Special Tools for Your Crochet Projects

What do a pen cap, a balloon, and a shower cap have to do with crochet? Brenda K. B. Anderson shares some of the more unusual tools that she uses for her crochet projects.

Do you have trouble keeping pet hair out of your working yarn? You can use a shower cap and a large bowl! Are you frustrated that those pesky yarn tails keep poking out after you’ve carefully woven them in? Keep them in place by using a felting pen! Sometimes pins don’t stay in place very well in a crocheted project (especially in lace pieces). See how you can use small claw-style hair clips instead of pins or expensive knit clips to fasten pieces together before seaming.

Do you struggle to fasten the backing onto your safety eyes? Safety eye backings are notorious for being difficult to apply—and can hurt your hands! Watch Brenda as she uses a pen cap to pop those backings into place! And for the amigurumi crafters out there: see how Brenda uses a dog brush to transform an ordinary, smooth, acrylic yarn into a fuzzy, fluffy texture after it’s been crocheted.

Watch how Brenda uses a balloon and an ordinary coffee mug to block any size hat. No more annoying folds along the sides of your hat after blocking! Brenda uses many different ordinary household objects to help her achieve the best results for her crochet projects—and you can too!