Category Archives: Technical Stuff

The ones where I ponder the big questions of life and blogging

Size Matters…

Tension, yarn weight and hook size, making it all match up

…or does it?  I’m talking about crochet hooks here, I don’t think that qualifies as any sort of discrimination!

I’ve been having the occasional email from people about the size of hook I use to make up the Rainbow Mouse patterns so I thought a short blog post about hooks and yarn was in order.

Any one who knits and crochets and has made garments knows that there is a stress on making your tension squares initially just to check that your style of working produces the correct number of stitches and rows to the inch/cm.  Obviously size is crucial when it’s something has to fit and look good, but it’s not as desperate when you are making little toys and Amigurumi creatures.  What is important then is getting the correct hook for the yarn you are using.

The Planet Penny Cotton Colours yarn is supplied to me as double knitting weight, but it is quite fine for DK, although still thicker than 4 ply.  If I’m using it to make something which requires a little drape or movement, such as a throw or cushion cover, then I use a 3.5mm hook.  However, if I’m making a mouse which requires stuffing then I need a denser fabric so the stuffing doesn’t show and then I use a 3mm hook.

But the Rainbow Mouse Pattern, and the Mini mice patterns are just that, patterns to tell you which stitch comes next.  If you are not using the PP cotton yarn, you can be adventurous as you like with the yarn you use as long as the hook suits the yarn.  You will usually find the recommended hook size printed on the yarn binder, just go down a size to make sure the fabric is has no little holes in it.

With this in mind I have been experimenting with size and differing yarns.

This is the Rainbow Mouse Pattern made up in Planet Penny Cotton, using a 3mm hook.  He’s about 3 and a half inches/9cm  long excluding the tail…Rainbow_crochet_MouseNoText

The Mini Mouse Pattern made up the same way is 2 inches/5 cm long…

Mini_Crochet_Mouse

However, when I use cotton embroidery thread and a 2mm hook, the mini mouse gets a teeny tiny brother, who is only an inch long…
mouse crochet with embroidery thread

and conversely, making up the Rainbow Mouse pattern in Aran yarn using a 5mm hook results in a fat cuddly friend who is 5 and a half inches/14cm long and  perfect for a baby’s first toy (no beads for that though!)

So be adventurous, and you’ll be amazed by the possibilities.  I’m going to put a brooch back on the teeny tiny fellow, but he could equally well go on a hair clip or head band for a little girl, or decorate a pencil case.

four sizes of crochet mouse

four sizes of crochet mouse

Meanwhile, because I know it’s not always easy to get the correct size of hook to make up the Rainbow Mouse and Mini Mice patterns, the pack now include a 3mm hook  so you can get going straight away!

very small crochet mouse

The Planet Penny Cotton Colours yarn and patterns are all available through the Planet Penny Etsy shop, there’s a link here, and at the top of the page.

If you’ve made your own mice, do share them on the Planet Penny Facebook page, or just come along to ‘like’ it and see what else is going on!

Back soon…x

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I should have known better…

 

(I don't know who to credit for this, but it says it all!)

…than to try and tackle ANY TECHY STUFF AT ALL   and I WILL NEVER DO AGAIN!  Honest!  how mad I was to believe the thing that popped up in my blog Dashboard and said all I had to do was to ‘Click here’ and I could upgrade from 2.9 to 3.0.  It was a trap for the reckless and unwary.  For someone who had got TOO BIG FOR HER BOOTS!  Because I clicked ‘here’ and  I lost access to Planet Penny.  For FOUR WHOLE DAYS!

It’s hard to think that a couple of years ago I scarcely knew what a blog was, and now I was completely bereft because I had been cut off from my other little world. 

But, my knight in shining armour, AKA Craig, has just galloped to the rescue  and saved the day, AND did it all without making me feel a complete TWIT.  (Well, I already felt like a twit, but he didn’t rub it in)  So thank you, Craig, and I can  resume normal service.

Now, where was I…?

Giving ourselves a round of applause…!

Tallulah

Tallulah – a woman of a certain age who’s still got what it takes!

Just one last word on the nitty gritty of blogging before I get on with the pretty stuff.  It’s been lovely getting comments from you all, thank you.  I was taken aback this morning by the reaction of  a friend of a similar age when I mentioned blogging.  After her initial bafflement I suggested that if I gave her the site address she could have a look and see what I meant.  ‘Oh, no,’ she said firmly.  ‘I wouldn’t do it. I don’t use the computer. And my husband wouldn’t look either.’   Oooh, my turn to be baffled.  I can’t imagine life without it now, but are we ladies of a certain age (and you know who I mean, girls)  in the minority  as we surf the net looking for our blogging fixes,  Amazon book deliveries and Ebay bargains?  If so, three cheers for us, for embracing and joining in with 21st century technology, and long may it continue!

Technology – and getting a grip on it!!

Second day of  finding my way round all the technicalities of customising my blog and I’ve only snivelled once, and Tim only had to stay up until 1.30am this morning!  But now I’m back on Planet Penny and I’ve brought my pink sheep along with me!

so much better than a pink elephant!

so much better than a pink elephant!

In the beginning…

So, I’ve talked about it long enough – I am now officially a blogger. Jane Brocket of the Yarnstorm blog must take the credit (or blame) for this as I had her lovely book, ‘The Gentle Art of Domesticity’ for Christmas and I am now fired with enthusiasm.

I ‘m doing my usual thing of having too many projects on the go at once, but when I saw Jane’s lovely wavy crochet throw I just had to have a go, especially as I had a bag of gorgeous soft bluebelly colours sitting by my chair. By the end of the first episode of the last Prime Suspect I had enough made to have a disagreement with Henry the cat about it. It would grow so much more quickly without 14 pounds of purring tabby cat sprawled across it! However, there is also the small matter of a basket of snappy turquoise and blue crochet squares to stitch together into a cosy blanket for small grandsons, a stripy pullover in a landscape of soft greens, gold and yellow for the larger of the two boys, and a gorgeous explosion of a big knitted square in firework colours to turn into a bean bag. So why am I sitting at the computer?

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