Crochet Snowflakes

I'm finally getting around to making crochet snowflakes, after I bought the
book and thread two years ago.

Does fabric stiffener dry white or clear? I'm wondering if I use colored
thread or white-and-metallic thread, if the stiffener will show.

Also, do snowflakes always look horrible before they're blocked and
stiffened?

I've only made granny square afghans before. The snowflakes are harder. The
thread is thin and the chains twist and it slips off the hook... I
destroyed my first attempt before I even finished it.

Thanks.

--
Elizabeth Shack eashack at earthlink dot ent
http://home.earthlink.net/~eashack
boringblog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/eashack/

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 20:11:22 GMT, Elizabeth Shack
wrote:

I'm finally getting around to making crochet snowflakes, after I bought the
book and thread two years ago.

Does fabric stiffener dry white or clear?
Yes

I'm wondering if I use colored
thread or white-and-metallic thread, if the stiffener will show.
No

Also, do snowflakes always look horrible before they're blocked and
stiffened?
Yes


I've only made granny square afghans before. The snowflakes are harder. The
thread is thin and the chains twist and it slips off the hook... I
destroyed my first attempt before I even finished it.

Thanks.

Elizabeth Shack wrote:
I'm finally getting around to making crochet snowflakes, after I bought the
book and thread two years ago.

Does fabric stiffener dry white or clear? I'm wondering if I use colored
thread or white-and-metallic thread, if the stiffener will show.

Also, do snowflakes always look horrible before they're blocked and
stiffened?

I've only made granny square afghans before. The snowflakes are harder. The
thread is thin and the chains twist and it slips off the hook... I
destroyed my first attempt before I even finished it.


Hi Elizabeth!

I´m also making snowflakes! How lovely!

I found this very interesting website with a lot of tips about blocking
and stiffening:

http://home.teleport.com/~noelvn/snowflakes/

Unfortunately, many links are not updated, but I find the site is of big
help anyway.
Snowflakes do look not so great before stiffening, but I think that the
right thread can make a dramatic difference. Cordonnet is ok, I would
never ever use Sudan thread for snowflakes, unless I would do the kind
of snow falling above freezing point (I hope you get the idea) LOL

I suppose, maybe I´m wrong, that you might have to change slightly your
tension after granny squares. Snowflakes require working with a more
"thight" tension, otherwise, as you say, the chain twists and everything
looks very "loose".
I realize having the opposite problem: when I make granny squares after
thread crochet, they look quite "felted", so that I have to undo them
and use a more "loose" tension.

Let me know, please, about your progress with snowflakes.
All the best!

Anna Maria

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:19:06 +0200, Anna MCM wrote:

http://home.teleport.com/~noelvn/snowflakes/

Thank you! Very informative. I had no idea there was a different kind of
hook for thread than for yarn.

My book said "steel crochet hook, size 6, 1.8 mm," but I only noticed the
"size 6". No wonder my snowflake looked so funny!

Guess I'm heading to the store tomorrow.

--
Elizabeth Shack eashack at earthlink dot ent
http://home.earthlink.net/~eashack
boringblog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/eashack/

Elizabeth Shack wrote:

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:19:06 +0200, Anna MCM wrote:


http://home.teleport.com/~noelvn/snowflakes/

Thank you! Very informative. I had no idea there was a different kind of
hook for thread than for yarn.

My book said "steel crochet hook, size 6, 1.8 mm," but I only noticed the
"size 6". No wonder my snowflake looked so funny!

I think you´ll be surprised by thread hooks. You should have seen my
face when I discovered and bought a n.9 yarn crochet. It looked like the
NASA Shuttle to me! LOL

Guess I'm heading to the store tomorrow.

A warm welcome to the wonderful word of thread crochet!
This great ng made me discover the great world of yarn crochet, but
every now and then I like to return to thread crochet ...

Hugs,

Anna Maria

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:53:52 +0200, Anna MCM wrote:

I think you´ll be surprised by thread hooks. You should have seen my
face when I discovered and bought a n.9 yarn crochet. It looked like the
NASA Shuttle to me! LOL

It's so tiny! I also got a slightly larger hook, for the thicker, colored
thread that I bought.

The new snowflake turned out much better, actually looking like a
symmetrical 6-sided crocheted thing, instead of a weird gob of thread.

It only took about half an hour, so maybe I'll have time to make many more
before Christmas. I'm not sure whether I'm going to send them in cards or
keep them for myself. I have to finish a baby afghan first, anyway.

--
Elizabeth Shack eashack at earthlink dot ent
http://home.earthlink.net/~eashack
boringblog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/eashack/

Elizabeth Shack wrote:
On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:53:52 +0200, Anna MCM wrote:


I think you´ll be surprised by thread hooks. You should have seen my
face when I discovered and bought a n.9 yarn crochet. It looked like the
NASA Shuttle to me! LOL


It's so tiny! I also got a slightly larger hook, for the thicker, colored
thread that I bought.

(big smile here)

The new snowflake turned out much better, actually looking like a
symmetrical 6-sided crocheted thing, instead of a weird gob of thread.

Great! We sometimes think that weird things depend on us, while it´s
just the wrong tool...

Hugs,

Anna Maria