Dusting off the knitting needles

Everyone knows I’m a crocheter (otherwise known as a “Hooker”  - YIKES, please don’t call me that!  Someone might not “get” it!), but you may not realize that I also knit occasionally.  It’s not that I don’t like knitting, there are just so many things I want to crochet that I don’t have the time it takes to tackle a knitting project.  I have to be really drawn to it. 

I received a new book in the shop the other day called Knitting At Home: 60 Classics from Ella Rae Designs.  I figured I should acquaint myself with the pattern selection, so I started browsing.  I truly was not on the search for a new project for myself (I have WAY too many projects on my plate already!), but I found myself getting sucked in and irresistibly drawn to a pair of Fingerless Mittens.  So lovely in their simplicity!  No cables, ribs, bells or whistles.  No extra gee-gaws or wing-dings – just plain stockinette stitch with a real thumb (not just a gap in the side seam!).   

I just finished a cool weather cape/shawl and thought a pair of fingerless mittens would be perfect to wear with it!  I’m reminded of that TV commercial for Target where the lady tries on a hat and wonders if she is a “hat person” – She imagines herself strolling through an orchard wearing her fabulous new hat.  I can just imagine myself flouncing around town in my cape with my jaunty new fingerless mittens to complete my ensemble!  Am I a cape/fingerless mittens kind of person?  I think I am!

What’s in a name?

Have you ever wondered where they got those crazy yarn weight names?  Worsted weight??  Who came up with that?  I think they should have named it Bested weight.  And DK – how do you figure that??  I’ve been wondering the same things, so I set out to get to the bottom of this.  Easier said than done, my friends!    Here’s what I found:

First of all, the standardized yarn weighting system (found here: http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/weight.html)  doesn’t necessarily refer to how much the yarn actually weighs, but rather the thickness of the yarns within each category.  The thickness is determined by wrapping the yarn evenly (with each strand being butted up next to each other – not overlapping) around some kind of gizmo and then measuring an inch of this and counting the number of yarn strands it takes to make up an inch.  Hence the term; Wraps per inch or WPI.

A few yarn weights are pretty self-explanatory, and I think we can all figure out that Lace is a very thin yarn and Bulky/Chunky is a very thick yarn.  And then there is the Granddaddy of them all:  Super Bulky.  Let’s move on to the not so obvious ones.

Worsted was named for the village of Worstead in Norfolk, England. As far back as the 12th century, this town was the leader in producing smooth, even yarn.  Pretty much the only kind of yarn back then, and these guys had the manufacturing process down pat!   This involved two important steps which contributed to the smoothness and tensile strength of the yarn. The first was the selection of long fibers, and the second was the combing of these fibers to make them straight and parallel. During the spinning process, worsted weight yarn was handled carefully to ensure that the fibers stay straight, which kept the finished yarn very smooth.  Of course, times have changed, and  worsted weight yarns can come in all sorts of textures and fibers.   Worsted is right in the middle of the thickness scale, being thinner than Bulky/Chunky but thicker than DK.

DK stands for "double knitting."  The term "double knitting" originates from Great Britain and refers to a weight of yarn commonly used there.   DK yarn is thinner than worsted weight yarn, but thicker than sport weight yarn.  The reason it’s called Double Knitting weight is it's actually double fingering-weight.  Meaning, if you held 2 strands of fingering weight yarns together, they should equal  1 strand of DK weight.

The name given to sport weight yarn has nothing to do with athletics, but rather is named after women's sportswear because the thickness of the finished pieces is similar to fabric used to create casual women's wear.  A Sport weight yarn is thicker than Fingering but thinner than DK.

This brings us to  Fingering weight.  I’m sorry to say I haven’t a clue as to why it’s called that, and Google truly let me down this time!  Maybe whoever came up with this wacky name won’t fess up to his (or her!) reasoning.  I can tell you that it is also called sock yarn (Gold star for everyone who guessed that this yarn picked up its extra moniker because it’s the appropriate thickness for making socks!).  Fingering/Sock yarn is thicker than Lace weight but thinner than Sport weight.

So there you have it!  If you happen to know why Fingering is so named, please speak up!  We need to know!

First Afghan - The Pattern

Once the decision to make an afghan was made it was time to find the right pattern. Anything with a monstrously long row is out of the question! I KNOW I won’t stick with it if it takes forever to complete a row. Squares are also out, since the thought of weaving in all those ends is enough to give me an eye tic - not to mention having to sew them all together! I hate sewing! Strips I think I could manage. Each one would be a relatively minor time commitment, and finishing each one would give me that satisfaction I need. Plus, I could crochet them together instead of sewing. We’re only talking about 9 strips – I think I could do it!


When I first learned to knit and crochet, I spent many afternoons in the yarn department of AC Moore and Michaels searching for fashionable clothing patterns, and I remembered seeing something called a “Mile A Minute” afghan. Hey now - that sounds right up my alley! I should have that baby done in no time flat! One for each of us! ;-)

Way back when I was only interested in clothing patterns and I scoffed at the thought of making an afghan, It seemed to me that the Mile A Minute was everywhere I looked (mocking me!). But now that I wanted it, I was finding the one I had pictured in my head to be rather elusive - Who knew there were so many iterations of the Mile A Minute! I’m starting to feel a bit like Goldilocks – “this one has too many skinny strips” or “to much like a granny square” – I was looking for one that was “just right”! I finally found it right on my own bookshelf: Crochet for Today

Baby Blocks!

Baby Blocks came out WAY too big! I can't even pick one up in one hand - Maybe suitable for GIGANTOR Baby ha-ha! Oh well, they were fun to make. Pattern from Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Crochet Today.

First Afghan - The Decision

Being an avid crocheter, people are constantly surprised by the fact that I have never made an afghan. It’s true! I have always been a fashionista wannabe, and my motivation for learning how to knit and crochet all those years ago was to make all sorts of cool clothing for myself. Somewhere along the way, I’ve changed. I’ve started to expand my horizons a bit with some non-clothing projects. Last year I made a Gingerbread House and had so much fun making it, I made another one and sold it (even after making all those gumdrops!). At the time, I also discovered the joy of the hot glue gun – What Fun! I can’t believe what I’ve been missing out on all these years! Since then, I find that I really enjoy making all sorts of other things such as pillows, handbags, toys and even food (have you seen my cookies and pizza? They make me laugh). Animals are especially fun to make, and once you put a face on them, they get a little personality.


I have heard that most crocheters actually “cut their teeth” on afghans, and do one for their first project – YIKES! I’m not sure I would still be crocheting had I attempted an afghan as my first project. To me, the prospect of all those stitches and billions and billions of rows is too daunting. It would take FOREVER! (I need to chain HOW MANY?????!!!!!!) Maybe I have commitment issues when it comes to my projects – I get bored with big projects and fear that I might not have what it takes to finish something this big in my lifetime. Over the years I have learned that it’s okay to have many different projects going at the same time. For me especially, if I get bored, I switch to something else I have going. However, I have to try really hard to not get too carried away! I NEED the satisfaction of finishing things. Therefore, the strategy I’ve developed is to work on a variety of projects at the same time – some large-ish projects such as clothing (to feed my wardrobe), and smaller things that are quick (to get my finishing satisfaction). With all these thoughts in mind, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time for me to crochet my first afghan!

I really love using an afghan (I call it the “Snuggle Factor”) and in fact my whole family does too. We have this really old ratty one that I knitted many years ago on my knitting machine (I know, I know! I made it, but I’ve never crocheted one by hand), and we all fight over who gets to snuggle under it at movie night in my house. Wouldn’t it be great if we all had our own? Whoa – slow down there Rambo – one at a time, and then we’ll see!