From Hank to Cake

As a crocheter and knitter, too much yarn is never enough yarn. I find myself constantly wanting to add to my collection and I was blessed enough to get my hands on some Cascade Yarns. My stash grew to include gorgeous hanks of Ultra Pima, beautiful pima cotton, amazingly soft and a dream to use on either my needles or with my hook and Hampton which consists of both Pima Cotton and Linen. These yarns are PERFECT for tropical weather as they are light dk weight and plant based. They come in multiple shades and around 200-250 m per 100g. I was absolutely in love the moment I unwrapped the package.

My issue, I didn’t have a swift or a winder and for someone with a small business, I didn’t have the budget to get one so I had to improvise. I can honestly say, I love my method! It’s very relaxing, meditative and simple. All you need is some time, some patience, a hank, a paintbrush and you can wind your skeins into cakes.

NOTES:

The paintbrush I use, is a size 12. It goes from thick to narrow at the handle so the cake is easy to pull off when it’s finished. I imagine any similar object from wide to narrow should also get the job done.

The cake is centre-pull. You also need to drape the ring of yarn around a chair back or place them over your knees so it doesn’t tangle. You can even ask someone to hold it for you but it takes about 30 minutes to wind 250m.

STEP 1: Leave a long tail and wrap the yarn around the paintbrush about 5 times.

STEP 2: *Wrap the yarn at an angle (around 45degrees) 5 times.* Rotate the paintbrush and repeat **.

And that’s it! Please let me know if you tried this method. Follow me on IG, Tik-tok, and share your new cakes with me #aliceincrochetland, #adventuresincrochetland

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♥︎ One Love and Positive Vibes

Advice from a Crochetier

When I first started crocheting, I didn’t have anyone guiding me. The internet was my only friend. I knew that I wanted to learn and design my own pieces because the niche I was drawn to, was lacking at that time. I’m not sure how popular crochet was for my generation, I’d never even met anyone who crocheted until years later. I wasn’t on social media so I couldn’t connect with a community. It’s only recently I discovered how saturated the hookers’ society was, although I guess a lot of new makers popped up with the pandemic.

Anyway, after about 7 years of research, I’ve gathered some knowledge and now I’ll share a list of important tools every yarn-head should keep in their stash.

• White/black yarn – always good to have on hand for borders or incase you run out of the color with which you’re working. I can’t tell you how many games of yarn chicken I lost at the “almost end” of a project. Things like straps for bikinis would be perfect in white/black because it will help accent the piece.
• Paperclips– Who needs stitch markers when you have paperclips? Paperclips is something you generally have around the house, even if they’re stored in a junk drawer somewhere. Paperclips from your schooldays is perfect to use as stitch markers. Before I had real markers (2021), I only used paperclips as a marker and let me tell you, the markers I have now are like pins, which mean they spilt my yarn and poke my fingers sometimes, no problems like that with the paper clips.
• Weaving needles– Not the plastic ones. The metal ones are the best. You can actually get cross stitch needles, the ones I use are 1.3mm which work with up to a size 4 yarn. I’ve never used a thicker yarn so I’m not sure if they would work. TIP: Store these in a mini ziplock, or upcycle a plastic container and store your markers and needles.
• Measuring tape or Ruler– always keep a measuring tape or a 6″ ruler with your hooks. When designing especially, my ruler is like an old friend.
• Mason jar– A mason jar is super handy to store those ends that we’ve cut and it turns into a little piece of art with all it’s color. Lately I’ve started arranging all my leftover/scrap yarns in jars to make my own variegated skein.
• Makeup bag– I keep my scissors, ruler, tape, container with the markers and needles, hooks, eraser, pencils and some paper in a makeup up bag. It gets a little annoying because the hooks aren’t arranged according to size, but that way, everything is kept in one place. If I want to crochet outside, I just grab the bag and my yarn and I’m set.

So that’s all I can think about for now. I hope this helps your crochet process.

What about you? I would love to know what tools you keep with your stash. Til then, happy hooking.