Atelier
Lady Julia

5. Handling the work on the other hand

The hand that is not holding the hook, works simultaneously as a resting surface to work on and as a tensioning tool to stretch the yarn. With the palm of your hand facing you, put the yarn over your index finger and under the other three. The tensioning function is achieved by holding the yarn at one point and the work in progress at the other, stretching it in between. This tensioning technique is the key for the whole process to work. Here too, I found different methods to hold both the yarn and the work in progress. You’ll choose the ones you’re more comfortable with.

5.1. Holding the yarn

5.1.1. Method 1: Holding the yarn wrapped around the little finger

One of the methods to hold the yarn is to wrap it around the little finger, leaving the middle and the ring fingers free (under or over the yarn as you prefer) to help managing the tension and stretching  the thread.

5.1.2. Method 2: Holding the yarn with the three fingers around it

Another one is to use the middle, ring and little fingers around the yarn to hold it, letting it run or blocking it when necessary. I use this last method and it was very difficult for me to do it differently in order to demonstrate both ways. I’m so used to have my three fingers around the yarn, that I can hardly do it another way.

5.2. Controlling the work in progress

5.2.1. Method 1: Controlling the work in progress with the thumb over the index finger

 

 

 

 Link to left-hander version

As you may see on the demo, I work over my index finger and control the work in progress with the help of my thumb. On this method, to protect my index from being harmed I use the three fingers holding the yarn to lift it up, helping the hook to catch it without hurting myself. This is very important when we work for long periods with a steel hook.

This is the method my mom taught me. I’ve seen it on one of my crochet books too (CAPALDI, 2004). There’s also a variation, where both the thumb and the middle finger are used to hold the work in progress, while working over the index. I’ve tried it for our demonstration and it didn’t felt very odd.

5.2.2. Method 2: Controlling the work in progress distant from the index, holding it between the thumb and the middle finger

 

 

 

 Link para a versão esquerdina

What felt very odd was to try the method where you don’t work over your index finger, but distant from it, keeping your crochet suspended by the tensioning of the yarn. On this method, both the thumb and the middle finger hold the work in progress and, from time to time, you have to move them closer to the hook in order to control the work. The index finger helps to stretch the yarn in order to keep the right tension.

Once again, I knew this method from my crochet books (KNIGHT, 2004 and 2006), but recently I had the opportunity to see it live for the first time, both at Nexstitch and Annie’s Attic, two very nice sites (with many crochet learning resources and video tutorials) which I discovered through Craftster’s community, when I was investigating for this post.

On my research, I ended discovering another video tutorial demonstrating this method, but with a slight difference. On Hass Design tutorials (Hass Design – European Style Crochet Patterns & Classes, another great learning resource), the yarn is not over the index finger, but wrapped around it, for better control of the tension.

On our demos, I’ve tried to exemplify this method too, but for me it was really odd to work distant from my index and I had a hard time to control the yarn tensioning and the work in progress. However, this method great advantage is that it makes it very easy to protect the index finger from injuries since the hook always works distant from it.

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Tags: bijouterie crochetée, bijutaria, bijuteria, chain stitch, craft wire, croché, Crochet, crocheted jewellery, demo, demonstração, demonstration, how to, leçon, lesson, lição, maille chaînette, malha de cordão, tutorial, vídeo, vidéo, video

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 5th, 2007 at 11.56 pm and is filed under Jewellery, Techniques, Materials, Tools, Crochet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.