pattern details -
- Roller Coaster by Lisa Gentry
- found in Hooked For 30 Days e-book
- 4.0mm bamboo
- recycled 8-10ply/DK-worsted cottons
- I had originally planned to make a few of these coasters... but just making one was a bit of a nightmare
- I think I HATE the roll/bullion stitch!!!
- this was the first time that I have ever attempted it
- it looks effective... but I find it so hard to co-ordinate my yarn and fingers in just the right way... it took me forever to work the final round of this piece
- in my opinion, the bullion stitch is too much effort for too little result!
- just wondering if any of you have mastered the bullion??? did it take long? or did it come to you fairly immediately? are some yarns easier to bullion than others? are some hooks more effective?
- edited to add - if you are like me, and struggling with the bullion stitch, you should take the time to read through the comments below... mary has offered some wonderful and detailed advice on where I might be going wrong... and it will probably help you out, too!
6 comments:
wow...this looks really beautiful...it really worth the effort...
Did you use a square hook or a tapered one? Tapered is best, and when you go thru the wraps, if they are not tight you should be able to sort of hold them and the hook go thru them. But if you used a square hook, I can see where you would have had a heck of a time going thru them.
Yes, hook and technique make a BIG difference in how easy the roll stitch is. 1) The hook shoul be of consistent diameter, just like Susan Bates hooks with the in-line hook design. Boye hooks where the hook end is larger than the shaft will cause numerous troubles. 2) How you pull the yarn through the stitch is another huge factor. Those crocheters who use a digging motion when pulling yarn through the stitch will have great difficulty. The best way is to take your hook through the "tunnel" of roll st-loops, is: as if it were a car going through a straight tunnel, and you do not wish to scrape the sides of the car along the tunnel walls. Line up your hook and pull it straight out, with no curving or digging while going through. 3) The loops around the hook for the roll stitch need to be loose enough for the hook and two strands of yarn to fit through it. A resilient yarn may be helpful here, but one with not too many strands, which could easily be caught if the hook end scrapes the sides. A further note: I have seen many more patterns with roll stitches made with thread than with yarn, so this theory may be moot. 4) There can be no tension on the yarn or thread when pulling the final stitch through the tunnel of roll loops. If there is tension on the yarn, you will end up pulling the tunnel of loops tighter, to access extra length in the yarn, instead of it coming from the ball of yarn. This would close up the tunnel and make it impossible to pull a loop of yarn through it.
Addressing all of these may be helpful to you. Good luck and happy crocheting! If it is something else, just let me know, and I may be able to help.
Mary Buse Melick
Originally a Thread designer
Sculpture Crochet
Stella-Marie Publications.
maryb51@embarqmail.com
This is lovely, but I think I would also have too much frustration with the roll stitches...but the comment by Anonymous (Mary) might help me! Thank you for posting this, both of you. :)
Elizabeth
nima - thank you!
minx - I was using a tapered hook... and my tension is usually quite loose anyway... but MAN I found this so hard to do!!!! maybe I need to give myself time to get used to it?
mary - thank you so much for stopping to comment here... you've offered a wonderful insight into where I might be going wrong... I think I'm putting too much tension on the yarn when trying to pull the last loop through, and so they all end up pulling tightly... I'll definitely give this technique another try... much appreciated!
elizabeth - give it a go!!! mary has offered some wonderful advice there... so it's definitely worth a try :)
I may only be an advanced beginner (perhaps not even up to THAT level yet), but I absolutely love Prudence Mapstone's wearable art. I especially love the capes! She uses this stitch SO much, as do other freeform crocheters, so I know that this stitch has a very important purpose in this artform. Means I am going to need to learn this at some point if I ever hope to create things I envision. I am SO glad to see these tips that Mary left! Thank you so much!
Post a Comment