Barbara's Creations

 

Yurtle The Turtle collection.  7/21/2023

I did four turtles because I didn't really like the yarn and I wanted to use it up.  I was experimenting on hook size.  One book said to just use size H and another book said to use 2-3 sizes smaller than yarn recommendation hook size.  I thought that sounded like a more excellent way of determining hook size because I was using a different type of yarn.  

I wanted to try out a 100% cotton yarn called KC knit and Crochet that I got from JOANN Fabrics.  It is a 3 light weight yarn with F 3.75mm hook recommendation.   It is a very soft yarn and I wanted to see how it held its shape.

I learned that I prefer to crochet with a Susan Bates hook (light blue, short shaft, bottom hook)

So from left to right (or top to bottom)

C - 2.75mm

D - 3.25 mm (favorite 2x smaller)

E - 3.5 mm

F - 3.75 (yarn recommendation)

I learned while crocheting this set that I have been crocheting the wrong direction the whole time I have been attempting Amigurumi!!!!  I was crocheting down when we need to constantly be crocheting up.  So all my creations so far have been inside out!  That is why they have been too puffy.  When you crochet the correct direction there is resistance to your stuffing and it takes the shape you intended.  Crocheting with the wrong side out gives no resistance and expands to create puffiness.   You can see that with the bodies and shells I crochet inside out and with the far right turtle.  the legs, tails, and heads of the other turtles are crochet properly.  

I learned that I don't like the way she decreased her stitches.  The new book had a way to do invisible decrease stitches that I think look a lot better.  Far right turtle has her original way of doing decrease stitches that I think look bad.  The other turtles are done with the invisible decrease stitches which looks much more clean.

I also didn't like how she started the magic circle with 10 stitches.  I did 10 stitches for the body, shells, and heads of all the turtles and the far right turtle.  The legs for the other turtles are done with starting it with 5 SC in magic ring but taking out 1 of the repeated rounds so that there is still the same number of rounds in the end.  

Crocheting with the recommend yarn hook size seemed to me to show too much stuffing.  But crocheting with hook size 3x smaller was very difficult and I felt like I was fighting it the whole time.  So hook size 2x smaller than yarn recommendation won because there was ease of use and hard to see stuffing!