Question: Is there a #crochet equivalent of #mastokal2017?
Also: anyone on here know nalbinding?
@jessmahler I've done a bit of nalbinding, but that would be a pain here because you have to work with yarn only as long as you're willing to draw through with a needle.
@Pica Which is why you work in short pieces of yarn and splice. I figure every craft has it's "thi is such a pain" bit, and that just happens to be it for nalbinding.
@jessmahler I'd love to make some nalbinding socks sometime, but not a shawl!!
@Pica LOL! What I seem to be finding is that nalbinding is really good for small in-the-round work that would be a pain with knitting, like socks and gloves.
@jessmahler @Pica
How does nalbinding work for socks? I have enough trouble making knitted socks comfortable.
(And yes, the crochet version of a KAL is a CAL)
@DialMforMara @Pica I'm not sure about shaping and such, but with nalbinding you are literally using a big needle to sew knots in the yarn, so you aren't tied to straight lines the way you are with standard knitting needles. You can do actual in-the-round work like with crochet.
But (i've been told) nalbinding stitches have knit-type stretch that crochet stichets don't, so better than crochet for skin-tight wearables.
@jessmahler @Pica
Interesting. My problem with knitted socks is that I can feel every single bump, and putting them in shoes stretches the bumps and makes them bigger. Inside-out soles help, but not much; and I think Colorworks soles put the most distance between me and the bumps.
Is nalbinding not just bigger and more isolated bumps?
@DialMforMara @Pica Sounds like your feet may be more sensitive than most folks, but fwiw, nalbinding and knitting have very similar looking/feeling stitches. Like, archeologists say they only way they can tell if a piece they dig up is knit or nalbound is to unravel it
@jessmahler @Pica
Wow. That I didn't know.
@DialMforMara @Pica Screenshot from this nalbinding video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znmp_bFRAak https://wandering.shop/media/2hGFD8NZKpMQW8V1X3U
Like, it doesn't quite look like the kind of knitting we usually see, and I don't think you could ever knit in a spiral like that cap, but it really does look very similar.
@jessmahler @Pica
Wow. Yeah, that spiral makes it look crocheted. I'm gonna have to watch that when I get to work.
@DialMforMara @jessmahler @Pica non-fiber-artist anthropologists sometimes get them confused :-)
@aldersprig @DialMforMara @jessmahler Non-fiber anthropologists often confuse spinning and weaving, like regular muggles, so... yeah.
@Pica @DialMforMara @jessmahler Yeah, my non-fiber-arts husband confuses crochet and knitting.
@aldersprig @Pica @jessmahler
I mean, crochet and knitting use similar gestures, and you can't blame them *as much* for not seeing the second point stick... But when you're using multiple DPNs there's no excuse.
@DialMforMara @Pica @jessmahler More the finished project.
“You should make this.”
”That’s crochet.”
@aldersprig @Pica @jessmahler
I think I've trained @Canageek at least to ask which one it is
@aldersprig @Pica @jessmahler @DialMforMara knitting involves multiple needles, crochet uses one. also Mara can do both so I can suggest projects that use either.
I kind of want to see Mara get in the nail binding because things made with it or almost impossible to unravel. since each not is independent of all the others they won't unravel at one cut like a knitted thing will.
@Canageek @DialMforMara @jessmahler @Pica @aldersprig the disadvantage to the not-unraveling thing for nalbinding is that it also makes it harder to fix mistakes. Pros and cons!
@Canageek @DialMforMara @jessmahler @Pica @aldersprig but then you waste yarn!
@gannet @DialMforMara @jessmahler @Pica @aldersprig *Looks at the stash Mara has in my closet* Uh huh. You are telling me there are knitters who DON'T have a ten year supply of the stuff?
@Canageek @aldersprig @Pica @jessmahler @DialMforMara @gannet TEN YEARS? My gods I hope I’m still going to live a bit longer than 10 years. 10 year stash makes me wonder if you think you’re going with the rapture. 😉
@DialMforMara @Johannab @Canageek I have boxes and boxes in the attic. If it’s just taking up part of a closer, that’s not bad at all. Mind you, I actually know knitters who are project monogamous and only buy new yarn for the next project.
I’m actually more likely to not buy random yarn than I used to be - I’ve adjusted my mindset to think of LYSes as my external stash.
@DialMforMara @gannet @Johannab I'm surprised there aren't yarn collectives. Give each type a rating, and you check in excess yarn you have and get credit. Then you can check out yarn equal to your credit from what other people have checked in when you start a new project, without having to have a huge stash at your place all the time.
@Canageek @DialMforMara @Johannab that would be excellent. Next best thing is that local yarn people are usually willing to swap yarn with each other when needed, or will give yarn away that isn’t assigned to a future project to others when needed.
@gannet @DialMforMara @Canageek we regularly have swaps, sales, and just plain gifting a bit here and there around this community. My LYS even hosts an annual stash sale (exchange) in their parking lot for some very small per-table fee.
@Johannab @gannet @DialMforMara I was thinking more of a communal yarn library type of thing. If everyone has more yarn then they actually need in the next year, why not pool it into one giant stash so that everyone has a better selection when starting projects? (Also then you wouldn't have a GIANT FIRE HAZARD in everyones home. Plus could insure it.)
@Canageek @Johannab @gannet @DialMforMara
That's what "FSOT" tabs on Ravelry are for. You just search for the yarn you want, see who's willing to sell it, and get it for a discount. Love it.
@aimil @Canageek @Johannab @DialMforMara and also my knitting group periodically gets together for what we nominally call a swap. Everyone piles yarn they don’t want anymore on a table. Everyone picks through and finds stuff they want. The rest goes to the thrift store. Win-win, and low stress.
@gannet @DialMforMara @Johannab @Canageek
My spinning group did this as well, though less often since there is one member who routinely brings garbage (sometimes literal garbage, unspinnable, trash fiber) and takes REALLY NICE STUFF and the moderator is too kind to tell her to stop. The rest of us have stopped wanting to swap in that environment, and have decided to just stop doing swaps.
@aimil @Canageek @DialMforMara @gannet ugh. It only works if everyone plays fair, yah.
@Johannab @DialMforMara @Canageek @aimil we actually don’t care, but we’re a pretty tight-knit group of friends. We’re mostly concerned with clearing the decks, and it’s a way of giving nice yarn to a friend who can’t afford it. Our viewpoint is that if we didn’t bring this yarn to the swap, we’d just be taking it to the thrift store anyway.
But it is important to be clear about expectations up front.
@gannet @DialMforMara @Canageek @aimil I can see it being different for spinners. Even “junk” yarn I could find a use for, if only to give away to someone at a community “knit your first stitch” demo. But garbage fibre really is garbage and spinning leaves you with a lot of it. Like bringing the compost bin to a leftover’s night.
@aimil @gannet @DialMforMara @Johannab That is why I said assign a rating. Acrylic = 1, Llama = 10 and so on. Then you could have modifiers for weird weights. I could write a program or spreadsheet for this. (I really like writing that sort of stuff and never get to)
@Canageek @gannet @DialMforMara @Johannab
Mostly in my knitting groups in the past it's been pretty simple to say "bring $x amount minimum, take no more than you brought in $ terms" and have it be okay, but This One Person just refuses to play fair even when there are rules.
"It's ART YARN BATTS" (No, it's polyfill with koolaid stains)
I'm not going to step in because it it is Not My Dog and also she's kind of toxic and horrible.
@aimil @Johannab @DialMforMara @Canageek yeah, that’s no good.
@Canageek @gannet @DialMforMara it’s not a fire hazard unless it’s acrylic. Wool self-extinguishes, cotton will flare but usually just smoulder without accelerant.
@Johannab @gannet @DialMforMara Was thinking of once a fire got going how fast it would tear through a yarn stash. Figured it would be similar to a library of books.
@Canageek @Johannab @DialMforMara we bought an organic cotton futon for my son when he was small, and we were legally allowed to omit flame retardants because it has a wool layer inside the cover.
@gannet @Johannab Hmmm @DialMforMara can I do some testing with your stash?
@gannet @Johannab @DialMforMara Fire retardant laws are meant to prevent sources of ignition, so I'm sure wool won't ignite easily, but once you get it going it'd burn pretty well. (Incidentally this is a common problem with buildings today. It is really hard to light them on fire, but once the fire gets going the survival rate is lower, as modern materials have less mass then wood, and thus the fire spreads more quickly)
@Canageek @DialMforMara @Johannab hm, yes, fair enough. This sort of thing isn’t my area of expertise; I mostly was interested that it was an allowable substitute.
@gannet @DialMforMara @Johannab It isn't mine either, but you have hydrocarbons, they will burn once they hit temperature.
@Johannab @DialMforMara @gannet @Canageek
Yeah. Also plastics like acrylic will melt onto flesh. That's why they recommend natural fibers like wool for infants. (I discovered the first time I knitted something for a baby and did some research into what fibers would be infant friendly. I went with a baby merino. :)
@gannet @DialMforMara @Johannab @Canageek 'Project monogamous' is a fantastic term.
@mirabilis @Canageek @Johannab @DialMforMara I can’t claim credit for it, but I also appreciate the phrase. So useful!
@gannet @Canageek @Johannab
I like "external stash."