DodoTheHooker

Chronicling the second Crochet journey of the Dodo

I finally managed to make a start on my Elf Coat, and the first step was to make sure I had the required tension.

The pattern requires 9 stitches and 10 rows per 2 inches. This was recommended using 6.5 mm Tunisian Crochet hook.

I went away for a mini city break (the break was mini, not the city) last week (end of January 2025), during which I decided to make a start on the swatch. I had finally unwound the disastrous ball I'd made the week previous (see Elf Coat Update 2 – A chair does not a swift make) and rewound it on into a new ball, so was ready to start.

After a long and wet walk in Cambridge, I managed to find somewhere dry and warm to crash with a drink and a burger. I made went to start my swatch only to realise my Tunisian Crochet set didn't have 6.5mm hook. So my only choice was to try with a 6mm hook. This gave me 8 stitches to 2 inches, which was close, but not what was required for the pattern. blue yarn tension square on a white background with a ruler overlay

The next day, I went on the hunt for a 6.5mm hook. I couldn't get a compatible TC hook, but found a good normal hook which would be fine for a small swatch. The 6.5mm hook gave me fewer stitches per 2 inches than the 6mm, which in hindsight makes sense. a blue yarn tension square on a black marbled table with a ruler overlay

I reached out on Mastodon and got some good help suggesting I both make a bigger swatch and to drop down to a 5.5mm hook (which my kit did have) to see if that worked better.

My third tension square was made using the 5.5mm hook and large enough that the swatch ruler covered it and I finally got my 9 stitches per 2 inches. I think the rows a bit more, but I don't think that matters as much. blue yarn tension square on a blue mat background with a ruler overlay

With this, I am now ready to cast on my first section of the 'skirt' section of the coat. I think I'll start with the 'peaked section' of the skirt, which I will put at the back in the middle, to give it a bit of shape. The rest of the panels will be straight.

#crochet #TunisianCrochet #FiberArts #FibreArts

My first batch of yarn for my Elf Coat has finally arrived! It's had a tortuous journey to get to me. I originally ordered it in early December and it was posted before the Christmas rush. However, the postie decided not to leave it at my door and just returned it to sender without trying a redelivery or leaving it with a neighbour. I'll put it down to a new postie on a Christmas job who didn't know the code to get in or the ins and outs of the mail.

I contacted the mill who were now on Christmas break and they offered to send me another parcel once they were back in the New Year, which I accepted. I got an email to say it would be delivered but that because they couldn't get in, they took it to the local post office. I got home, checked the closing time; I still had an hour. I quick marched up to the post office only to find it shut an hour early. “They'll be open Saturday 0900-1700 though!” Ok, I'll go back. Finally picked it up on Saturday and opened the box. The colours look amazing in person, pictures don't do them justice!

Two skeins of yarn. Both a blue, one dark one lighter. Both have a band with John Arbon Textiles, the model is Devonia DK.
They are both sitting in the shipping box and a note can be seen on the left hand side, hand written saying thank you for your purchase.

Last night, in a fit of excitement to get started, I decided to ball up the dark blue skein. I still had a ball winder from my last Crochet Journey, but I'd given the swift away to Charity some time ago. I researched how to wind it without a swift and found I could use the back of a chair. “This can cause issues, however, as it can cause tangling” said many of the sites I read. “I'll be fine,” I thought “How hard can it be?”...

I spent a good 2 hours and several restarts due to uneven tension and a messy ball before I finally had something vaguely resembling a ball of yarn. I have no doubt it will fall apart on me during unraveling, but it should be enough to get a swatch done and check my tension for the project.

As a certain Scottish Actor once said: “Allons-y!”

#CrochetJourney #Crochet #FiberArts #FibreArts

This blog is going to be used to share my thoughts, ponderings and wonderings on my Crochet journey, my second.

To start, I will share a quote by Martha Graham:

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you.”


I think the TL;DR of that is “Create whatever you want, no matter what your feelings on it are, because it will be uniquely you”, which is something I definitely struggled with in my first crochet journey, as I would make mistakes and I would feel that the piece was “ruined”.

This time round, I want to try and work past that feeling and create anyway. Part of my reasons for restarting my Crochet journey are desire to have a hobby that is not solely screen-based, and to have something I can do away from a screen. The other is to help my mental health, which my first Crochet journey did, and now that I'm going through a lot of personal issues, I want to try to head off any issues I may encounter, and even counter them by making new friends both online and IRL.

I already have a plan on what my first big make is going to be, and that is a coat which is following the Elf Coat pattern by Morale Fiber, although it will have some slight alterations to make it a little more suitable for a man, as the pattern is designed to be dress-like. I've already chosen the yarn I will use, which will be John Arbon Textiles Devonia in Moon Bloom and Dark Skies. The desire to make this coat comes from my other new hobby which is my Dungeons & Dragons character. My character is a Druid, and although the pattern is titled Elf coat, I think with some minor alterations, it will be good for a druid too. I wanted to make it a dark forest green, but decided that green doesn't suit me as well as blue, and that blue could still be a good colour for a Druid.

Stay tuned for further developments.

#CrochetJourney #Crochet #DnD #MentalHealth