumbly with the crochet needle. By the way, I used an N needle with this super chunky yarn, so the project was super easy and super fast. If I had worked on it for more than an hour or two at a sitting and if I were more nimble in the fiber arts I bet this could have been churned out in a lot less than a month and a 1/2.
But the one caveat I have about using this yarn is that it tends to be a little knotty, and I don’t mean it stole grapes from the grocery store for “tasting”. There were random knots within the skein, like they had knotted two different skeins together. Maybe it was just that I purchased my yarn from Wal-Mart, which sometimes doesn’t have the best quality of merchandise or maybe it’s just the nature of the product. By the way, I’m not slamming Wal-mart. They do tend to have the best deals on certain products. And yes, I realize there are lots of people out there who are very anti-WalMart, I can be one of those people at times, but I also like a good deal. Either way, the knots kind of annoyed me because it made the final product look a little messy. Or maybe it was just me making it messy with my beginner crochet-er ways.
But all in all I am happy with the final product, and have happily wrapped and shipped this handmade gift to a friend of mine who is happily awaiting the arrival of her new baby girl in just a few short weeks.
Have you started up a new hobby? Or have you mastered an old hobby? Any crochet tips from the pros out there??
Semi-Seasonal 
Nice job! I don’t crochet, but I knit. My advice is pretty simple: practice lots. Find someone who knits/crochets better than you so you’ll have a go-to person to help you when you get “stuck.” And last, but certainly not least …. never, ever skimp on yarn. Buy the very best yarn you can afford. It’s SO worth it in the long run. Most chain store yarn is absolute crap, which means it’s difficult to work with, poorly spun and of bad quality. First time you go to wash a garment that you spent months making and it falls apart (or felts) you’ll be so pissed off. So find a local/regional yarn shop and get their advice on what’s good. You won’t ever regret it! Also, yarn shops often have mailing lists and sales, not to mention classes and social groups who get together weekly or monthly to knit or crochet. A small group can be a lot of fun and helps keep you motivated and challenged!
That’s a great tip! I don’t think there is a local store that specializes in yarn around here, but maybe it’s hidden away somewhere. I’ll need to ask my knitting and crocheting friends.
You blanket looks very nice. I know manufacturers knots are the bane of my existence! But one way you can hide them is to take the tails and hold them to the top of the next stitch and crochet over them as you go. I hope that makes sense. If not, watch this video. http://youtu.be/R6tyFrsIT2M
Hope that helps!
Oh, that makes perfect sense now! Thanks so much for sharing! I’ll definitely be referring back to that video frequently!
You are very welcome! I’m glad it helped you. I love to crochet and always try to help keep this awesome craft alive!
The blankie looks great – I am impressed! I have personally been in the mode of abandoning crafty skills rather than picking them up… I usually make either handmade cards for xmas or homemade ornaments – neither happened this year…but there is hope for the future… 🙂
Don’t be that impressed, the final product ended up being slightly lopsided! And don’t worry about eh abandonment of your crafty skills, you can always return to them once again.
I absolutely HATE those knots that are sort of pre-entered into the yarn before you buy it. However, I cut the knots out and just join the two cut ends together using this method:
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-join-yarn-in-crochet.html
It makes the overall project look a lot neater, and then you don’t have to tear your hair out worrying over whether or not you can tuck those knots in well enough that they won’t be seen. ^_^ Nice job on the blanket, by the way!
Thanks so much for the link! I saw a similar technique on YouTube, of course, I only saw this AFTER I made a huge knotty blanket. (Not that kind of naughty). But the recipient doesn’t seem too worried about the knots. It just makes things look not so put together. Because ya know, the uneven corners really make it look like I know what I’m doing!