Stockinette St vs Stocking St

I so often see articles and on-line patterns for knit items using the term stocking stitch instead of stockinette and it really drove me nuts. Since they mean stockinette stitch, the term stocking stitch jumps out like a clump of black cat hair on an orange sweater.

I am not sure why there's an overabundance of the mis-use of stocking stitch where stockinette stitch is plainly meant but I came up with a few theories.

One, that Word doesn't like stockinette stitch so it underlines stockinette with a squiqqly red line to draw the writer's attention to the word. The writer sees that squiqqly red line and desperately tries to replace stockinette with something that Word likes. Just because Word does not like stockinette stitch does not mean that it is valid to use stocking stitch in place of stockinette.

Second, that the writer genuinely thinks people are saying stocking stitch because they have never seen stockinette stitch written down and their entire knitting experience has been audible. With the wide availability of videos on YouTube and other forums, a lot of new knitters watch these videos to learn how to knit. It's awesome that so many people are interested in knitting and inspired to take up the knitting needles because you can Google everything now. But, wipe out that ear wax. It is stockinette stitch when you knit one side and purl the other side. It is not stocking stitch.

And then I found out that in UK and Canada they say stocking stitch instead of stockinette. Color me blue with embarrassment. I heard a professional crocheter from Australia talking and the crochet terms were pronounced so differently that it took some effort to catch on to what she actually meant. I should have investigated the possibility of the term stocking stitch being legitimate elsewhere in the world before going gung-ho on my tirade.

These are the lessons that stick with us longest.

Antique Button Hook for Lucet Tool

I found this lovely old button hook at a local antique shop. I had noticed when investigating older versions of lucets or more rustic modern versions, such as antler or carved bone, that there was almost always a matching pick in the photos.

I was looking for old wooden drop spindles at the antique shop when I spotted an unassuming cardboard box about 6"x 5" sitting up on a railing. Inside were several of these button hooks. I immediately thought of the lucet tool. Since they were only a few dollars each I looked through them and picked out the best one for what I wanted. The deciding factor for me was the larger hook size.



I made several cords using the button hook. Amazing! For some reason using the button hook resulted in more uniform loops and the cords were amazingly consistent. The speed in making the cords also increased. The hook found the space between the yarn and wood easier than my fingers did so I zipped along. Best of all, pulling on wool yarn on the same spot on the side of my finger had created a red welt after making cords long enough to use as a purse strap. With the button hook I did not have that problem.

I highly recommend using a button hook when making cords on the lucet tool. I'd heard that a crochet hook could be used but I tried that in the beginning and found it awkward. I'm a crocheter so I feel comfortable using a crochet hook. For some reason it did not work well for me with the lucet tool.



This worked so well that the next day I went back to the antique store and bought a second button hook to put away for a spare. Just in case.