A few months ago I bought some yarn for 50p in a charity shop. There was a full skein and a part skein of bottle green with this label:
Normally bulky is the US equivalent of our UK chunky, but this was much thicker than chunky. I don't know how old this yarn is, but there was no meterage or suggested needle size on the label, so I selected a size 7.00 crochet hook, although I could have used a larger one. I had a little chuckle at the Shrink Resistant and Mothproof selling points too, which suggests that acrylic was not as common when this was made as it is now. Interestingly, there is a Nortex Mill in Bolton, Lancs, but it specialises in fabrics (Lancashire cotton trade) and doesn't sell yarn.
On to the learning. I decided that this would make a lovely warm crocheted scarf for Knit for Peace. I looked at a few patterns on Ravelry, and realised that most crochet scarves are made lengthways rather than widthways. A lot of them start with foundation double crochet (fdc) too. This s a technique where the starting chain and the first row of double crochet (or single crochet in US terms) are worked simultaneously. In almost 50 years of crocheting, I have never attempted this technique; truth to tell, I only heard of it about 5 years ago.
So, I googled some YouTube videos, chose one that was easy to follow, and off I went. My technique was a bit uneven to start with, and I found it hard to establish a rhythm, but for a first attempt, I did manage as reasonably neat edge. I will definitely use this technique again.
I followed the fdc row with 2 rows of double crochet, then for the middle of the scarf I did 9 rows of one dc one chain. I finished it off with a further 2 rows of dc. And I ended up with a very thick and cosy scarf that is 62 inches long, so should keep a child's neck nice and warm this winter.
That was a great bargain and you have turned it into a very useful scarf.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely Barbara and will keep someone cosy and warm, thanks for linking. :)
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