HAIRPIN LACE TOOLS – Craft Gossip

A recent discussion on another site got me to thinking how crochet tools have changed over time. Hooks, themselves, have changed very little. You either have a ‘traditional’ hook or an in-line hook with handle variations. But, other crochet tools have evolved more, taking advantage of advances in engineering and materials.

I’ve never actually even attempted, much less mastered, hairpin lace although I own three different hairpin lace tools. I actually purchased this one made by Clover (notice the unopened package ;-0):

hairpin-lace-1-0509

Here are two others you can find at http://www.mielkesfarm.com/crocheting_tools.htm

The first of these is a simple tool, pretty much unchanged over time. The blue one is specifically for making flowers, but can also be used for more traditional hairpin projects.

There are several other hairpin lace loom designs I’ve seen. One is a big U-shaped metal tube. Despite the variation in designs of the looms, they all create the same lovely hairpin lace. Here’s an example so you can see what it’s supposed to look like:

http://flirtationsknitwear.blogspot.com/2008/11/allure-of-hairpin-lace.html

If you don’t have a hairpin lace loom or access to a store to buy one, see if you can make your own using these instructions:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4468904_make-hairpin-lace-loom.html

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There are all sorts of knitting techniques you can use on hats, but some of my favorites are textured stitch patterns or cabled hats worked in a single color. Check out these great textured hat knitting patterns and find your next fall favorite.

The K?pekapeka hat from The Practice of Fibre was the one that got me started thinking about textured hat knitting patterns. This one has a simple zig-zag pattern worked with purls. This hat uses centered double decreases for shaping to help keep the pattern going as you finish the top of the hat. It uses worked weight yarn.

Little Totz Designs has this simple knit hat that uses worsted weight yarn and an allover knit-purl stitch pattern that’s easy to memorize. This one would be a great first hat in the round pattern if that’s something you haven’t tried before.

The Fia Beanie from Honey and Grace Fiber Co is another simple stitch pattern that’s full of texture. It calls for bulky yarn so it should stitch up in no time in this great textured diamond design.

Kalurah Hudson’s Cindersmoke hat is an interesting stitch design that uses double moss stitch and bands of slipped stitches throughout the pattern, which is where the decreases are worked, keeping the rest of the pattern as established. It uses bulky yarn and is sized for adults, and you can find it on Ravelry.

Benjamin Matthews has such pretty designs that often turn out to be simpler to knit than they look. The Snow Carved Beanie (find it on Ravelry) for example only uses knits, purls and slipped stitches, but it has a design that looks almost like cables. The pattern uses worsted weight yarn and has a foldover brim for extra warmth.

While I wanted to keep the focus in this roundup on simple stitch patterns, basic cables are not that much more difficult than regular knitting, and the lattice pattern on this CrissCross Hat form the Purling Princess is so charming I couldn’t resist sharing. This hat comes in three sizes (baby, child and adult) and uses worsted weight yarn. It would be a great gift to knit if you’re thinking about that.

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