Monday, April 27, 2009

Plarn Strength Test - Adjustment Ring Method



The same pre-planning decisions made with yarn are just as critical with plarn to ensure a successful project. One important decision to make is understanding the weight and strength necessary for the project which will determine what type of plastic to use (e.g. grocery sack or trash bag). Also, I need to consider how the item will be used when it is completed.

My secret to testing the strength of plarn is quite simply the ‘The Adjustable Ring’ method or ‘The Magic Circle’ or ‘The Magic Loop’. The same technique with different names.

The main objective with using this test is to see if the plarn breaks when pulling the stitches together to close the center hole.

Here's my 2cent tutorial on this method:
Make a loop






Insert your hook through the middle of the loop and grab (aka as yarn over or in our case, plarn over) the strand from behind and pull through. You have 1 loop on your hook.
Plarn over and pull through loop on your hook.



You've made a chain. Note: The standard is chain-1 represents a sc; chain-2 represents a half dc and chain-3 represents a dc.






Begin making additional number of desired stitches around the adjusable ring by inserting hook through the middle of the loop, plarn over and pull through. Important Note: I strongly suggest making the stitches alittle loose so pulling the plarn will be easier when closing the hole in the middle.







Now for the fun part - grab the short plarn strand and gently pull the stitches together. You will notice the center hole getting smaller. You determine how big or small the hole should be.



Copyright 2009 by Teresa Wooley (aka Plastique Recreations) all rights reserved.

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