Adult Muff suggestions

Maddy, on one of the crocheting groups that I belong to wrote: Honey, you don't need a pattern for that! A muff is just a rectangle.

First decide just how much warmth you need. Last winter I was in Maine; for that cold a climate, I might consider a double layer (one tube inside another for extra insulation) Here in NC I wouldn't bother with a muff at all, except as a fashion accessory in which case I'd use fun fur or some such fru fru.

1. Shop your stash first for a nice warm soft wool. Animal wools are the warmest. Alpaca is nice, warm and soft but not too too fuzzy.
2. Nothing in your stash? Go to a good LYS and shop the sale bin first. You'll only need 2-3 50gm balls, and LYS's will deeply discount NICE yarns when they're down to such small quantities.
3. Check the ball band for recommended hook size for your yarn (that's a good place to start).
EITHER:
4. Crochet a chain as long as you want the width of your muff.
5. Pick a stitch you like from your favorite stitchionary.
6. Work piece until it's long enough to wrap comfortably around your forearm.
7. Slip stitch bottom row to top row to make your tube.
8. If you like, use a fluffy fru fru yarn to go around the ends of the tube.

OR
4. crochet a chain to go comfortably around your forearm, and join to form ring.
5. pick a stitch you like to work in the round
6. crochet until your tube is the length you like
7. skip this step, your tube is already closed
8. same as above

CONSIDER:
CROCHETING A LONG CHAIN TO THREAD THROUGH YOUR muff, long enough to go over your shoulder like a purse so you can pull your hands out when needed withhout losing your creation

Fixing an afghan

Hi everyone, I came across this on one of my other groups and thought that this information was good to pass on to you all.

Someone has asked about an afghan that was 2 long, and they didnt want to frog it for some reason. So this is the reponse that was posted.

You COULD cut the afghan and "pull" the yarn in order to bind off the edge. Here's what you would need to do:

1. Determine the minimum length that she wants the afghan.
2. Add 6 inches

Lay the item flat on the kitchen floor and use masking tape to securely tape the item down so that it will not move.

Lay a piece of masking tape along the middle of the row that is located approximately 6 inches from the END of the afghan. She will use this piece as a guide when cutting.

Prepare a tapestry needle with a LOOOONG piece of yarn. This yarn will be threaded like a basting thread through the loops that are left -- as each loop is cut -- in order to keep the whole afghan from unraveling.

Cut the afghan along the bottom edge of the masking tape. As each loop is cut, thread your long piece of basting yarn through each loop from the row below so that the loops do not get lost. THis step is very important. If you lose loops, your piece will unravel.

Once you are finished cutting, clear away any tiny pieces of yarn. You should have a whole row of loops on the basting thread. If your friend knows the afghan stitch, these loops can be transferred onto a long afghan hook, or she can begin working backwards with the long thread and securing the loops with a bind-ff sewing stitch.