Monday, February 22

Tips for Working with Jelly Yarn(tm)

Moonglow Pocket Pillow makes good use of the
glow in the dark Jelly yarn!
I first wrote these tips for a pattern called Barbed Wire Belt. You can put these tips to use right away if you already have some of this unique yarn at home. In the meantime, more crochet patterns for Jelly Yarn® are coming because I cannot resist its siren song. 

Tip #1 

If you can't make the initial slip knot tight enough to stay knotted, add a dab of superglue.

Tip #2 

Use a small amount of hand cream or something silicone-based on your crochet hook to really build up stitching speed! Also try switching to a Boye aluminum crochet hook or one with a brushed finish.

Tip #3 

Parakeet Perchswing (my birds' favorite toy!) is
now free at my new website.
The Jelly Yarn® is a "monofilament," not twisted plies. Like ribbon and tape yarns, it will acquire some twist as you work with it. I ignore it, unless it starts kinking up. Pulling more yarn from the ball helps because it postpones the twist down the line, indefinitely. Sometimes I crochet it standing up and shake the twist down the strand.

Tip #4 

Jelly Yarn® seems to stick more or resist me when I'm tired, stressed, or impatient. It's the same if I'm in a hot or stuffy room. Therefore I figure that either Jelly Yarn® has psychic powers, or when I'm stressed I become hot and stuffy too. If this happens to you, just take a break, turn up the A/C, and maybe even place your yarn in an ice chest and work that way! 

"Flying Jelly Ring, Tambourine Version"
from Jelly Yarn: 20 Cool Projects for Girls to Knit and Crochet

Tip #5 

If you have kids, guard your jelly stash carefully. If you don’t have kids, other people’s kids will find you and stare soulfully until you make something for them.
 
Posted by Vashti Braha
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2 comments:

  1. Vic-Jo-RobFebruary 23, 2010 at 8:26 AM

    Love the idea of the companion. Too often reading a pattern is like ascending the Tower of Babel. Good luck on the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Vashti BrahaApril 17, 2012 at 11:25 AM

    And another tip, this one is about fastening off, in response to a question I received:

    1. If you've been using any lube, such as hand lotion or silicone to make the hook slide better with the JY, wipe it off of the strand where it will be fastened off.

    2. Pull the yarn end through the last loop, just like regular fastening off, and then pull it really tight -- so tight that it stretches the JY without actually breaking it. If you pulled it tightly enough, the knot will contract around itself snugly to hold the knot secure. Too tightly, it'll break. Not enough, it'll loosen up again. You can practice with a scrap to get a feel for how much you can stretch it before breaking it.

    3. Optional or if #2 just doesn't work for some reason: add a dab of superglue. I've never had to use superglue but it's always in the back of my mind, and I know some people do.

    ReplyDelete

On-topic questions are welcome!

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