#131 What You Wanted to Know About (Gauge Part 2)

Are you completely confused by gauge?

No worries! I'm back this week to answer even more of your questions about gauge and why it's one of the most important things to consider when designing or following crochet or knitting patterns. Here's the scoop...

Don't worry, you're not alone! I turned to my Instagram community again this week to bring you another "what you wanted to know episode" to find out exactly what you need to know about gauge. So many questions were submitted that I'm breaking it into two episodes so I can answer as many of your questions about gauge as I can for you!


About The BHooked Podcast
Brittany's primary goal is to inspire you and help you grow in your craft with The BHooked Podcast. Through her own stories and the stories of each special guest, you'll discover tips and tricks to improve your crochet and knitting skills and find inspiration to achieve your hobby goals. When you want to kick back and learn from yarn industry experts, grab some yarn and turn on The BHooked Podcast. There's never a shortage of all things crochet, knitting or yarn.

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Transcript

Brittany 0:00

You're listening to the Be Hooked Podcast, episode 131 with Brittany. Hey there, and welcome to episode 131 of the Be Hooked podcast, the place where we love yarn, we love to learn, and where we believe yarn can do more for us than just make pretty things. I mean, that's a pretty big added bonus, but it does so much more than that finished object, right? I know for me, it helps keep me a little sane, calms my mind, relaxes me and gives me a sense of accomplishment, and certainly a creative outlet. I'm your host, Brittany, and we're ready to dive into part two of what you wanted to know about Gage. Now, if you missed last week's episode, you'll definitely want to go back and listen to that one if you're completely mystified by the idea of Gage. That first one went into a lot of detail about what Gage is and why you should even care in the first place, which is a really great precursor to what you'll hear about in today's episode. Okay, so here's the scoop. I turned to my community on Instagram and asked what you wanted to know specifically about Gage, and, well, I'm on a mission to answer as many of those questions as possible, continuing with this one. So today, I'll answer a few more of your questions submitted under that original ask about Gage. Before we get to it, don't forget to check out the show notes page to find the details for this episode. I know you're probably on the go or multitasking or something like that. Hopefully you're stitching a project while you're listening. And just know that you can always find the episode details on my website. For this particular episode, just type in behooked.com slash 131. Alright, last week you learned that gauge is a measure of stitches and rows per inch. And its entire purpose is to bridge the gap between different crochet styles. That is specific ways that I work my stitches and the specific way that you work your stitches. We're all doing the same stitch in pretty much the same motions, but we all do it a little bit differently. And that's what makes us all unique. And if you're thinking, oh, well, I crochet pretty normal. Think again, friend. We all crochet just slightly different and that slight difference can cause problems when following a pattern. So if you plan to, you know, follow a pattern at any point in the future and you want that thing to come out as you expect, you'll want to take gauge pretty seriously. So let's get right into our first question, which comes from someone whose Instagram handle I can't quite pronounce, so I will have that one in the show notes in case you want to connect with them later. They want to know, how can you calculate the number of skeins you need for a project from your gauge swatch? This right here is the power of gauge and an intro into pattern grading. Now, if you're working for a yarn sponsor, for example, a on a prospect project, you may need to calculate how much yarn they should send you. And well, when you don't have the thing made yet, when you don't have it designed yet, it can be a guessing game. And you don't really want to start off that relationship in that way. So it's best if you can do a little calculating so you know exactly how much yarn to request from them. You might also find this useful if you're, say, free handing a project and you want to have all the yarn on hand that you need. Now, I'll forewarn you, there is quite a bit of math involved in this one, so we're diving into the deep end here. Don't gloss over. If this information will be useful to you at any point in the future, just stick with me best you can. Take notes if you have to, and perhaps re-listen if you want to catch the notes later on. Now, there is a lot of math involved in this type of question, but it's not really complicated math. Honestly, you can set up a spreadsheet to do the calculations for you, which is what I do. I like to eliminate any errors that could possibly arise. The spreadsheet will do the hard work for you. However, you do need to understand the basics of this concept in order to set something like that up. So in order to calculate how many skeins you need for a project before it's even designed, so before you've started the pattern writing process, you need to know one, how much yarn is used in one stitch of that project, and two, how many stitches will be in the project. The good news is you can estimate this with a gauge swatch if you have some basic measurements for the project. There are a few steps involved here, but here is the process that I use when I need to figure out how many skeins of yarn I should order before I've started the design of a project. Now you can either make these columns in your spreadsheet or you can just jot them down, but you'll need to have some yarn information first and foremost. Take note of the yarn weight per skein and make sure you only choose one unit. Now I'm here in the States, so I like to use the ounce measurement You can use grams. Either one works. Just keep your metric with metric, so meters with grams, or keep your ounces with yards. Okay? From there, write down the skein length. Again, only choosing one of those units of measurement. So at this point, you should have your yarn weight and your yarn length for that one skein, either in your spreadsheet or written down on your piece of paper. Now your first calculation is to figure out how many units of length are in one unit of weight. I know that's kind of a complicated way of saying it, but in other words, you'll divide your skein weight by the skein length. This will give you some fraction of a number, so don't be worried if it's some random off-the-wall really small number. And your units to this equation are going to be yards per ounce, or if you're using the metric system, meters per gram. So that's the first itty bitty calculation that you're going to do. And that's the first very important piece of information you need to know to estimate how many skeins you should buy for your project based on a gauge swatch. The next thing you'll need is the swatch information. So after you make this swatch, weigh it with the kitchen scale in the same unit that you chose for your yarn calculation earlier. So again, for me, it's always ounces. Then you'll write that number down or make another column for it in your spreadsheet. And then you'll calculate the number of stitches in that swatch, again, with a really simple calculation, which is to multiply the total stitches in one row by the number of rows in that swatch. So that's itty bitty calculation number two. And now the next step from here is another calculation where you'll need to divide the swatch weight, so the total weight of the swatch, by the total number of stitches in your swatch. This will give you the yarn weight in your chosen unit, so ounces for me, per stitch. So it gives you the yarn weight per stitch And again, it'll be a really, really small number, way less than zero. When it comes to rounding, I typically don't round. I just let my spreadsheet do its thing and it's a little bit more precise in doing so. But if you must round, if you just don't want to work with that many digits or that many places, then try to keep it at five places from the decimal. So with these calculations, you now have the amount of yards per ounce in the yarn that you're choosing to use for your project, and you also have the amount of yards per stitch that you're using for your project. So we need to take it a couple steps further to get to the point where we can figure out how many skeins of yarn, but the good news is there's not too many more steps involved. So let's say you wanna make a scarf that's 10 inches wide by 60 inches long. You made a gauge swatch and figured there to be 14 stitches and 16 rows that measure two inches. In your gauge swatch, you calculated a total number of 1,170 stitches. I know, super exact, right? You calculated that many stitches and your swatch and the swatch weighed 0.3 ounces. And from there, you calculated each stitch in that swatch to require 0.00256 ounces each using that last calculation. So that little example summarizes every part of the equation that we've covered so far. Again, as you write these down, it'll solidify it in your mind a little bit more. So if you're just trying to listen and let it sink in, it's probably gonna go right out the other ear. So I do urge you that when you get the chance, if this is something that you really want to do, just take a few moments to sit down, write it down, let it sink in, work a few problems, and it'll be so much easier when it's out in front of you rather than just trying to come in one ear and out the other. So we're taking it a little bit further now. From here, what I like to do is create two new columns, one called the width and one called the length. This is specifically for your project or, for example, a panel in your project if you're working on a piece of clothing or something like that. In each of these columns, input, taking this from our example before, you'll input 10 for the width and 60 for the length. To figure out how many stitches are in one row that equals 10 inches wide based on your swatch, you'll need to divide 10 by the number of stitches per inch. And if you remember, the gauge in this example is in two inches. So remember that from the previous episode from 130, I told you how to calculate the number of stitches per inch by dividing the total number of stitches that you counted in your gauge measurement by the inch measurement. So our example is 14 stitches equals two inches. So to get the number of stitches per inch, I'm dividing 14 by two. That'll give me seven stitches per inch. So you can do that math in your head really easily. You'll multiply seven stitches by 10 inches. You get 70. And that's the total number of stitches you need in each row to achieve a scarf that's 10 inches wide based on our gauge here in this example. So a little bonus tip here is that this is how you use a gauge swatch to figure out how many foundation chains you need for your scarf. for starting your project. But to figure out how many skeins you need, we're still plugging away at the numbers. We have one little piece of the puzzle figured out. We've got our width covered, our number of stitches covered, but as you remember, gauge has two parts to it. We have our width and we have our length, or our rows. So use the same method to calculate the number of rows in your 60-inch scarf. based on what we just did before, so that then you have the number of stitches in each row and you have how many rows are in the entire project. When you have those two pieces of information, you're able to calculate the number of stitches, the total number of stitches in that project. The simple calculation for that is to multiply the number of stitches in each row, remember we figured that out to be 70, by the total number of rows, and that gives you your total stitches. This is probably going to be a very large number, especially for some of those bigger projects. All right, there's only a couple steps left, so stick with me here if you're trying to figure this out along with me. From here, you need to multiply the number of stitches in your project by the weight per stitch, you know, the number that we calculated at the very beginning to give you the total weight of yarn needed for the project. Now, this is a total weight value. It's not skeins yet. There's still one tiny little step that we need to convert this total weight into a skein weight. And to do that, the final step is divide the total yarn weight that you figured out for your project by the amount of that one skein weighs. And that number you can usually find on your yarn band. And if you don't have the yarn on hand to see that, visit the brand's website. It'll always be listed there in the description. When you do that, you will have the total number of skeins You need for your project as determined by your gauge swatch. Now, in some cases, that's not going to be, well, in most cases, it probably won't be a round number. It might not say exactly four. It might be 4.23, in which case you'll know that, okay, I need a little bit more than four skeins of yarn to finish the project. I need to order five so that I know I have enough. Okay, if you are still listening, you're not totally glossed over. Seriously, pat yourself on the back if you're still with me. Don't worry if you're not a numbers person. There are tech editors out there who love to do this stuff, and they offer their services for pattern grading, so don't feel like you have to mess with it. Now, I sort of geek out on this stuff, so I don't mind plugging away at a spreadsheet before starting a project, but this is not for everybody, and if it's not for you, Don't worry, you're not alone. All right, our next question comes from Special Becca, who wants to know what negative ease and positive ease means. You may have heard these terms as it relates to clothing. Negative ease and positive ease is a way to explain how a piece of clothing fits on your body. It indirectly relates to gauge in the sense of estimating the fit of a piece that you plan to make, so that's more for designers, You may not be as concerned about negative or positive ease as a follower of a pattern, but this is still really good information to know. So you might add negative or positive ease to your standard measurements as a designer when you're creating a piece of clothing. Positive ease is when the piece of clothing measures larger than the body measurement. Think of your favorite big cozy sweater. That's positive ease. Negative ease is when the piece of clothing measures smaller than the body measurements. So think of that little tank top that like really hugs your waist. That's negative ease. Pretty straightforward after that last question, right? Just remember, positive is bigger. Negative is smaller when it comes to ease and the fit of the clothing that you're designing. All right, next up, we have a question from Rach.ale who wonders if you might give Gage an unblocked and an unblocked swatch. I'd honestly say this is really at the designer's discretion, but from what I've seen in thousands of patterns over the years, and is thousands really even a logical estimate? I think it probably is. I think I have probably laid eyes on thousands of patterns. And through looking at all of those, I've really only noticed one gauge. Now, I personally like to provide one gauge or just, you know, one measurement, not doing a blocked versus an unblocked because I like to make things as simple as possible, especially with something like gauge because it's such a confusing topic anyways. I like to keep things plain and simple and not raise any additional questions because that might confuse the person following the instructions and they might just say, ah, I don't need to do the gauge thing. I've got this. So as a designer, a good rule of thumb is if you recommend blocking the project, provide a gauge that was taken from a blocked swatch. If you don't block the project, you won't necessarily need to block the swatch to measure and record the gauge. On the flip side of that, as a follower of the pattern, blocking can be a really good way to achieve a gauge that's just slightly off. Now, unfortunately, most patterns won't tell you to block your gauge swatch or not. I think for me personally is a good practice to look into the instructions a little bit more. See if it's telling you to block the project or the panel later on. If so, I almost always block. block that swatch to make sure that I'm on track. But if there's no blocking required anywhere within the pattern, and you might come across this when you're making a hat or something like that, I won't block my swatch because I'm not going to do that with the project. So to answer your question directly, you could give a gauge swatch in a blocked and an unblocked version, but make sure that you're spelling that out very clearly to the person who's following your patterns. so that they know exactly which gauge is which and there's no confusion because that, of course, could raise some problems in the future. If they're following the wrong gauge, there's a potential that their project could come out a completely different size or that they don't have enough yarn. And that's both frustrating for the designer and for the person recreating that project. And I know you're out there to put a great pattern into the world. So when you're providing as much detail as this, just make sure that that is spelled out very clearly within the pattern so that a person recreating it can follow it to a T. All right, moving right along here. Our next question comes from Danz underscore SMJ. I'm going to get better at reading your handles, I promise. I'm just not really sure how to do it in a way that doesn't sound funny to you, I'm sure. So they want to know, how to deal with the tediousness of making a gauge swatch. Oh yes, tedious is a very good word to describe the process of making a gauge swatch. The struggle is real here. I'm not going to sit here and try to pretend that I love making gauge swatches, because I don't. But the honest truth is that when I used to follow patterns and I never made a gauge swatch... Because I crochet so much tighter than a lot of people, my projects almost always turned out too small. And that just drove me bananas. I don't like to waste time, right? You guys know this if you're a listener, a regular listener of this show. I love to plan things out. I love to make sure that I'm spending my time wisely. And at that time, I didn't see the value in making a gauge swatch, so I didn't make it a priority. I really started to take... gauge more seriously when I just got fed up with making things that didn't fit. I let that motivate me to get started on the swatch in the first place. Now, to your point, it's tedious and it's pretty boring sometimes. There's no way around that. And I don't know that there's a way to make it fun and not tedious. But I think there is a way to change your perspective a little bit so that you're okay with making the gauge swatch. So here's what I do. I make gauge swatches when I want to keep my hands moving, like I need to get my crochet fix in for the day, but I don't necessarily need to think about what I'm doing. Now, if I'm working on a pattern, I need to be laser focused on what I'm doing and writing things down and taking notes and counting. But when I'm working a gauge swatch, I could probably do that in my sleep because you're typically just working one stitch back and forth, row by row. There's not a lot of thinking involved. So I like to use that for my couch time. Gauge swatches are perfect evening couch projects. You can sit and watch something with your family and finish it really in just a couple of hours. So if you're sitting there and you're listening to what I'm saying and you think, well, I think I could probably get by without making a gauge swatch. The truth is, yeah, sometimes you can, but sometimes you can't. And I let that unknown sort of kick me into gear because I know what it feels like to spend time on a project that doesn't work out in the long run because the sizing is off. And that's not a very fun feeling. So I recognize that one, time is one of the most important and precious resources that I have. And I go out of my way to make sure I'm spending it in the right ways. When you don't see the value in gauge or when I didn't see the value in gauge, I never made it a priority. It didn't feel like a good use of my time. But once you make a few mistakes, you test the waters a little bit and see if you can get by without doing a gauge swatch. After you find out the true purpose of gauge by your project not coming out as you expect, I think then and only then can you make that perspective shift to realize that gauge is worth your time. So think of the tedious gauge swatching time as an investment to save time later and certainly to save some frustration later. and fill that boring space, that tedious space, with something you can do while you crochet it. Okay, our next question comes from Jenna's DIY Studio, who says that tension is different, so how do you accomplish writing a pattern that accomplishes one? This is the very heart and soul of what gauge is. Because tension is different for every crocheter, you need to have a standard, if you will, to pinpoint the tension needed to recreate that pattern. The gauge measurement is that standard. It bridges that gap between the differences in tension, between the way you crochet versus the way I crochet or somebody else crochets. The gauge measurement is that standard. It's a way of showing you how much tension to hold on the yarn so that you can create the thing in the size you expect. This is a really great way to explain gauge in a different way for somebody following a pattern. As a designer though, your tension, your natural tension, is the standard. So when you're creating a pattern and you have to wonder, what is the tension that I should be holding on this? It's whatever comes natural to you. So crochet as you normally would and record the gauge accordingly. Then somebody who comes along and wants to recreate your pattern, who might very well have a different tension or a different way, a more unique way of crocheting, they might need to adjust the to match your tension or to match your gauge. And because you presented them with your gauge, that measurement, the standard, they can do that and recreate your pattern in the sizes that you specified in your pattern. Now, our next question is along the tension line. So I'm gonna throw this one in here too. It comes from at mlove10315. who wants to know how do you loosen your tension to fit gauge? So the last question was more along the designer's perspective. This one is along the follower of a pattern's perspective. And I love to have both of these in here because I know some of you listening are designers and some of you just like to recreate patterns. So how do you loosen your tension to fit gauge? When you hear the word tension, think about... The yarn coming from the skein going to the project. That's really the area we're referring to when you hear the word tension. How taut is that yarn as it comes from the skein to your project? How loose is it as it comes from the skein to your project? And because tension has such a direct correlation to the size of your stitches, it's more likely It's generally more relatable to the width aspect of the gauge, or in other words, the stitches per inch. So if you're measuring more stitches per inch, even just a fraction of a stitch more, you know you're likely to have more tension in the way you hold the stitch. So the yarn is just a little bit tighter. This is my natural style too, so I know exactly what you're going through if this is the case for you. Sometimes it's easier to loosen your tension if you know going up a hook size will change it too much. You'll start to learn this about yourself and your crochet style the more you play around with gauge and try to make adjustments to it. So in those instances where you know going up a hook size will be too much, that it'll make your gauge too big, then the answer is often to change your tension. And this takes a lot of thought, honestly, because after making a certain stitch a thousand times or multiple thousands of times, we're actively working against our muscle memory to loosen our tension. Now, because I can't really control that part of it, I like to change the variable I can control. And that's how I'm holding the yarn. I may not be able to tell myself, hey, you need to crochet more loose as you're working these stitches, but I can change the way I hold the yarn. So what I do is I remove the little yarn wrap from my pinky that normally controls the tension as the yarn reaches my hook. So give that a try. Change up the way you hold the yarn just enough to make sure the yarn is a little more loose as it comes from the skein and goes to the project. It's also a good idea to keep tabs on the skein's location as you're working that project and how much effort you're putting into getting the yarn to your project. For example, sometimes we're sitting on the couch working on our project and our skein plops on the floor and if you're like me, you just leave it there. But what that could do is it changes the tension on the yarn. Maybe it's rubbing on the side of the couch and that's causing things to be a little tighter. Maybe just the distance is causing it to be a little tighter as well. And you might see some differences in your stitches because of that. There'll be really slight differences, but they're there. So when you need to loosen your tension a little bit to help fit your gauge, just try changing the way you hold the yarn before maybe you try changing the way you're actually working those stitches. You can make yourself work it a little bit more loose. I tend to feel that I only do that when I'm thinking about it. And sometimes you just need to tune out, right? It's not always fun to constantly be thinking thinking about what you're doing that sort of negates why we're working some of these projects in the first place. We just like to tune out and do what we do. So you might find it a little helpful if you're in that situation to just change the way you're holding the yarn. Make sure that aspect of it is a little more loose and you'll probably see your stitches loosen up as well. Now our next question comes from Purple Elephant Designs who says, what if my rows are right and but the number of stitches are wrong. Now we talked a little bit about this in the first episode, so you may have heard the answer to your question, but I want to recap it really quick because this is very important when it comes to understanding gauge and how it affects your projects. So to recap really quick, gauge is measured in stitches for the width of and rows for the height of the project or panel in the project. And in this instance, you're saying my rows are right, so my height is right, that vertical aspect of the equation is right, but my stitches are off. If your stitches don't match the gauge, you'll have issues with the width of the project if you were to move forward without making any sort of adjustments. To break it down as simple as possible, If you count more stitches in the measurement than what's given in the gauge, your project will likely not be as wide as what you expect it to be. It may also mean that you won't have enough yarn because you're essentially making more stitches. So in this instance, when you count more stitches per inch than what the gauge presents, use a bigger hook and make another swatch. The bigger hook will make the stitches a little bit larger and you're more likely to match the gauge after that. I typically just go up one size and most of the time that does the trick, but if it still measures too many stitches you'll need to go up another hook size and keep swatching until it's right. The reverse is true if you count fewer stitches in your initial swatch. This means your stitches are too big and the width of the project will be wider than expected. Since your stitches in this instance are too big, choose a smaller hook size and swatch again and keep doing that until you get it right. So here's a good way to sum that up so you know what to do when your stitches per inch doesn't match. More stitches mean they're too small and you need to make them bigger by using a bigger hook. Fewer stitches mean they're too big and And you need to make them smaller by using a smaller hook. Okay? Good. Our last question comes from Stitched by Steph, who wants to know if you need to block the swatch and how far to measure from edge to edge. So here's my rule of thumb when it comes to blocking versus not blocking my swatches. And I sort of alluded to this earlier, but I want to state it out plain and simply here so there's no confusion. Whatever you do to your project or whatever you plan to do with your project, you must also do to your swatch. If you plan to block your project, you block your swatch. If you plan to wash your project ever, you should wash your swatch. Your swatch is sort of like your test dummy to make sure that everything will go according to plan, or at least you have a pretty good sense that it will go according to plan, if you do in fact invest that 12, 15, 25 hours, whatever it may be, into your project. From a designer's perspective, do you plan to recommend blocking the project or panels in the project? If so, block the swatch. From a follower of a pattern's perspective, does the pattern tell you to block the project or panels in the project? If so, go ahead and block your swatch. Now to answer your second question, how far do you measure from edge to edge? I actually don't measure or recommend measuring from edge to edge of your gauge swatch. Think about it. Most of the time you have turning chains at the edges of your swatch, and those turning chains create sort of an inconsistency in the edges, and they're not nearly as clean as the stitches in the work. Since Gage is trying to determine the number of stitches in a measurement, to get the best representation of how many stitches are in that measurement, it's really best to measure within the swatch. In other words, make a swatch that's one to two inches wider than the gauge in your measurement. So if you have a pattern that says your gauge is 14 stitches and 16 rows equals two inches, I would say go ahead and make a swatch that's at least four inches wide. That way you know you can get an accurate representation of what the number of stitches per inch are within that measurement, not how many stitches and or turning chains might be within that two inches. On the row side of things, there's a little more flexibility there. The very last row in your project is often pretty nice and even, as long as you don't have like a border or anything like that. The one little variable that could be introduced into the equation is your foundation chain, or if you're doing foundation stitches, which is a completely another beast. So if you plan to start your gauge swatch with a foundation stitch, you don't want to include this in your gauge measurement. Similarly, you don't wanna count your foundation chain in your measurement either. So you do need to make your swatch a little bit taller than what your gauge measurement is, but you don't necessarily have to make it a certain amount bigger. As long as you're not counting your foundation row of stitches, and your top row is nice and straight, doesn't have a border or anything like that, then you can capture the stitches within that measurement. Whew, that was a lot of gauge questions. Thank you all so much for sending these questions in via Instagram stories when I requested. I was completely counting on you to provide two, well, at least one great episode. And you did not let me down. I was able to turn all of your questions into two episodes and possibly help even more people by answering their question. And for that, I am super grateful. I know gauge is seriously a topic of confusion for so many crocheters. And if you still have questions about gauge, please let me know how I can help you understand this concept a little bit better. If you're only familiar with me here on the podcast, of course, I love to create episodes like this that are very much more conversational. But I also have a YouTube channel where I do tutorials and that sort of thing. I'm always looking for ways that I can help you understand a concept better. So if Gage is still tripping you up a little bit, if after going through these last two episodes, you're still not quite getting it right, I would love to know how I can help you specifically. So feel free to drop me an email. You can email me directly at britney at behookedcrochet.com. That comes directly to me. I'm still a one-woman show. I don't have an assistant to go through these. So you are emailing me when you do that. And I would just really love to know how I can make this topic a little bit easier for you to understand. So these what you wanted to know style of episodes, we've only done technically three. This would be the third one. I think they have to continue because, well, they're a ton of fun for me to put together. I love answering your questions directly, but most importantly, you've shown me that they're really helpful for you too. So if you want to participate and submit your question for the next episode like this, here's how it works. You'll first need to follow me on Instagram. My handle there is at bhooked, that's B-H-O-O-K-E-D, and Because when you follow me, you can see my stories. And that's where the magic happens. So when I'm preparing the next What You Wanted to Know style of episode, I'll share a story with a topic and a place to submit your question. So when you see me pop up in your stories, be on the lookout for these posts. When you see that, type in your question. There's only like 24 hours for you to submit that because Instagram stories go away after that long. So by following me and checking your stories, you'll be in the know and be able to submit your question. Now, as far as how frequently these will happen, I'm sort of playing around with this. I don't want to completely bore you by just talking your ear off for 45 minutes. But if you find this to be really helpful and you want them more frequently, tell me in the comments section of the show notes page for this episode. That's BeHooked.com slash 131. I know that's an additional step for you to take, but I really would appreciate if you could just tell me in the comments how frequently you're interested in this style of episode. Do you want one a month? Do you want two a month? Do you want two a year? Or something in between? Tell me in the comments section so that I can better serve you. The last thing I want to mention here before I go is that this episode was brought to you by my Blueprint course, Tunisian Crochet for Beginners. You've been hearing me talk a lot about this course, and this is something that I really just can't help but be proud of. I teamed up with Craftsy a couple years ago. to help teach a completely beginner-friendly Tunisian crochet course because this form of crochet was just instrumental in my learning and just opening up my creativity. It allows you to create some of those familiar stitches. You can do stitches that look like regular crochet. You can do stitches that look like knitting, but you can also do completely different stitches, which is where I had so many aha moments about creating new textures, new fabrics, and that sort of thing. So if you haven't tried Tunisian crochet yet, first of all, you gotta Google it. It's really cool. You can do some really cool projects with Tunisian crochet. And if you're familiar with my teaching style, and if you like that, you might also like to take part in my Tunisian crochet for beginners class. To learn more about what's included in the class and how you can sign up for that, just head over to BeHooked.com slash TCFB. That's TCFB for Tunisian Crochet for Beginners. You'll see the layout, everything that you can expect within that course. And you can, of course, sign up through Blueprint and I'll be there on the other side helping to answer your questions should you have any as you're going through those lessons. All right, thank you so much for spending some time with me today and tuning into this episode of Be Hooked. It was a real pleasure. I had a ton of fun. And next week, I have a really sweet guest to share with you who blends two types of needle arts into one. I had never seen anyone do what she does prior to learning about her on Instagram. So I can't wait to share what that is. I'm teasing it. That's all I'm leaving you with today. But that episode is really great and you don't want to miss it if you're looking for a unique way to add some texture and some creativity to your crochet project. So if you're not subscribed to the Be Hooked podcast on your podcast player, do that now so you don't miss it. And I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you next week, friend. Bye-bye.