What would happen if all of a sudden we were cut off from stores? Would you have any skills at all to get you through? Do you know how to knit, crochet, spin, sew or weave? How about wool felting?
In the old days, just a hundred years ago, all people knew how to do these things. They had to, because they could not go to a store and simply buy what they wanted. My grandparents grew hemp and pressed the seeds for oil. I am not sure what they used that oil for, but it was before the diesel engine was designed, and when it was first unveiled to the world, it ran on peanut oil. Mr. Diesel wanted to give farmers anywhere the ability to have an engine that would run on the local oil they could produce in their fields, like peanut or mustard seed or cotton seed or hemp. He was murdered and a few years later a modified engine and new fuel for it, the world's first diesel was marketed, forgetting Mr. Diesel's gift to the world of self sustainability in favour of greed. But hemp was commonplace in the fields and the fibre was woven into sturdy rope and twine for the farm. Many a farmer held his trouser up with hemp twine!
So, I have been thinking a little more about what to create from hemp twine too. I started with this simple DOG collar, but with a few more stitches, it could be a belt, a strap for a bag, a harness for horses...well, your imagination would only be the limit. And, it is cheap and easy to do right at home while you are basically doing nothing.
The dog collar was done with thin hemp twine and a number 3.5 crochet hook. I chained 71 stitches and then single crocheted back in them. When I got to the end, I went around the first so I was not turning around, and I added two extra stitches for turning. So row two had 73 stitches. I went to the end and then around the end again, this time adding 4 extra stitches on the end for turning. The total number of rows was only 4. For a larger dog, you could do a wider collar and a longer collar. It can be fastened with a buckle or velcro or tied. I have not found the fastener I want to use yet, but I am thinking of one of those buckles that the fabric goes in and around and under and out, thereby holding itself snugly in. I just stitched the word DOG with some pink wool yarn I had beside me, but it could be embroidered with the name of the animals and a contact number in case of loss. A cat collar would be half the size and likely only 3 rows, possibly 2 if the cat was small. A bell could be stitched in as well.
I can see the possibilities of hemp crochet being endless, only limited by imagination. Go on and give it a try and send me the pictures of what you have created. Happy crocheting!
In the old days, just a hundred years ago, all people knew how to do these things. They had to, because they could not go to a store and simply buy what they wanted. My grandparents grew hemp and pressed the seeds for oil. I am not sure what they used that oil for, but it was before the diesel engine was designed, and when it was first unveiled to the world, it ran on peanut oil. Mr. Diesel wanted to give farmers anywhere the ability to have an engine that would run on the local oil they could produce in their fields, like peanut or mustard seed or cotton seed or hemp. He was murdered and a few years later a modified engine and new fuel for it, the world's first diesel was marketed, forgetting Mr. Diesel's gift to the world of self sustainability in favour of greed. But hemp was commonplace in the fields and the fibre was woven into sturdy rope and twine for the farm. Many a farmer held his trouser up with hemp twine!
So, I have been thinking a little more about what to create from hemp twine too. I started with this simple DOG collar, but with a few more stitches, it could be a belt, a strap for a bag, a harness for horses...well, your imagination would only be the limit. And, it is cheap and easy to do right at home while you are basically doing nothing.
The dog collar was done with thin hemp twine and a number 3.5 crochet hook. I chained 71 stitches and then single crocheted back in them. When I got to the end, I went around the first so I was not turning around, and I added two extra stitches for turning. So row two had 73 stitches. I went to the end and then around the end again, this time adding 4 extra stitches on the end for turning. The total number of rows was only 4. For a larger dog, you could do a wider collar and a longer collar. It can be fastened with a buckle or velcro or tied. I have not found the fastener I want to use yet, but I am thinking of one of those buckles that the fabric goes in and around and under and out, thereby holding itself snugly in. I just stitched the word DOG with some pink wool yarn I had beside me, but it could be embroidered with the name of the animals and a contact number in case of loss. A cat collar would be half the size and likely only 3 rows, possibly 2 if the cat was small. A bell could be stitched in as well.
I can see the possibilities of hemp crochet being endless, only limited by imagination. Go on and give it a try and send me the pictures of what you have created. Happy crocheting!
I think I will try to crochet some sandals for summer with hemp twine. You?
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