Veronica said ... Okay already, you are killing me with this. I LOVED the wall doily from the first time you posted about it. One would look "sew" awesome in my studio. Details, details, I need details. Are you making this up as you go along or did you find directions somewhere? Either way please share b/c as it turns out the ONLY thing I can knit IS I-Cord [I use it for handles on my felted purses]. Enough blather...pretty please share more details. BTW two posts in one week does that mean I am "officially" no longer a lurker. ;O) Seriously YOU rock!!


Elly said ... If you can get access to a knitting machine that will take that weight yarn, you can make i-cord on that. Good luck, I'm looking forward to seeing how this will turn out!


planetjune said ... OMG this is hilarious! Inspired, but still hilarious! I wonder how much yarn you'll need to make the whole giant doily... Out of interest, what length of spool-knit cord makes one double crochet?


jannypie said ... Hi, I've awarded you a blog award for being one of my favorites. I can't post the picture here but it's on my blog,
http://www.jannypie.com/2008/08/im-brillante.html
Thanks for the awesome blog!


Julie said ... I am COMPLETELY impressed. I have never seen any one make i-cord to then crochet or knit with it. I've only seen it used as a finished product for attaching as is. You are basically making your own giant yarn! Mad Props.

But yes, that must be freaking excruciatingly slow.

GO Alice! We'll cheer you on. Rah rah rah!


Cristina said ... It is absolutly GORGEOUS.


LeeAnn said ... That is the largest crochet hook I have ever seen! It's so fantastic! I am really looking forward to seeing this on your wall. Are you going to display gigantic balls of yarn with your wall art too?




ismoyo said ... Wow i love your dream! I can see how it's time consuming, but it's going to be perfect! Keep it going i would love to see it finished!


nyjlm said ... maybe you need to delegate/outsource- any nephews or nieces who could do the spool knitting for you? Young friends?

I cannot wait to see the finished product!


lindamade said ... what you need is called the Embellish-Knit. You can find them at Jo-Anns and the like near the knitting tools and I would go ahead and grab a coupon at the front of the store. Here's a link: http://www.bond-america.com/products/embellish-knit.html

If the yarn is on the lighter worsted side (ie. category 3, not 4) you will probably be ok using it, category 2 is even better- just get something that doesn't easily split. good luck!


megan said ... This is going to be so awesome! Good luck :)


Bree said ... Holy crap woman! You are officially my hero. I have been wanting to make one of the GIANT doilies since I saw that story on the Anthropologie offices a while back. Plus how awesome is this for scrap use? I'm thinking you could make one of the giant balls of yarn that they had in that story too!


Michelle said ... Yup, I was going to say the Embellish-Knit, too. I got mine at a thrift store for $1.99 (I know, don't hate me, I usually never get that lucky) and the kids like it, plus it works great with at least the DK weight yarn. Haven't tried worsted... you might have to go slower? Good luck!


elizabeth said ... I have a knitting machine, could whip up those i-cords in no time if I had the yarn.


lil' d said ... I'm starting to doubt your sanity. It took me an hour and half to add about 5 measly rows to a scarf. Yet, there you go, crocheting with i-cord...

I can't wait to see the finished result, though.


HildeC said ... Wow! This is double work. I'm impressed by the fact that you've started this. I can't wait to see the finished result. I'm sure it will be really great :-)


michelle said ... Very cool, indeed.


krysalia said ... hi, the french name for spool knitter is "tricotin", you can search for "tricotin automatique" to have a larger search.

on this video (first one, shoning how to start with the automatic spool knitter) : http://blog.detournements.com/blog/2006/12/tricotin_la_tec.html, you'll see the most common model of automatic tricotin we have here. it can be found on ebay or craft-hobby shops for approximately 10 dollards. I had one once, it goes really quick :D .


aubrey said ... can't wait to see this finished! i would so love one :)


The Caffeinated Crafter said ... I knew of the Embellish-Knit... and I was so excited. I was thinking in my head, "I'm going to save the day with my amazing knowledge!" Lo and behold... like, 34786.7 people beat me to the punch. Damn my recent obsession with green apple licorice. It's taking away my "game." (But it's going wonders for my complexion.)


The Caffeinated Crafter said ... Hhm. Note to self... do NOT type while laying down. Please read that last sentence by replacing "going" with "doing." *throws away green apple licorice*


dropstitch said ... Wow - labour intensive! I'm so impressed by your determination. Go Alice! (you crazy lady...)


ambika said ... I *love* that your dream is a giant wall doily. It's ambitious, it's crafty, it's personal. And given that my dreams are about handmade wardrobes and housewares & web sites (;)), I envy the vision of yours!


denise said ... why don't ya just knit the icord?


kristin said ... this is going to be truly fantastic!! as it's a major blog read catch-up, i have to say i'm loving all the owls you've posted...your macrame one is so sweet


Cathy said ... there's a tutorial somewhere on youtube and she says you can use worsted. I tried it with some heavier yarn (even though the manufacturer's instructions say you could break the thing going so) and it worked. What I have is handspun and I'm not exactly sure of the weight, but I took it very slow and didn't have any trouble. The i-cord is quite firm, but it looks great.

Good luck with your doily - great idea!


peata said ... love your blog so i got something for ya
here http://scrapbook-crazy.blogspot.com


Elizabeth said ... I remember making i-cords (before I knew what they were) off the back of my hand. I think I know a 10 year old who'd be happy to make you hundreds of yards of it. :)


Carla said ... This is so COOL! I can't wait to see how it turns out! I absolutly love the colors!


Megan said ... I know how that is - you get it into your head that you want to create something and then the euphoria of relief and accomplishment as you actually start to make it! It's great! The test for me comes when I reach a middle point where it either becomes clear the attempt was a success or it's not quite how I envisioned it - at which point I either feel elated or crushing failure. I don't think there's anyway this doesn't turn out the way you want. Have fun!


angelina said ... I do not have the answer to your search but at the toystore where I'm now working there is a spool knitter in the shape of a mushroom by a German company called Haba and it never fails to make me think of you!


Sister Diane said ... This makes my toes tingle. Coolest. Thing. Ever. I love your crafty engineering brain!


Sonya said ... *sound of hand smacking on forehead* I have a bulky knitting machine my dear and I could make some bubble gum (I mean i-cord) for the cause.


amanda said ... i just thought that maybe you could use fabric cut into strips then crocheted into doily shape, it would already have the thinkness required and would be easy to strach to attach to the wall.

hope to see your dream on the wall soon.


geek+nerd said ... Damn girl...that is BIG! So awesome though...good luck with your project!


Maitreya said ... Haha, that is brilliant. I was coincidentally just doing some spool knitting last night while watching bootlegged Australian Project Runway episodes. Seeing this, I want to make miles of the stuff now.


Maitreya said ... OOH, I had an idea about the giant doily. If it still ends up too floppy to hang nicely, you could thread wire or pipecleaners through the center of the icord. I made a toy worm and used that to pose him:

http://www.craftlog.org/craftlog/archives/001703.html


pilar marquez said ... uuuaaawww, this looks great. I've always dreamt with giant hook to make crochet (don´t know if the name is right). But i never thought of making my own cordless. Simply wonderfull. where did you get the hook?

 
Gelsey said ... Oh, Alice, I wish I knew you in person because you are my HERO! Recently I have been experimenting with knitting i-cord into bags; I got the idea from a French magazine. I have spool knitters from Susan Bates and the one from Clover, but I like the look of the Bates one better because it has four pegs. I tried only wrapping yarn on four pegs of the Wonder Knitter but it's not the same. I have been using worsted weight yarn with both. It has been taking me forever, but I think the more I do it the faster I get. Next I think I will crochet it like you are doing, but I guess I better buy some bigger hooks because I don't think the ones I have already will work. =)