Yarn Bear

              [Furls (bottom) and Ommi (top) hooks. Both are acrylic and swirled red and another color. On a background of crochet]   Hey! Today I'm going to be talking about some crochet hooks. So many crocheters talk about "heirloom tools" or the concept of needing to have a "luxury experience" while crocheting so that it's a more enjoyable hobby. Y'all. We're not gonna talk about just how silly that is when you can buy ergo hooks from Walmart or Joann for $3, and they will be just fine, and sometimes, even though yes, I do have a Clover Amour hook, I often go for my cheap Susan Bates hook instead. And I still have fun crocheting!! What we're going to talk about today is the much lauded Furls Fiber Arts Streamline hook (mine is acrylic, I got it as a bday gift), and whether or not you actually need a $25 hook or if the comparably shaped Ommi hook that costs $11 (I also got it for my bday) might not be better. Or at least the same, if nothi

  [This post is a guest post! Thank you to Ollie  for providing this post for me to add to my blog!] Hi, I’m Damien’s partner Ollie! I’m a writer by trade, but my hobbies are embroidery and sewing doll clothes. (Tip: If you ever monetize a hobby, make sure you have one that you haven’t monetized, or you’ll have nothing to do for fun.) I’ve seen a lot of doll collectors who lament how expensive doll clothes can be, but are too scared to try sewing. And I get it! It seems intimidating, and the outlay of a sewing machine is expensive for something you aren’t sure you’re going to use; plus, there’s the ever-present fear of screwing up and wasting materials. I’m here to tell you that you can absolutely sew by hand, and that you can make cute clothes with very limited, inexpensive materials! I sew most of my doll clothes by hand because I enjoy the process, and because on a smaller scale, the machine can sometimes eat fabric. This easy skirt is one of the first things I ever learned

    A full and total breakdown of yarn sizes, as well as needle sizes and hook sizes! This can help you with picking out what you like or what kind of projects you might want to do, when you're just getting started. Typically at the average yarn store you will find 3,4,and 6 yarns (the numbers are called "weights" and have nothing to do with "plys"). Occasionally places like Joann will sell sock yarn. Most small batch yarn dyers will sell sock yarn, with less focus on worsted and super bulky. [yarn from 0-7. Crochet thread, laceweight, green #1, Hobbii #2, blue #3, mustard #4, silver-green #5, black tweed #6, and blue-green multi #7.]    0 : lace weight, cobweb      normally used for doilies, laces, and for tiny items like miniature sweaters and the like. Usually uses steel hooks. For a more open look you can go up as high as a 3mm. Needle size 3mm and smaller.   1: fingering, sock      used for socks, baby clothes, finer sweaters if you have the patience. size

        So you want to crochet. Or knit. But you don't know what to do or how to do it. What do you need? Where do you go? Knitting or crocheting? What you'll need is: A hook (or a pair of needles) . Check the band on your yarn for details. (worsted weight or 4 usually uses a 5mm needle and a 5.5mm hook. This varies from yarn to yarn, so check my blog for more posts about yarn weights and needle/hook sizes, in order to find out what you need!)           [a pair of blue Susan Bates needles with a blue-handled Clover Amour hook] yarn: Any yarn will do! Obviously in this situation, I'll recommend cheap yarn.                                                             [Big Twist Value Yarn in Purple] Scissors . Usually small ones are fine, like embroidery scissors, or folding scissors. [three pairs of scissors. left to right: green handled multiuse scissors, pastel green and white embroidery scissors, novelty rainbow unicorn steel embroidery scissors] Finishing needles/yarn nee

    Have you ever wanted to start a craft, like say knitting or crocheting, because it looks cool and like a fun hobby, and maybe you want to pick up a skill, or just make a lot of blankets or cute animals? Except when you do even a little research, everyone says "you have to use the expensive tools", and so suddenly you're intimidated? You don't have to be! You can do whatever you want (honest!), and there's literally no point where you have to "graduate" to expensive tools! Hi, I'm Damien, and I want to talk about crafting and why you can do it for cheap, and keep doing it for cheap, and you're NOT wrong!   [caption: the Yarn Bear sniffing around cheap yarns! Left to right: Big Twist, Hobbii (discontinued) Twister, Premier Just Yarn Worsted, Red Heart Super Saver, Crafter's Square. On a bed of projects made with cheap yarns.]                      I started with fiber arts (as they're called) when a beloved cat died mid-pandemic, an