by Nancy
I’ve been working on some crochet snowflakes (and a star) which will hopefully be used to decorate my classroom when we go back to school January 5. I tried stiffening my first two items with a solution of 1 part craft glue to 1 part water, and it worked well.
But… one thing mentioned in the internet instructions on crochet stiffening was that you need to use rust-free pins to block the crochet. I had no idea whether or not my pins were rust free, so I just used them. When I removed the pins after the crochet had dried, an outer layer of the pin seemed to come off. There was only a slight discoloration on the crochet, but still I took this to mean that my pins are not rust-proof.
I’ve finished 4 more snowflakes now and wanted to stiffen them this afternoon. So, I went to Hobby Lobby in search of rust-free pins. Most of the pins in the store were labeled “nickel-plated steel,” but none of them said “rust-free.” Thank goodness for smart phones! I googled rust-proof pins and found out that many standard pins are nickel-plated steel, which is not rust-free, but quilting pins are often made of stainless steel, which is rust free. Thankfully, our Hobby Lobby sold one kind of stainless steel quilting pins.
Here are the next four snowflakes, secured with stainless steel pins and drying. So far, I think my favorite is #4 – the pattern is in French but isn’t too hard to figure out if you have a list of the French words for basic crochet terms.
