• Find the free crochet pattern for this flower
• Visit our index of free flower patterns
• See more "Wordless Wednesday" blog posts on other topics at About.com
• Discover more "Wordless Wednesday" posts from all over the Internet

Photo © 2009 Amy Solovay, Licensed to About.com, Inc.

I'd like to say "Thanks" to our ultra-generous and very talented group of left-handed crocheters. Many of them have contributed tips, advice and information to create a resource which will be helpful to anyone who wants to learn how to crochet left-handed.

Their stories are all well worth reading, and I am finding it difficult to pick just a couple to share here. Each one of these artisans has developed a unique way of working which I think will be very inspiring to beginners.

A Few Highlights:

• A reader named Maxine submitted this helpful story. When I read it, I had one of those "why didn't I think of that?" moments - she shares some genius ideas that I think left-handed people will really appreciate.



• Maggiecat's story is also very helpful. She has successfully taught righties how to crochet! She has shared some helpful resources and advice that are definitely worth the read.



• There are so many more amazing stories; everyone who posted had helpful insights. To see all of them, you are invited to visit the index of pages where left-handed crochet enthusiasts share their experiences. That page links to the other contributions that have been posted so far.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed.

More readers' stories are welcome and encouraged!

One of our forum members, Barbara, started a discussion about kitchen cottons. She wants to know if you have a preference for a particular brand.

I must admit, I am curious to see if there is any kind of consensus on this.

Personally, I use all of the different brands of kitchen cotton, and I have been treating them more or less interchangeably. I choose which one I am going to use based on what color I want at the time - and I freely mix brands together. Which, I admit is probably not the smartest approach for some types of projects.

Mixing yarn brands is one of those things that could potentially make issues if the quality is substantially different between the brands you pick; for example, different brands could shrink at different rates, fade differently, etc. I figure, for kitchen projects, I am not going to worry about that. My dishcloths and potholders are never around long enough to become heirlooms.

I do wish I'd been more careful about observing how the different brands compare when it comes to wear, but up until now, I haven't given it much thought. When I crochet time-consuming items, I do get a lot fussier about selecting materials and worrying about the yarn quality.

So, if you have a strong opinion about which brand of kitchen cotton is the best, you are invited to head on over to the forum and contribute to the discussion! I am sure Barbara would love to hear from you.

More About Kitchen Cottons and How to Use Them:

• What is kitchen cotton? Sarah White, our Guide to knitting, answers this question in her knitting glossary.
• Free crochet potholder patterns
• Free crochet dishcloth patterns
• Free knitting patterns for washcloths and dishcloths

• Learn more about using turning chains as a design element
• See the free pattern for crocheting these scalloped edgings with ribbon
• See more "Wordless Wednesday" blog posts on other topics at About.com
• Discover more "Wordless Wednesday" posts from all over the Internet

Photo © 2009 Amy Solovay, Licensed to About.com, Inc.