One of the crochet projects on which I'm working is a set of coasters made with jute twine.
I chose jute twine because (a) it's cheap at only $1.48 per 190 ft. roll at our local
Lowe's, (b) it's a natural fiber, and (c) it will hold up well to light outdoor use. I wanted a design with simple, clean lines - a smoothly worked round with an elegant border, but that doesn't look too much like a lace doily. After spending entirely too long browsing the
Ravelry database, I finally settled on
this design by ChezPascale.
Because jute twine is thicker than medium-weight worsted yarn, especially so once the twine's been kissed by Georgia's sweltering summer air, I needed to modify the pattern somewhat.
- I had to use a 'J' hook for the twine instead of the suggested 'H' for yarn.
- I used a Magic Circle to start and an Invisible Slip-End to finish, to avoid start bumps and end gaps.
- The first row of clusters is worked with 5 loops instead of 7, as the full cluster wouldn't go into the previous row's SCs.
- And to keep the final diameter near 4", I skipped the third cluster round and the second border round. I need coasters, after all, not jute saucers and plates.
The other projects on which I've been working require a consistently firm tension, so the change to jute is difficult. The feel of it is jarring; it's scratchy and stiff - coiling off the roll rather than flowing off a ball. It's also difficult to insert new stitches into previous rounds, as the stiffness doesn't lend easily to insertion space. What would've taken me an hour (at most) to accomplish with yarn took well over two hours with this twine (nearly four with the requisite row frogging and pattern tweaks of a 1st WiP). The result is pretty, and it's strong, and it will be durable - but my hands and arms are quite tired after working with it all afternoon.
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| The first of eight coasters, w/pattern modified for twine |
One coaster down, seven to go!
