Change the netting, just a little bit

I can do the same instructions over and over, but that doesn't mean that I will.  Sometimes it is more fun to start off with a set of instructions and change just a little of the instructions and suddenly you have something new.  Sometimes the changes happen on purpose and sometimes changes just happen.

I've been making small, circular pieces of netting for my next netting class - Circular Netting.  One of the first things I created with one of the small, circular pieces of netting was a bookmark.

When I decided to make it in color instead of white thread, I started with the same instructions.  After all, I was going to check to make sure I had written it correctly.  I made the circular part and started on the rectangular length of the bookmark.  I was sitting in the library, visiting with members of our knitting group.  I realized I had been netting for a while and wondered how close I was to changing stitches.  I thought I knew how many rows of plain netting I needed to do before I changed to a different stitch, but, when I looked at the instructions and counted the rows, I had done more plain netting than I was supposed to do.

Now I had a choice to make.  Did I want to follow the pattern exactly (which would mean untying each knot, one at at time, for several rows), or did I want to end up with a different bookmark pattern than the one I had started to make.

I decided I did not want to untie that many knots.

I ended up with a new pattern and a slightly different look.  Which do you like better?

More Mesh Poi

I mentioned last week that Carmen chose some net mesh poi for having the correct answers in my contest.  When I checked with Lucy I discovered that she wanted the same thing - in a different color.  So this past week I have been busy netting Mesh Poi.  I made sure that the pocket or bag section would hold several different sizes of balls.

The blue ones have been delivered to Lucy.  

The pink ones were delivered to Carmen.

Since I have no idea how long the cotton yarn will last before it wears out, I wondered what the mesh poi would look like if I made it from something more sturdy -- parachute cord.

I had some extra black around the house, so I decided to use it up.  It is more challenging to net with since I cannot put as much cord on the shuttle; however, I think it would last much longer.

I think I'll let my son, who started the whole project, test this style and compare it to the cotton ones I sent him earlier.  He'll be visiting in October and I can wait that long for his opinion.

Why I make netting class patterns several times

In May, 2012, I displayed photos of the net dishcloths I've designed for my circular netting class.  Recently I remade the same dishcloths using colored yarn.  I've learned that by making them a second and maybe a third time, I will often pick up mistakes I made when I wrote the instructions.

Carrots Net Dishcloth

Skirt Net Dishcloth

There was not much to fix on the Carrots Net Dishcloth or the Skirt Net Dishcloth instructions.

I needed to make several changes to the Fan Net Dishcloth pattern.  I had to increase the size of some of the mesh sticks and change the placement of the Fan Stitches.  After a couple of tries, I ended up with a larger dishcloth, fewer knots, but about the same amount of yarn used.

Fan Net Dishcloth

Even though I had to net this pattern more times than the other two patterns, I like the results. 

I wonder what would happen if I used a 3/8" gauge for the large mesh stick instead of the small mesh stick.  I wonder if it would fit on top of a net bookmark.  I wonder . . . 

A New Net Toy and Netting Contest Results

My oldest son seems to enjoy finding and helping me design new and different netting projects.  He suggested that I net something other than doilies.  When I asked him what, he suggested netting snoods.  He was the one who helped me design the net Klein bottle bag.  So I was not too surprised when he recently suggested a new project.  He wanted me to net a poi.

"A what?" I asked, thinking that poi was something to eat.

It turns out that he was thinking of another kind of poi.  The kind of poi he meant is a ball on a chain, or a length of fabric that holds a ball.  Since he is into juggling and martial arts, I could see why he might want me to make one.

He was willing to help me design it, provided I make him a set in black and white. We came up with a single poi and a double poi.

I made the 2" balls out of black and white denim, using only two pieces and one seam.  The seam on the balls makes them look like baseball-shaped beanbags.  I used poly-fil by Fairfield to give them some weight and allow them to be washed.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

The contest that ended last week had only two people brave enough to post their guesses.  They were both right, so I decided to make something for each of them.  Carmen has chosen to have me make her a set of mesh poi.  Lucy, let me know what you want.

An unusual-looking net bag

I have a friend who is battling cancer.  She has a PAC, a small machine that provides pain medication as she needs it.   That machine needs to stay with her.  The hospital provided her with a bag that was supposed to go over her head and one shoulder and hang down.  Because of various medical reasons no bag could hang across her neck and shoulder, so she asked me for help in designing a bag that would work for her.

We chose to make the bag of netting rather than fabric so she could access her machine without removing it from the bag.  The finished bag was certainly different from other net bags I have designed.

We attached the bag to a net belt that was pointed at each end.  The pointed ends make it easy to find the ends of the net belt.

The belt tied around her waist - the knot at one side.

Her machine was along her leg and within easy reach, so she could make any adjustments she needed to through the netting.

Now her machine rests beside her on her chair or the couch while she is sitting.  No more forgetting to grab it when she starts to walk.

It took only a bit of netting and part of an afternoon to help a friend.


UPDATE:  Some changes in the style of the bag.

Gauge = mesh stick size and yarn size (continued)

Last week I showed three small round pieces of netting that changed size when the yarn and mesh stick size were increased.  This week I finished three more.

Here they are shown as the top of bookmarks.

Flower

Candle

Magic

And here they are shown as hot pads.

Hot Pad #1

Hot Pad #2

Hot Pad #3

Can you match the hot pad to the proper bookmark?  On August 4th, at noon EDT, the contest will end.  I'll put the names of all those whose comment included the correct answer in a bowl and draw out the winner.  The winner can choose either one net item from Knots Indeed (1,000 knots or less) and I'll make it for them, or 2 of my netting patterns.  Be sure to leave some way for me to contact you, in case you are the winner, otherwise I'll pick again.

Gauge = mesh stick size and yarn size

I was looking at the patterns for my upcoming Circular Netting class.  I noticed that I had only one hot pad.  It uses the plain stitch.   

As I continued to transform the instructions for the net coasters from something I could understand to a handout everyone could understand, I realized I could have more hot pad patterns.  I just needed to make some changes to the coaster patterns.  

By using thicker thread and larger mesh sticks I went from coaster to hot pad.  The inserts in the acrylic coasters are just under 3 inches.  The hot pads are between 5 and 6 inches.

In knitting and crocheting how tightly you grip your yarn and needle affects the gauge and the finished size of your project.  This is not what happens with netting.  The finished size of an article of netting depends on the size of the yarn or thread and the size of the mesh sticks used.