Bubble Wrap hook????

[shuttlebuggy]

Well they say necessity is the mother of invention and guess this will attest to that saying...

Many of you know I have had multiple hand/wrist surgeries and also suffer from neuropathy (hands and feet).

 

It sometimes puts a big damper on my crocheting -

when I have a good spell I can go to town like nobody's business - but when something begins to flare up I have to curtail it and I literally go thru

"crochet withdrawl"....

 

Recently my right thumb has decided to be the problem child - it's been injected with cortisone a few months back when it got to the "triggering" stage and painful - that seemed to do the trick.

 

Now knowing the warning signs BEFORE it reaches that stage I take precautions of scaling back on crocheting and taking more breaks in between and such...

 

So this past week when I started to get the pain & ache in it at the base of the thumb - I was having a day where I felt I just HAD to crochet (it had been 5 days with none!)

 

So I took my favorite bamboo handled hook - which already had a short piece of a Susan Bates rubber hook cushion on the metal portion - and thought if I just build up the hook with something "cushiony" it will further take the pressure/tension off of the thumb.:think:think

 

I looked around the house and low and behold came upon my bag of bubble wrap scraps from delivered packages that I usually reuse for mailing.

Now I thought outside the box - literally and began the task of re-purposing it as a hook handle cover.

 

I tightly wrapped a goodly amount around my hook and taped it with clear tape in place. Attempted to crochet and found it was too much- so undid the tape and took it down a couple times round and whala!

I cut it originally to cover not only the handle but the thumb grip as well so all that is showing is the top of the hook needed.

 

It is like a MEGA shock absorber! - VERY "springy" and soft for the thumb and only allows for the thumb to bend just so much - not at the greater angle it would without this. Plus it prevents the rest of my hand from gripping too tightly causing more problems. If I have a bad neuropathy day (increased numbness in the other fingers it makes for an easier to hold grip too!

 

So gotta love bubble wrap! :yay:yay here's my hook adapter while going thru my thumb/hand trevails!

[RoseRed]

The things we do to keep on hooking. What a great idea!

[tnkycrochetnut]

Hi Shuttlebuggy, congratulations on your cleverness. What a great idea to use bubble wrap to cushion your hook with. I just recently switched to using Clover Soft Touch hooks rather than the regular, old ordinary crochet hooks. I had thought about buying the bamboo handled crochet hooks instead of the Soft Touch. But as I was looking at both hooks on the computer I had my crochet with me so watched myself carefully of where I was gripping the hook while crocheting and decided I hold my hook closer to the hook end. It looked like the bamboo handled ones the bamboo part was further back on the hook so I chose Clover Soft Touch. Boy, do I ever love them. Since there is more to grip I don't have to hold the hook as hard as I have been lately. Therefore my crocheting is going smoother. I thought about putting some of those hook cushions on my regular hooks instead of buying new hooks. I have done that in the past. But decided instead to treat myself. Especially since I plan on making lots of chemo caps this year. I was diagnosed with breast cancer towards the end of December. Plus I am now making a prayer shawl for a girl in her late 20s from my church who just has been diagnosed with Stage 1 ovarian cancer. And there is a lady in my Sunday School class who is going thru some troubles right now that I want to make a prayer shawl for also. With these Clover Soft Touch hooks I am having a ball. But really glad that the Mother of Invention worked for you. I think that is part of the reason my hubby and I are such packrats (maybe hoarder would be a better word) is we think we can always reuse something in a different way. I know my hubby is always cutting up boxes, cereal boxes or any other kind of box you can think of to make storage boxes for his huge collection of baseball cards. I agree with you - A day without crocheting, even just a few stitches - is a bad, bad day.

[shuttlebuggy]

I agree Clovers are good - but only if you have smaller fingers and don't require a TON of cushion -

I tried them but the cushion was wide and flat not round and spongy. So my trigger thumb still was at almost a 90 degree angle - I can't do that or it locks up after crocheting for a while.

And the Susan Bates ones are more cushioned - so I usually just cut them up in thirds and have enough to cover three hooks (the thumb grip part).

 

But in this case I need A LOT of grip all over the handle and there's not alot out there for that - so hence the bubble wrap plan

What's nice is that when things calm down a bit in my hands I can remove it easily - save it and reuse it as needed too!

[Tampa Doll]

Oh I love it. I would never of thought of that. Gotta love the brain when it goes into crafty mode.

[Momcrochets]

so glad you found a way to keep on hooking!

[tnkycrochetnut]

My fingers/hands are on the small size. I guess that is why I fell in love with the Clover hooks when I first got them. Of course, the rest of me is not so small. Oh well, I guess we all can't be perfect.

[katyallen815]

wow, what a terrific idea!! I have "wrapped" my hooks on occasion with that shelf liner rubber mesh stuff that comes on a roll. I wrapped it for comfort, and then use either some electrical tape I had on hand, or later, florists tape. Works wonderful, and doesn't cramp my hands or fingers! I gotta give yours a try one day though, that's a great idea! thanks! Oh, and I use Clover almost exclusively! I wrap them too! lol

[LeslieG]

You can't beat the hook cushions. They might not work for you Shuttlebuggy as they are not as thick as your bubble wrap, but, for use on regular metal hooks they are amazing. They really help. Herrschner's has them and so does A C Moore.

 

I have them on every hook I use.

[Flia]

What a great idea, I'm definitely going to try it.

[Kbear]

Great idea!