How do we do it? - crocheting

It was a sunny-ish day and not all that cold, so Liane and I sat in Queen Square and undid her bad crocheting habits. What actually happens when we do something as "simple" as crocheting - hook in one hand, wool in the other, use hook to slip wool through loop, again and again - nothing could be easier, right?

As you can see, we found the process tense and anguishing. It definitely needed concentration.



Here are some components of crocheting:

-wrapping the wool around the fingers to control the tension
-length of wool available between finger and loop, controlled by index finger on left hand
-does the hook grab the wool from in front or behind (less movement is best)
-which fingers, and on which hand, hold the work
-how is the hook held - like a pen for writing, or a brush for painting at arm's length
-does the index finger on the right hand hold the loop when the hook isn't passing wool through it
-what stitch are you meant to do next - ch. or s.c. or d.c. or t.c.

Liane is left-handed but was crocheting right-handed. (I tried crocheting left-handed. Needs practice...) She was using cotton and it was difficult to keep the tension because the cotton didn't slip easily around the fingers; later, she reported that it all went much more easily after switching to wool.

Wonderful stuff, wool.

And that little crochet hook has a lot of potential, too. More than just doilies! Take afghan stitch (tunisian crochet) - looks more like weaving than crochet. Here are basic instructions: <http://vickisdesigns.tripod.com/basics.htm>, and this site shows how to change colours: <http://home.comcast.net/~crochet_cindy/tutorial/afghan.htm>