Back to Thrumming Crochet

I already wrote about how I like the thrumming crochet and about my little amigurumi lamb pattern. The pattern is nearly finished… it’s in the testing phase but I’m now not sure if it’s a lamb or a sheep that I made. Anyway, whatever it is, it’s really stylish … thanks to thrums which made it look so cute.

All I know about thrumming technique I learned from Marlaina Bird and her YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ5Qxxsd4LQ). You might also want to visit her blog at http://yarnthing.blogspot.com/

To create thrums

It might seem difficult at first glance but it’s not. You just need to prepare the thrums beforehand as it can be annoying once you start to crochet to pause in order to make them. You’ll need a fleece or wool roving (combed, unspun wool) and you start by pulling off an 18 cm (7-8″) long piece of wool. From the side of that chunk, peel off thin strips lengthwise. The strips should be the same thickness or slightly thicker than the working yarn. I tried to work with 2-3 times thicker thrums and it’s working nicely as well. Maybe it’s a bit more difficult to work with thicker thrums but it’s doable and the final result looks ok. So, don’t bother that much about the thickness of your thrums. It’s also not a big problem if they are not all the same thickness.

Now, for each thrum, fold the both ends to the center and press them in to create figure 8. Hold the middle of the thrum between thumb and forefinger and gently roll – that middle part is the part that you put on your hook. Store all your thrums in a glass jar or any kind of container so they are easily available once you need them.

I made a short video on how to make thrums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8IpBoiPYqk

To crochet with thrums:

Yarn over, insert the hook in the next stitch, put the thrum around the neck of the hook (with your index and middle finger grab the ends of the thrum to tighten), yarn over and draw the yarnover and the thrum loop through the stitch (4 loops on hook – 3 yarn loops and a thrum loop). Wrap the ends of the thrum around the working yarn (bring the ends from behind, in an anti-clockwise direction, and wrap it around the yarn), yarn over and draw through 3 loops on the hook (through 2 yarn loops and a thrum loop). Yarn over again and draw through the remaining 2 loops.

I also made a short video on how to crochet with thrums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m1ZhkTkVL8&feature=related