Hairpin Crochet

One of my latest fascinations has been with hairpin crochet. I remember as a kid my Nana would make hairpin crochet and I could never quite figure it out. Nana was also a fan of the broomstick as well and made many a rug using this technique.

Hair pin crochet forks aren't that available here. In fact I cant recall having ever seen them in the craft stores until very recently. My favourite Craft joint Spotlight, has one of those discount clearance tables up the back in the wool section. I stood there for about an hour a few weeks ago, sifting through the remnants of odd balls of wool, odd goggle eyes, beads, light up knitting needles that haven't seemed to really catch on, a pile of miscellaneous patterns and a few humble hairpin prongs. These had been respectably reduced from $4.99 to 50c each. And how I love a bargain, so I bought 4 in different sizes and challenged myself to learn how to use the things.

The major challenge is starting off. It is one of those left - right spacial things that once you get the hang of, is quite relaxing. However, until you do get the hang of it, hairpin can be incredibly frustrating! The flipping the thing around totally messed my head.

This was my first major hairpin project. I used a pattern on the web and adjusted the length. The yarn is a 5 ply cotton and acrylic mix that I found in Lincraft in Brisvegas. Given this was my first attempt I chose a heavier yarn in a bright colour that was easy on my eyes.

Having now mastered the hairpin knack, it has become a major time waster. Recently I travelled to Cairns in far North Queensland and decided to do a day trip up to Kuranda in the rain forest. This was a fabulous outing as I got the train up, and the Skyrail back. Whilst waiting for the train I pulled out my hairpin, determined to make the most of any down time. As quick as you can say "double crochet" I had a swarm of English and European Tourists watching what I was doing. One of them asked "is this a local Australian Craft". It was one of those moments when I realised how little the general person knows about crochet. This group of tourists weren't gen ys either! They were the over 50, retirement tour group!

So whilst sitting at the train station north of Cairns here was I showing a bunch of Tourists, the craft of hairpin crochet. My kids would have been horrified as the boys have banned me from CIP ( crocheting in public) since the time I tried at the light hook at the movies! The picture below is from the skyrail over the rainforest. This has to be one of the most amazing pieces of scenery and engineering I have ever experienced.

So here is the wrap I made a strip of in Cairns. I used a pretty cotton mix that has a slither of silver sparkle through the thread. I was trying to get a lighter, dressier type of effect. I learnt doing this that stitch markers are a good idea to stick on the prong to keep count of the 50s of loops. I nearly went nutty checking the count on this.

This little pink skinny scarf is an experiment with a left over ball of cotton thread. I wanted to try the loop technique of joining. This is where you weave the loops of the strips to join them together. I made 4 strips out of the ball and am happy with the result.

You can see in the close up how the loops interweave.

I am now experimenting with what else I can make as I think I have more than enough wraps now. I am trying a bag and have a few other ideas in my noggin. My Nana would be pretty proud of me if she was still around.

Thanks for looking!

(c) crochetroo