Three Little Bibbies … er … Piggies!

A quick photo post today!
Three little piggy bibs for an expectant mum …

Three little piggy bibs made by Jodiebodie (November 2016)

If you feel like you have seen them before, it's because you have! 

These specific bibs are new but this is a pattern* I keep re-using because it is simple, quick, easy and always looks cute. 



The bibs are made in 50:50 cotton-acrylic blend 8 ply yarn using a USA size G/6 hook which is actually 4.25 mm 
(not 4 mm as is so commonly listed as a metric equivalent).

The 4 mm hook is too tight to match tension and the 4.5 mm hook is too open.  



I only have one standard G hook (4.25 mm). It is cheap and made of acrylic but it is precious to me because it is the only one.  It is very difficult to find this in-between size in Australia as we have the metric system here. Metric sizes jump from 4 mm to 4.5 mm so it is handy to have the American G (4.25 mm) to call upon.

Whenever I use this hook, I think how lucky I am to have it but I must have cheered too hard or jinxed myself somehow. 



While working on the border of the pink bib, I heard a squeaking sound. Acrylic yarns on acrylic hooks will often squeak so I thought nothing of it.  Then it happened again as I was working a particularly tight stitch. 

"Oh-oh! I hope I am not putting too much stress on my hook," I thought as I double-checked my hook to make sure I hadn't bent it with my determination to get through the stitch.  "No, it's still straight. It looks okay; no white patches that so often show up when plastics are under stress."

I continued working, making sure my tension was slightly looser, just in case, but it was to no avail because after just a few more stitches … SNAP!

My only standard G hook was broken!  Not only had it snapped, but it snapped at the thumb rest on the handle end so there was no handle left to grip!  My heart silently wailed. Sigh!

My only American G hook (acrylic) after it had been mended.
A fine line can be seen where the break occurred.
I didn't have the heart to take a photo of a broken hook!
It was tricky to mend because the join needed precision to line up the pieces.

I continued that bib wrestling with the stubby broken hook. Thankfully there was only half of one side border to go.

The rest of the bibs were made with a 4 mm metric hook, trying my best to keep the tension loose enough to match the first bib but tight enough to keep the fabric from being too open. It wouldn't be too useful as a bib if foods could fall right through it now, would it?

That is why the second bib is slightly smaller than the other two. That's okay. Each pig is an individual.  Diversity is a good thing!

Eventually, I did manage to glue the hook together again but I haven't been game enough to bring myself to use it! I fear it will forever be weak and snap from the slightest stress even though the join looks strong.  

The glue used to mend my plastic hook is an 'acrylate'. Does that mean it has acrylic in its ingredients? Maybe it will bond very strongly to acrylic but I am not ready to find out how strong just yet.

My next quest is to track down another American G hook so that I have a spare because the first one will inevitably snap again.

Even if my hook isn't reliable, at least this pattern is! 

*Pattern Details

Free Pattern: Piglet Bib by Lion Brand #90158A
Link: http://www.lionbrand.com/crochet-pattern-piglet-bib-1.html

Yarn: Moda Vera "Beetle" by Spotlight
50% cotton
50% acrylic
110 metres / 50 grams
Colours:
Light Pink: colour 10; lot #14631
Dark Pink: colour 02; lot #14807
Navy Blue: colour 14; lot #140408
Fawn: colour 45; lot #14628
Yellow: colour 144; lot #131203
Red: colour 77; lot #14635
Lime Green: colour 41; lot #120513  

Ravelry Project Pages:
This First Little Piggy: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Jodiebodie/piglet-bib-3
The Second Little Piggy: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Jodiebodie/piglet-bib-5
The Third Little Piggy: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Jodiebodie/piglet-bib-4