Just Wondering???

[sprtsbear]

I was wondering if any of you have washed an article made with LB Homespun. I was wondering how it turned out? I was also wondering why companies that make crochet hooks don't standardize the sizes? Any comments???:sherlock

[JPorter718]

Hi there!

 

I am on my 5th afghan made of LB Homespun... and I wash each ghan before giving it to each giftee, I wash it on a warm/cold cycle (gentle) and just add a tiny bit of detergent and softner. I dry the ghan with a normal cycle and it comes out softer than before. Plus I think washing the Homespun gets any loose fuzz off the blanket.

 

Go for it!!

[yarnyviolet]

Well if you go outside of North America hooks are standardized because everyone uses metric measurements. In Germany and the UK you can only buy them in metric sizes. Now if patterns had metric equivalents....that is my problem. At least if they said Boyle or Bates. I end up doing a bit sort of like a cheaters swatch to see if it is ok. In Europe they don't tell you the yarn type either they just give recommended hook sizes (although many just have needle sizes :mad ) It has been so long since I have seen worsted weight that I just guess. So it ends up I have a pattern that says worsted weight, K hook and I head to german LYS and try to find equivalent yarn. If everything was made of sock yarn it wouldn't be a problem because Germany seems to be the sock yarn capital of the world. I guess it boils down to swatching.....

 

Rachel

[froggy]

Rachel, Have you even noticed that projects made from the same size Boye and Susan Bates also turn out a little bigger or smaller in size. For me projects made from Boye hooks always turn out smaller.

[tween]

I noticed the size differnce of the same size hooks, while making my 63 square afghan squares.. I thought it was just me!! Whew! I'm glad it's not!

[Stacey]

I've especially noticed that with the Crystallites hooks (are those Susan Bates? I'm not even sure). I have a Crystallites M hook that says it's 9mm, and a Boye N hook that also says it's 9mm--but one of them is lying because the Crystallites M is noticeably a little bigger (and works up a bigger swatch) than the Boye N.

 

It's a big pain sometimes, but sometimes it's helpful when I can't get the gauge right with one brand of hook (with, say, an H being too a little small and an I a little too big), I can try the other brand and usually get the right size eventually.

[sprtsbear]

Thanks for all the help.:grouphug I have so many brands of hooks and they are all different in size. I have noticed that the crystalite are very big. O well, I mostly do afghans and gauge doesn't really matter.

[threeolivemartini]

you could get a size guage for your hooks if you wanted to know exactly how big they were ..

[sprtsbear]

Where would I get one of those gauges for measuring the hooks?:sherlock

[hamlette2002]

My Crystalites are Red Heart. I only JUST saw the Susan Bates ones in the WD Knit & Crochet special.

[yarnyviolet]

You can get a gauge but still there is a difference between brands. The only way to really know is to use a metric gauge as the letters all mean different things. It is one of pet peeves as I am in Germany, surrounded by British, but am Canadian (and have patterns mostly from the US). I have the full set of TOTC hooks from G to Q in order to have consistency in my crocheting (or so I told DH). You see I give myself a monthly budget for my crochet equivelent to Dh's smoking budget and he smokes a pack a day so I have the full set of TOTC hooks. He used to smoke 3 packs a day for 15 years before we met:faint . Actually he was a non-smoker when we met but started again just before we married (and didn't tell me until after we were married):mad . I hate it but he never smokes around us so I guess I can't complain too much. My revenge is my crochet budget:danc

 

Rachel