u/BeckieSueDalton

I would much prefer to spend the afternoon/evening hooking my way through the Row Progression Chart for my project instead of fighting skein-tangles. Any advice toward the successful management of this issue would make my day. I've shared the details of my project below, as well as the three methods I've tried for keeping the loose yarn untangled.

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THE BASIC DETAILS, my tools & supplies for this project

* Susan Bates Crochet Lucite Hooks (INLINE)

** 15mm hook (row.000) for CH×100 base row

** 11.5mm hook (row.1-row.100) for 2-strand HDC×100

* CYC #4, MEDIUM/WORSTED WEIGHT YARNS (×3)

** [DK] DARK: RHSS 0378, Claret

** [MD] MIDS: RHSS 0376, Burgundy

** [LT] LGHT: CARON 1£ 10506, Scarlet

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THE COLOR REPEAT SEQUENCE IS:

*2 rows DK+MD → 2 rows MD+LT → 2 rows LT+DK

*The second image shows the shifting-repeat sequence

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MY ISSUE / THE CORE PROBLEM: Tangling Yarn Strands

* The first image shows my attempted setup, which just is not working to prevent the tangling of the individual yarn strands from my three center-pull skeins - two little cord keepers with yarn pulled to each side of the stand, and the third just pushed down repeatedly when it starts to tangles and twist with either of the other two.

* The third image shows the little Yarn Guide Rings that I have, but they keep popping loose, and the yarn strands below them continue to twist and twirl together between my hands and my project bag with the three large, center-pull skeins.

* The fourth image shows a yarn tote similar to the one I own; mine holds multiple skeins and has four grommet holes on top of the bag. It does a nice job of hiding the yarn from our kitten, but fails at keeping the yarn strands separate and untangled between the bag and my left hand (left=yarn & right=hook).

* If this project was one with smaller colorwork - like Mosaic Crochet or my Tic-Tac-Go Boards/Pouches - I could just wind the necessary yardage onto my Beadsmith No-Tangle Thread Bobbins, but that just isn't feasible for this great big ol' afghan, which would leave me working Invisible/Russian Yarn Joins &/or Weaving Ends to bury them all the live long day.

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🧶🪝💖 Your Ideas and suggestions are welcome.

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This is what I've accomplished today.

Several more tiny hats for our local NICU/PICU 🎉

😆 & these five rows of magically changing stitch counts and most definitely NOT Good Ol' Garter Stitch!

I mean, just look at those gorgeous _Knurls... or are they _Purnts..? Whatever the heck they are, those five little rows are well and truly _AWFUL_! I think I even managed to backtrack part of a row when our kitten exercised her Lap Nap privilege card.* 🐸✨🐏

I love our hobby(ies).. I'm fairly accomplished at crochet and decently skilled in various needlework styles, and I can Tat and Weave a bit.

Knitting, though..? 🫪 8 It's always escaped me. I sit down with needles instead of hooks,v and my brain just can't parse the possibility and potential.. It's l kinda like math or test-anxiety for sin whatever. Lane breath reason, and it makes less than zero sense!

So I've convinced myself that, if I put in an hour or so of practice each day, I'll have built up the necessary new muscle memory by the time we're all making squishy little stockinette cylinder pumpkins.

🍁 🎃 🍁

I've got books and videos to browse, and I get to visit with my favorite local knitter this weekend, so no advice or assistance is needed for now. I just thought some of y'all here could relate to just how horridly awful these first stitches are gonna be.

So, in honor of ✨‼️ _Hot Skill Summer_ ‼️✨, what are y'all's wonkiest rippits and re-dos from _Happy Hand Cramps Learning Land‽

✨🧶✨.

• Cat Tax Attached

I'm super proud of how this turned out. I've done Julie King's Ferris Wheel hat for friends before, but this modified version is all for me!

My Ravelry project page, with my full notes and more pictures: https://www.ravelry.com/projects/BeckieSueDalton/ferris-wheel-slouchy-hat

This is my first time working with a truly high-end quality yarn. It is sinfully soft, a literal delight as it pulls through my fingers.

YARN (one hank): Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the colorway "Anything Goes" (Color #903), https://www.woolandcompany.com/collections/dream-in-color-smooshy-cashmere

\* Fibers (400 yds/113 g): 70% Superwash Merino Wool, 20% Cashmere, 10% Nylon

\* CYC Weight: #1, Super Fine/ Fingering

HOOKS (3): I-9 (5.5 mm), 7 (4.5 mm), G-4 (4.0 mm)

Instead of just doing Front Post Half-Double Crochet (FPHDC) for the spokes with plain DC\* between them, as for Julie's hat (she uses just plain DC+FPDC), I did Back Post Half-Double Crochet (BPHDC) between the FPHDC Struts which makes the stitches resemble knitting instead of crochet.

I made the slouchiness fit better for my head than it did with Julie's original pattern, too. The slope of it is gradually elongated in both angle and length, so on windy days it holds my hair when it's not braided, without needing hair clips or bobby pins, in the manner of a snood.

I also added a finishing band around the opening, just as for the main body between the struts, all FPHDC but worked with the hat inside out, giving it a "pure knit" look while giving it a little more "grip" to hold and not require hair clips to keep it from sliding down the back of head due to the volume+weight of my hair.

I started with an I-9 hook (5.5 mm), dropped down to a 7 hook (4.5 mm) at roughly the 2/3s point, and dropped down again to a G-4 hook (4.0 mm) for the band.

\* US stitch terms and hook sizes

EDIT:typos