Two Kinds of Crochet Slip Knots

2018 Update: I've revised and expanded this post at my new website. I recommend these posts!
Start Crocheting From Scratch
More Ways to Start Crocheting
Starting Knot Variations

How To Do a Slip Knot Variation

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I knew of only one kind of slip knot when I learned how to crochet at the age of nine. Many years passed before I learned that there are actually two versions of it from a crocheter's point of view. I call one adjustable (blue one in photo) and the other, locking or secure (the red one). The only difference is which yarn end you use to make it.

It used to be that all of my slip knots were adjustable by accident, now they are all secure on purpose! Video links are at the end of this entry.

Which Kind Do You Make?

Tug on the short end of the yarn (a.k.a. the cut end or "tail").

• If doing this tightens the loop, you made an adjustable slip knot. 
• If you tug on the long or "ball end" (i.e. where the yarn that is attached to the skein) to tighten the loop, it is a locking slip knot.

The locking version is important because there's no chance of it coming undone under stress, such as when it is part of a purse bottom, or the clasp end of heavy beaded jewelry, or the center of afghan motifs.

The adjustable version is useful for closing up a center hole in one of the many methods of crocheting in the round: If you work all stitches of the first round into one chain, you can then pull on the yarn tail to close up the center hole tightly. Be sure to leave a long enough end (more than four inches/10 cm) for weaving in securely so that it won't loosen later.

If your adjustable slip knots have never loosened, perhaps you have woven in a nice long yarn end to secure it; or used a non-slippery yarn, or a tight stitch gauge.

Slip Knot Video

This video demonstration (not mine) shows three ways to make a slip knot. The first two are just different ways to make an adjustable slip knot. Notice how she uses the short yarn end when completing the slip knot, and then tightens the loop around the hook by pulling the short end.

The third slip knot in the same video is the locking slip knot. Notice she uses the ball end (long yarn end) when completing the slip knot.

Tips for Crocheting with Wire

Solstice Bangles how-to, Winter 2017

Even if you've been crocheting with wire for a long time, your stitches are likely to look loose and irregular. There’s also no way that your stitches can look neat, even, and flat while you’re gripping it to work the stitches. It doesn't matter! When you're done, you can "block" your stitches by poking and pulling individual strands into place with your hook. (It's one of five ways listed in this newer post for giving your crochet a nice finish.)

More Tips for Crocheting with Wire

1) If the wire feels too slippery, try looping it around an additional finger for more tension.

2) For tighter stitches, use a finer (thinner) gauge of wire if possible; if not, try to make small contained movements as you crochet.

3) 28 gauge ("28ga") wire is thinner and easier to crochet than 26ga. Crocheting wire uses new muscles that other kinds of crocheting don’t require. It’s more important than usual to avoid hunching your shoulders as you work. If you have trouble with the 28ga at first, start with the next finer size: 30ga. Any size you use will be beautiful.

4) If you find that you use one of your fingertips as a backing when trying to poke the hook through a stitch, wear a thimble or band-aid on that finger for cushioned support.

A bookmark in progress of pure silver wire,
crocheted for my grandfather 

5) Assume that you can’t rip out mistakes. Sometimes you can without breaking the wire, but you will still be weakening it. It’s best to leave tiny kinks in the wire; trying to remove them stresses the wire even more. 

Wire is weird because it’s so strong that you have to manhandle it, but it can snap, so you have to baby it at the same time. 

If the wire does break, don’t worry. Twist together the broken ends and keep going. With some wire projects you don’t really need to weave in a tail, just try to keep ends from popping up and feeling prickly or snagging things (this is especially important with jewelry items).

If you love adding little seed beads to stitches, here's your chance. There's nothing easier than stringing them onto wire and crocheting them into stitches as you go!

Crochet Cords for Pendants: Happy Pairings

Take a striking pendant, crochet a pretty cord, easy instant style, right? Well, it's almost that easy. Here is some advice to help ensure that you will be happy with your new crochet necklace.

The yellow pendant (far right) had such a small hole that
I had to crochet it right into the Cat's Eye pendant cord.
(See Problem #3 below)

Solving Common Problems

I design a lot of pendant necklaces and lariats and sometimes have compatibility issues between pendants and crochet necklace cords. (Happens with non-crochet necklaces too.)

Crochet jewelry materials, such as pendants, beads, string-like yarns, and crochet threads, vary widely in their availability around the country (US). This means that even though I can specify the exact thread and bead brands that work great for a crochet jewelry pattern, you may have no choice but to substitute.

Problem #1 

Oops, the pendant is too heavy.
It pulls on the crochet stitch work so that it looks inelegant, or the exquisite details are lost. This happens to me often, partly because I seem unable to resist chunky art glass pendants. They are the heaviest pendants I own. (The other reason it happens is that I tend to crochet a new necklace cord first, assuming I'll find a pendant that'll work when I'm done!) 

Solution
In both cases, it means crocheting the first four or more inches (10 cm) of the cord pattern you're using, then stringing on the pendant to test if you have a good match. (When designing, it means I just need to plan ahead better. Easy to say, but it means altering my natural way of designing. I now display my pendants pinned to a big flat board so that they are as visible as my yarns and threads.)

Problem #2 

The pendant isn't heavy enough!
Part of what makes a jewelry piece successful is its drape, and show of weightiness. Stiffer yarns, tapes, and strings like hemp, metallic braids, and wire are some of the very best for crocheting jewelry. Light weight pendants abound (such as when they are made of wood or thin beaten metal). They may not have enough weight to pair well with stiffer crochet cords. Even a soft thread may need a heavier pendant if the crochet stitch used is thick.

Solutions:

• Test first, like above.
• Supplement the weight of the pendant by adding seed beads to the crochet. String them onto your yarn before crocheting. Note: This brings its own issues. Almost no pendant holes are big enough for seed-beaded crochet to pass through (but see below). Also, believe it or not, sometimes even beading will not add enough weight!
• If you're committed to crocheting with a particular stiff material, this is when you can feel free to use the heavier pendants. Otherwise, switch to one that works better with the pendant.  
• A few pendants are just too lightweight for the pattern, no matter what material you use; I try to notify you within the pattern if I think some lighter pendants just can’t work. 

Mermaid Chains are rather ingeniously
(if I may say) designed for easily switching pendants
that have smaller holes!

Problem #3

The Pendant hole is too small :-(
This is always a bummer for me. I've never seen a pendant opening that's too big but many are too small, yet I can't resist buying them anyway. 

Solutions:

• String the pendant onto the yarn/thread before crocheting. Test: crochet the pattern for a few inches/cm, then crochet the pendant right into the next stitch as if it's a bead. Continue the pattern for a few more inches. If you like how it hangs, begin fresh with pre-strung pendant. At the halfway point of your necklace, crochet the pendant into the next stitch.
• Add a larger link to the pendant so that it can be strung freely onto the finished cord, using standard metal jewelry findings and tools. Better yet:
• Crochet your own "link"! Just a thin crocheted ring through the pendant opening will do. See image below.

From Crochet Inspirations Newsletter issue 81,
"Crocheting Pendant Loops"
See how the direction of the hole has also changed?

Problem #4

The Pendant turns to the side when it hangs; the hole goes the wrong way.
The pendant opening tunnels either from side to side, or from front to back. Sometimes it doesn't seem to matter much for the pattern, so you need to test. 

Solutions: Try the solutions for Problem #3. Crocheting the pendant into a stitch may change the direction of the pendant opening, depending on the stitch. Adding a crocheted or metal link to the pendant first will change the direction of the pendant opening.

If you have any related issues or solutions I haven't mentioned here, please add them in the Comments below.

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.