Tools I Vibe - The Latch Hook
Its magical, its mystical and Im here for it!
At the end of a make where I have changed yarn five gazillion times, (ok, twice) the Latch Hook makes one of the most tedious jobs in creating Funky Crochet Hats Patterns (weaving in ends)...not welcoming or a breeze but...a whole lot more manageable.
Not discovered early enough in my pattern designing journey, just like many of you my yarn-ie friends, I avoided doing too many yarn or color changes due to“the ends”. Slowly I ambled into into makes that allowed the change in yarn to carry up a side, once I learned the math that led to changing yarn on one side which is its own story🤣. This was great as it minimized those pesky ends. Feeling more confident, I progressed into patterns that did require ends to be cut and that super big plastic sewing needle, with an eye so big it looks like its winking at you, became my end of make BFF. How I came to own said big eyed needle is a mystery but I have had it since the flood (aka Noah, the Ark) and would get a little shaky if I couldn’t put my hands on it immediately cause....it fell between the cushions, on the carpet whist I was crocheting at night or settled into a dark corner of a notions bag.
As great as this plastic wonderous accoutrement was, it didn’t always do the job needed 100% of the time especially if I played yarn chicken and barely won, leaving the shortest of the short ends to somehow bury into the stitch work. Also...it needed to be threaded. In the light of day, folding the yarn over the needle to flatten it prior to threading (thank you Toni Lipsey owner/designer #TLYarncraft) was easy peesy, but when the sun went down and if I was working in dark or marled colors...I cant even.
Knowing there had to be a better way I went to YouTube in search of answers. It was videos of big eyed needle after big eyed needle. Somewhere in there I think I caught a glimpse of a smaller hook snaking the ends in and out, which I put into work and it was great until I got into Aran and above (my yarn sweet spots). More time was spent unhooking the small hook from the fiber it wld get caught in trying to bring the ends through the under over that got me there, than was worth it. Forget about taking it back in the opposite direction for locking.
And then one day...I had a moment.
Again, how, where, why I had a Latch Hook and one that was most likely used for lace weight thread remains a mystery....like I think I was 9 the last time a thought about “tatting” was considered, so it wasn’t that. Perhaps in absorbing things (my word vs appropriating, the word of others that I may possibly be related to), it was part of the loot, I mean things shared with me, but that moment of thought led me to believe, that this cld be the answer to 99% of my end of make challenges....and it was.
Say a word, say a word. Wow, Eureka, Halleluh, whatever works for you, insert it here. It took a dreaded task and with the simple act of weaving the Latch hook 'opened” under the back loops, laying the yarn (not threading) in the hook, closing the latch and puling it back through, felt like the crochet version of a detanglers effect on wet super-duper curly hair, and with my hair being super-duper curly that absolutely lives for detangler...thats saying a lot.
Walk, run, do what yah gotta do, but get thee and those makers that thee luv, a Latch Hook, and/or like I, buy a set to complement the one you had but didn’t know you had. Its one of the best add on tools that while a little hard to find in the big box stores unless lace making, hook rugs and pillows are in vogue, several are available on line. Of the now 6 that I have, I use the original one I didn't know I had with the black handle (@2mm opening) for almost all things other than Super Bulky Yarn, which I use its Hot Pink and Lime Green handled cousin for (@5mm opening).
PS...I had a student I was working with experience the difference between using a big eyed needle and a Latch Hook. All it took was one pulled through of an end with the Latch Hook and they were on their phone buying one, a set, holiday gifts for their crafting friends, before I left our session. You get it...its good...and in Head Gear Swag Land...Its a a Tool I Vibe!
Disclaimer on the attached link
As of the publication date of this BLOG I am not a paid affiliate, I do not have any agreements with Amazon or the Manufacturer of the Latch Hook set in the link below, nor am I recommending this specific Latch Hook set. The link is pasted as a reference for the readers to review and continue to do research for and/or on Latch Hooks of their choosing.
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