Trying my hand at the Knook

Crochet has been my craft of late. I tend to run in spurts. My grandmother started me off with stamped cross stitch hand embroidery. High school and my mother encouraged garment and home decor sewing. Then I went on to plastic canvas, rug hooking, knitting and crochet. I was introduced to loom knitting a couple of years ago. This Christmas I picked up the Knook by Leisure Arts.

This technique is promoted as knitting with a crocket hook.  The tool is a crochet hook with a life line on the opposite end from the hook.  The line cord actually is a substitute for the second needle.  I did a small swatch of the knit and purl stitches.  Leaning more towards crochet, I found it fairly awkward and wonder if it wouldn't be faster to use regular needles.  The upside is it so much easier to pick up a dropped stitch since this life line stays in place until you are finished with the row.

Then I tried it with a specialty ruffle yarn.  Much easier than my previous methods and faster.  Now that I have the hang of it, we'll see what great creation will appear off this hook?  :)

The Yarn Minder

Yarn Minder

 Working with this specialty yarn is fairly easy, once you know the tricks. Although Sashay comes in a ball, it is twisted and condensed. The ribbons come in a hank, which needs to be dealt with very gently so not to tangle into a bird's nest.  Both should be rewound onto a tube such as the inside of a paper towel roll. Once wound flat, the project rolls smoothly into place.


I designed the Yarn Minder pictured to steady the flow to my needles. My dear sweet husband made it a reality with some wood and some small diameter PVC pipe. The Yarn Minder double decker is great for using two together as one. In the picture, I'm actually making two scarves at the same time on a knitting loom.  

I really wanted something sturdy.  I made some scarves for gifts last month, and winding the ruffle yarn on the pvc pipe helped a lot.  But it was just rolling on the end table behind a couple of coffee cups.  LOL  This works much better.

Necessity is the mother of invention, so they say.   Sometimes you have to make do with what is at hand.  Sometimes you have a husband that is just itching to use his power tools.  

Sashay and Ribbon Ruffle Scarves

Sashay Tango

Ruffle scarves are very popular this season.  Redheart yarns makes it so easy to design your own with their Sashay and Ribbon Boutique specialty yarns.  Take a look at some of the scarves I've made.

Chain Scarf

Ruffled Scarf

Ribbon Scarf

Some are made with crochet hooks, some are made with knitting looms, and some are made with knooks.  Each technique has it's advantages, but generally give the same results.  Try whichever method you feel most comfortable.