Swapped my bamboo hooks for steel and it's night and day with this lace pattern

I was fighting with a cobweb shawl for two weeks using bamboo needles because the yarn kept sticking. Switched to a set of 2.5mm steel hooks my grandma gave me and the stitches just glide now. Anyone else find their tension completely changes depending on hook material?

2 comments

2 Comments

joelthomas12d ago

Metal hooks really do change everything for lace work. The stickiness of bamboo can be a blessing for slippery yarns, but for a cobweb shawl with all those tight stitches, you need that smooth glide. What kind of steel hooks are you using now? I find the pointiness of the tip matters just as much as the shaft material for getting into those tiny loops. Some steel hooks have a really blunt head that still snags, while others are sharp enough to split the yarn if you're not careful. That tension shift you mentioned is wild - I actually tighten up more with bamboo because I'm fighting the drag, but with steel I have to consciously slow down or my stitches get too loose. Curious if you're doing the opposite.

wesleyburns12d ago

Funny you mention pointiness, I once tried a hook that was so sharp it basically sliced through a silk blend like butter and left a frayed mess behind. Had to switch mid-project and everything felt off for the next two rows. Now I test every new hook on a scrap swatch first, lesson learned the hard way.