Further on the Spooling
Armed with the information gathered in previous efforts, as well as additional materials, I continued on in the search for the desired small small-gauge knitting spool.
Spool 4
* Cardboard cylinder (from crochet yarn)
* paper clips (28mm)
* outdoor mounting tape
* aluminium tape
This time, rather than using the small end or the large end of the paper clips, I unfolded both ends, using the middle bend for the bent part. Then I used my pliers to narrow down the bend a bit, and then bend over the angles. Then I attached them to the cardboard cylinder with mounting tape (heavy-duty for the outdoors) and covered it with reinforced aluminium tape (the stuff they use on roofs etc).
This was sturdy, the pins were long enough, though a bit tricky when doing purl stitches. The only drawback was that the gauge was still too large, and the size was too big for what I was looking for. But it will be good for doing things like loom-knitting thumbs for gloves, so it isn't a loss.
Spool 5
* Popsicle sticks
* Cotter pins
* outdoor mounting tape
* aluminium tape
Yes, another attempt at cotter pins, but this time I un-bent the cotter pins so that rather than being lollipop-shaped, they were U-shaped. Then I bent the U-end at an angle like I had with the paper clips. The popsicle-sticks were an attempt to make a smaller-sized cylinder, by sticking aluminium tape on one side, rolling it into a cylinder, and holding that in place with more aluminium tape on the outside. Then the mounting tape to attach the cotter pins, and cover that with aluminium tape.
This was reasonably sturdy, though not so sturdy as the cardboard cylinder. The cotter pins did reduce the size of the stitches nicely, but they were spaced too far apart for what I wanted. One advantage to this construction was that because one had this gap between the top of the sticks and the place where the pins were mounted, it served as a good spot for doing purl stitch. So that was an unexpected bonus.
Spool 6
* Craft sticks
* Cotter pins
* outdoor mounting tape
* aluminium tape
So... narrower sticks were called for. Yes, some "craft sticks" from my collection of craft materials. This one was put together the same way as Spool #5, but with narrower sticks, the gaps between stitches were closer.
And I think I have it! My only concern is my fear that the whole thing will fall apart with too much use, and that the pins aren't exactly even.
Spool 7
* Craft sticks
* Cotter pins
* black hot-glue for metal
* aluminium tape
This one was an attempt to make it a bit sturdier, using hot-glue that's made for gluing metal things rather than the mounting tape, in the hope that the pins would be a bit closer to the sticks than with the mounting tape (which gives about a 1mm gap between them). This one hasn't actually been tested in use, so I don't know if it is better or worse than Spool #6.
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Spool 4
* Cardboard cylinder (from crochet yarn)
* paper clips (28mm)
* outdoor mounting tape
* aluminium tape
This time, rather than using the small end or the large end of the paper clips, I unfolded both ends, using the middle bend for the bent part. Then I used my pliers to narrow down the bend a bit, and then bend over the angles. Then I attached them to the cardboard cylinder with mounting tape (heavy-duty for the outdoors) and covered it with reinforced aluminium tape (the stuff they use on roofs etc).
This was sturdy, the pins were long enough, though a bit tricky when doing purl stitches. The only drawback was that the gauge was still too large, and the size was too big for what I was looking for. But it will be good for doing things like loom-knitting thumbs for gloves, so it isn't a loss.
Spool 5
* Popsicle sticks
* Cotter pins
* outdoor mounting tape
* aluminium tape
Yes, another attempt at cotter pins, but this time I un-bent the cotter pins so that rather than being lollipop-shaped, they were U-shaped. Then I bent the U-end at an angle like I had with the paper clips. The popsicle-sticks were an attempt to make a smaller-sized cylinder, by sticking aluminium tape on one side, rolling it into a cylinder, and holding that in place with more aluminium tape on the outside. Then the mounting tape to attach the cotter pins, and cover that with aluminium tape.
This was reasonably sturdy, though not so sturdy as the cardboard cylinder. The cotter pins did reduce the size of the stitches nicely, but they were spaced too far apart for what I wanted. One advantage to this construction was that because one had this gap between the top of the sticks and the place where the pins were mounted, it served as a good spot for doing purl stitch. So that was an unexpected bonus.
Spool 6
* Craft sticks
* Cotter pins
* outdoor mounting tape
* aluminium tape
So... narrower sticks were called for. Yes, some "craft sticks" from my collection of craft materials. This one was put together the same way as Spool #5, but with narrower sticks, the gaps between stitches were closer.
And I think I have it! My only concern is my fear that the whole thing will fall apart with too much use, and that the pins aren't exactly even.
Spool 7
* Craft sticks
* Cotter pins
* black hot-glue for metal
* aluminium tape
This one was an attempt to make it a bit sturdier, using hot-glue that's made for gluing metal things rather than the mounting tape, in the hope that the pins would be a bit closer to the sticks than with the mounting tape (which gives about a 1mm gap between them). This one hasn't actually been tested in use, so I don't know if it is better or worse than Spool #6.
This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1022656.html. (Comments
) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.