Gosh dangit!

[AidanM]

My brand spankin' new Crystalites are acrylic hooks, and they're pretty spiffy. Except that I'm trying to work an afghan with the P hook and 3 strands of yarn, all acrylic. It seems like the two are INSISTING on sticking to each other. It's like pro-wrestling just to get a stitch done! Has anybody got any suggestions for me to make this go a little smoother?

[CatsCradleCreations]

Have you tried rubbing your hooks with a piece of wax paper or a stub of an old candle? If you do the candle thing, then use a cotton cloth to polish the hooks.

 

This works for aluminum hooks, but I'm not sure about the acrylics. I don't seem to have this problem with my Crystallites unless my yarn gets wet (I have 2 cats and a 7 m/o little girl who like to chew on my yarn...).

 

You might also want to check that you're not pulling the yarn too tight against your hook. Try loosening up your grip a little and see if that helps.

[sunshine1977]

I have three sets of Crystallites, and it seems like some of them have little burrs from the molds that I have had to file down, especially on the smaller sizes of hooks, and the larger ones somtimes have little raised ridges where the seams of the molds were that I have had to trim off....Could that be the problem? Good luck!

[AidanM]

I have three sets of Crystallites, and it seems like some of them have little burrs from the molds that I have had to file down, especially on the smaller sizes of hooks, and the larger ones somtimes have little raised ridges where the seams of the molds were that I have had to trim off....Could that be the problem? Good luck!

 

I wish it was something so simple! No, that's not it.

They squeak when I try to use them! It sounds like I'm manhandling mice!

[sunshine1977]

Oh yuck...I hate that!!! It sounds like you probably crochet pretty tightly if the yarn is squeaking. I think I would give the hook a quick wash with soap and water and then try the waxed paper or a candle stub to see if that helps. Sometimes if I have put lotion on my hands earlier, it seems to come off my hooks and make them a little bit sticky to the yarn. I used to crochet really tightly, and it took alot of concentration and effort to break that habit! It seems like the more difficult the pattern or if I am in a stressful period of time, my crochet just reverts back to being tight, so I have to really work hard at keeping things loose! Also, I had to totally change the way I hold the yarn in my fingers so it would slide more easily. All the diagrams you see show the yarn going around the pinky finger, under the third and fourth fingers and then over the top of the second finger...if I tried to hold my yarn like that, there is no way it would slide through my hand! I just go around the pinky and over the top of the rest of my fingers, or sometimes just under the pinky and over the top of the other fingers if it is not sliding as much as it needs to...

 

Anyway, hope one of these suggestions helps out so you don't have to listen to those poor mice!

[Natasha]

I had the same problem when using my Crystallite P hook and two strands. I found that rubbing the end of the hook with a fabric softener sheet helped a lot. I kept the sheet handy throughout the project, and it made my project bag smell nice, too.