How to Recycle and Hand Wind Yarn.

"What is the best way to hand wind a ball of yarn?" Well I have no idea, but I just happen to have hanging about the perfect excuse to experiment and find out!

Way back in my very early crochet days I decided to crochet a garment in absolutely the wrong type of yarn. There is no photo of this appalling garment anywhere. You won't find it on Ravelry or in the deepest darkest depths of my computer history - no it was that bad! I learn by making mistakes and since then I have learnt about creating drape and the importance of gauge swatches. I have learnt that you can't just swap out chunky wool for chunky 100% cotton!

Fortunately for me, my partner was brought up by a crafting Mother. He loves nothing better than de-tangling yarn and unknotting knots, so I gave the offending garment to him. This is what I got back!

These balls of yarn would be perfect for playing cricket, but not so much for crochet. The yarn has lost it's lustre and is no longer plump and luscious. So the first thing I need to do is transform it into skeins of yarn ready for washing. The ideal tool to use is a Niddy-Noddy. Sadly I don't have one and as I can't imagine I would use it very much, I can't justify purchasing one. But please check out these sold by the Provenance Craft Co, and also this meditative video of one in action.

My far less functional version of a Niddy-Noddy was two chair backs placed side by side. I couldn't help but post this photo, which one of my dogs decided to photo-bomb!

I started by loosely tying the yarn to one side of the chair. When I had finished I tied each end of the yarn around the skein. Using scraps of yarn I secured the skein in two more places. I have now learnt that you should tie the skeins loosely!

As I was dealing with cotton and there is no chance of shrinking or felting, I put my yarn as it was in the washing machine on a 'wool wash'. I didn't bother to place it in a lingerie bag or a pillow case. It held together very well and there were no tangles or knots. Had I been using something more delicate or costly I would probably have hand-washed it. I have also been told that it is possible to steam the yarn once it has been skeined to remove wrinkles.

Now here is the difference between reading about something or watching a video. I had somehow expected the wrinkles to have magically disappeared after being washed, even though I know that cotton blocks beautifully and keeps it's shape! Sadly no! Let's take a moment to talk about how yarn is made and what happens when we crochet. Most yarn is spun clockwise producing what looks like an S shape twist. When we crochet we actually turn the yarn in the opposite direction which is why  our yarn has a tendency to split. Previously, when this has been explained to me, this is the point when my head starts exploding!

However I would like to share this video with you, which finally explained the problem (minus the exploding head!) The point I'm trying to get to, is that no matter what I do, I am never going to get this recycled yarn back to it's factory settings! (If you'd like to know more about how yarn is produced you might enjoy watching one of the John Arbon Mill tour videos.)

Having taken my skeins from the washer, I wrapped them in an old towel to remove as much water as possible. At this point I am supposed to hang them from butcher's hooks. I was wondering how much this marks the yarn. But having no hooks, I hung mine around the neck of some coat hangers instead. The skein then needs weighting to remove the wrinkles, so you can use a can or a bottle filled with water. It needs to be dried away from direct heat and probably not in bright sunlight! I chose to hang mine from the shower-curtain rail. I hung them at the point nearest the wall (where I hoped the rail would be strongest!)

Did it work and was it worth all the effort? I think it was, but I'll let you decide.

So having recycled the yarn, we eventually get to the problem I was set in the first place; how to hand wind a centre-pull ball of yarn.

To start with, the skein needs to be placed onto a Yarn Swift. I am lucky enough to have one. Alternatively place it onto the chair backs, or find a willing volunteer who is prepared to stick their arms out for sometime!

Perhaps you already have a yarn ball winder. I am on my second and I have found neither to be 100% satisfactory. Besides any other considerations I have to clamp it to a table and am limited to the size of ball I can produce. I was able to make it a 'centre-pull' but it is rather untidy. It also tends to be cake shaped. I have discovered that holding the incoming yarn in the position as shown above, produces a neater cake which doesn't run off the end of the winder.

When it is removed from the winder the centre collapses in on itself. I have seen people putting a card core in to stop this happening, but they are missing the point. We don't want to crush the life out of our beautiful fibre, rather we want to release the pressure! This is why those cricket yarn-balls aren't the right way to  store yarn as we are removing all the stretch in the fibre and flattening the strands.

How do we reproduce this effect by hand? Well with a Nostepinne of course! This simple tool will give you all the pleasure you cannot hope to find in a plastic table-top ball-winder. Mine has a little notch at one end, for securing the start of the yarn for a centre-pull ball. Your ball will grow outwards in all directions, so take the yarn to the middle of the pin and start winding over a small area.

Begin laying down the yarn evenly, working first in one direction, then diagonally, slowly rotating the pin as you wind.

Once you have a stable core, take the yarn to the edge of the core and wind diagonally over the top, from one edge to the other, slowly rotating with your left hand.

When your ball is complete, tuck the end under a few strands of yarn to secure it and slid off the pin.

Tah Dah! One beautifully hand wound centre-pull yarn ball!

Should you not wish to rush out and buy yourself this satisfying tool you could, in a yarn winding emergency, replace it with the core from a roll of kitchen foil or similar. Cut a notch at one end to secure the yarn and proceed as described!

I'm showing you this picture again as an apology for how blue this post is!

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Everything you ever wanted to know about Picots but were afraid to ask!

It was pointed out to me recently that I have never written about Picots. 'But surely picots are just a few chain stitches joined into a loop', thinks I. Oh dear no! It seems there is much more to this than I had ever imagined.

Personally I try to avoid them where ever possible they're far too frou-frou and frilly for my taste. They are non-the-less extremely useful. Try crocheting a snowflake without a picot! They are a useful tool when joining motifs and form an excellent base for attaching groups of stitches.

So what is a picot? The dictionary tells us that it comes from a French word, is pronounced 'peek-oh' and is a 'small loop or group of small loops'. In the case of crochet the devil is most definitely in the detail! The plainest sort of picot is something like three chain stitches joined with a slip stitch. This, it turns out, is just the tip of the iceberg. So let's dive in and see what else is available.
(To avoid confusion I am using English Terminology.)

Plain Upright Picots:
The most basic picot is any number of chain stitches, joined with a slip stitch to the first stitch. There are however a bewildering number of ways to make that join. Here are a few examples for you to consider.

From the front, placing the hook behind the front two loops of the chain stitch.

From the front, placing the hook behind the foremost front loop only of the chain stitch. 

From the back, placing the hook into that back bump or third loop of the chain stitch. 

When we compare these picots the differences are subtle, moving from tight and pointy to round and open, but it shows that a consistent technique pays off.

Although the picot can be joined into the starting chain stitch, sometimes they are joined into the base stitch by taking the hook through the centre and out the side of that stitch.

 

You might also join by placing the hook into the front loop only of base stitch.

Or into the left most leg of the base stitch stem.

Once again we achieve a subtle difference in picot shape.

You don't have to join with a slip stitch, you can use any sized stitch (and in any of the afore mentioned stitch positions!)

A Double Crochet, [US-Single Crochet]

A Treble Crochet, [US-Double Crochet]

Of course before moving on I should mention that the most simple picot of all is an unjoined picot, which I used when making this Aster flower. 

The yellow petals here are quite simply (Dc, Chain4, Dc) all in the same stitch. [or in US (Sc, Chain4, Sc)]

Closed Picots:
Small Rounded Picot:

To create a border, start with a Slip stitch into the previous row. 
Chain3, Skip chain stitch closest to hook, Double Crochet [US-Sc] into front loop of each of the first two chain stitches, skip one stitch on the base row, slip stitch in next stitch.

Large Rounded Picots:

Start with a Slip stitch into previous row.
Chain 5, Skip the three chain stitches closest to the hook, Treble Crochet [US-Dc] into front loop of each of the first two chain stitches, skip two stitches on the base row, Slip stitch in the next stitch.

Drooping or Twisted Picot:

Chain7, remove the hook from the front of the last loop and replace in the back of same loop, allow the whole piece of work to spin clockwise, place the hook in the 5th chain from hook and join with a slip stitch.

Pointed Picots:

To create a border, start with a Slip stitch into the previous row.

Chain6, skip stitch closest to the hook, Slip stitch, Double crochet, Half Treble, Treble, Double Treble, in the remaining 5 stitches. [US-Slip st, Sc, HDc, Dc, Tr] Skip three stitches on the base row, Slip stitch in the next stitch.

Picot leaves:

This could be worked as an edging or as I am showing it, as a decorative lace stitch. I am already imagining endless variations of this leaf depending on the size of stitches you choose to use and their exact placement. I shall leave it to you to experiment!

Beginning with a short length of chain stitches;

Chain4, (3 Trebles, Double crochet)[US-3 Dc, Sc] into chain furthest from the hook, placing the hook under the front two loops of the chain stitch.

Changing which loops of the chain stitch we use gives either a more upright or more horizontal leaf position. In the image below I worked into the back bump or third loop.

Double Picot:

Here are two variations which give differing results.

a. Made into a length of chain. Chain5, turn and Double crochet [US-Sc] into back bump of chain furthest from the hook; Chain4, turn, Double crochet [US-Sc] into loop. Turn again before continuing the length of chain.

b. Made into a length of chain. Chain4, Double crochet [US-Sc]around the length of chain (not into any stitch). Chain4, Double crochet [US-Sc] into the loop just made (not into any stitch). Tug on base chain and slide both Double crochet stitches together to tighten picot.

Multiple Picots:

Where a group of picots are used together to form a design element. A typical example is in the snowflake above. But it might also be just a pair of picots. Most of the examples I found used three together because odd numbered groups always look better than even. I have no idea why. (Answers on a postcard please!) I rather liked this lace design where the central picot is used as an anchor for the following row.

Clones Knot:

This comes from Irish Crochet. It is basically a bullion stitch which is joined head to tail. I avoid bullion stitches where ever possible but I spotted this Interweave video in which our hostess recommends a tapered hook and then proceeds to make it look incredibly easy. Which actually it is with a little patience.There are three kinds that I am aware of;

Clones Knot;

Make a length of chain stitches then work about ten Half-treble stitches (US-HalfDouble Crochet) over the length of chain and hook at the same time.

Push the loops down the chain length to tighten. Place the hook in the nearest visible chain stitch.

Catch the working thread and pull it through the chain stitch and all the loops on the hook.

Finish with a Double crochet (SC) in the chain stitch.

Modified Clones Knot 1;

Starting with a length of chain as above. Wrap the yarn around the hook only, two or three times, then catch the working yarn around the hook and chain length.

Catch the yarn again and pull through all loops on hook.

Push the 'knot' up to the end of the chain length and secure with a Double crochet (SC).

Modified Clones Knot 2;

Starting with a length of chain as above. Pull up a double height loop. Yarn over the hook and then wrap the working yarn around the length of chain clockwise two or three times. Slid up to the hook.Yarn Over hook and pull through the two loops on the hook. Finish with a Double crochet if required.

Boucle Loops or fur stitch:

You may find variations on this stitch which may be easier. It certainly requires some dexterity, practise and patience! In order to get even length loops some kind of a gauge is used. I've gone for an over sized knitting needle. Made as a wrong side row it can be used as an edging or as a textured fabric.

Place hook into next stitch, wrap the working yarn from front to back around your gauge; bring the hook behind the two strands of the extended loop, catch both threads and pull through the base stitch only, yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook.

Looped Edging:

(This edging can be worked as a lace stitch in which case chain stitch in place of the double crochet stitches in the following instructions.)

Double crochet into base fabric, Chain2, pull up a long loop and remove hook from loop, replace hook in 2nd chain from loop, yarn over and pull through chain stitch. Double crochet in next base stitch. (US-Sc)

I could probably continue with this blog post ad infinitum! I haven't included beaded picots or picots in combination with other stitches. I hope I have given you enough confidence to play about with them when you find them and look out for some playful combinations. They don't have to be stuck on the edge but can be an intrinsic part of any design. I thought I'd leave you with this design from Edie Eckman's Around the Corner Crochet Borders.

P.S. Thanks again to friend D. for all your investigative inspiration.

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