#19 - Stiffening Crochet Snowflakes with free template 

Thank you SOOOO MUCH for your kind words, Nancy! It means a lot to hear that my videos and teaching are helping others. I'm blessed to be able to share my crochet knowledge with others through RU-vid. I've learned a lot over the past 45+ years, especially since joining CGOA, attending their conferences and becoming a crochet designer, technical editor and teacher. It's what I love to do and I'm blessed to be able to do what I love! I'm doing well, just very busy with family happenings since August (a wedding and a funeral in August, along with 2 new grandchildren this month in Indiana and California). My husband and I will get back to doing more videos when we're able to (after the holidays). I have a very long list of videos I'd like to do while I'm still able to do them! Is there anything in particular that you'd like to learn? I pray you have a very Merry Christmas. Happy crocheting to you!

You're very welcome, Judy! Thank you so much for your kind words! Happy snowflake crocheting and stiffening to you!

Thank you so much for your kind comment, Jenny! I hope all your crochet snowflakes turn out beautifully! Happy crocheting to you!

You're very welcome, Danielle! I hope your thread stiffening projects all turn out wonderful!

You've very welcome, Melissa! I hope all of your snowflakes turn out wonderfully with my tips and the template! Happy crocheting to you!

You're very welcome, Maria! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and learned about stiffening crochet snowflakes. Happy crocheting to you!

You're very welcome, Katie! I hope your snowflake stiffening goes smoothly and your snowflake looks fabulous!

You're very welcome, Becki! I hope this video helps you stiffen your crochet snowflakes so you can enjoy using them.

You're very welcome, Suzanne! I'm glad my teaching is helpful for you. I hope all your crochet snowflakes turn out great!

I'm glad my video could take the mystery out of stiffening crochet snowflakes for you, Jen! It's actually not that hard to do!

You're very welcome, Ruby! I love snowflakes and snowmen, so wearing earrings of either one is lots of fun (plus they're light-weight)!

Thanks, Lisa! I hope all of your snowflakes turn out fabulous after stiffening them!

There are some small snowflakes in this Leisure Arts booklet that work well for earrings: www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/leisure-arts-3232-white-christmas-in-thread-crochet/patterns They're meant to be made in size 10 thread. However, if you use size 20 thread, they'll be even smaller! I would definitely stiffen the snowflake earrings, as well. Happy crocheting to you!

You're very welcome, Nhi! I hope you enjoy stiffening your crochet snowflakes this year!

Thank you for your kind words, Ailsa! I don't currently have any videos on crocheting snowflakes. However, my friend, Kathryn Clark, has a video and free pattern for crocheting a snowflake. She has designed a LOT of crochet snowflakes that are beautiful! Here's a link to her snowflake video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OFDETj7lRm8.html. I hope this helps. Happy snowflake crocheting to you!

I'm so glad that you've decided to try making some crochet snowflakes, Melodie! They're so beautiful as decorations at Christmas or anytime 😍! Please let me know how your snowflakes turn out. And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

@@TheCrochetArchitect t Thank you for the encouragement

I've never cleaned stiffened crochet pieces before. But my best guess would be to remove the stiffener by soaking the pieces in warm water, then gently rubbing them just a little to help loosen up the stiffener, which could have been white glue or starch. Once the stiffener is removed (if they still look dirty), I would give them a good soaking in lukewarm water with a little liquid laundry detergent. After they've soaked for a while (15 minutes to a few hours should be long enough), remove them and rinse them. Gently squeeze out the excess water. Then lay them out to dry on a clean, dry towel. If they're sufficiently clean, you can stiffen them again per my video instructions using white glue or fabric stiffener. Make sure the pins are stainless steel so they don't rust!!! If they're not clean enough, you could try something a little stronger, like Oxy-Clean or bleach, but only if the liquid laundry detergent doesn't get the stains out. Oxy-Clean and/or bleach are pretty harsh and may damage the thread over time, so make sure you rinse ALL of these cleaners out of the crochet thread pieces before drying and stiffening them. I hope this helps. If you try these instructions and they're helpful for you, I'd love to know. And if you have any suggestions that I can pass along to others, please let me know, as well. Happy stiffening! Susan

Rachel, Good question! Did you get a lot of the stiffener/glue out of the snowflakes with a paper towel before pinning them to your blocking board? If so, I would suggest trying to rotate the pins or move them from side to side a little in your blocking board to loosen them so they can be removed. If all else fails, you could try warming up the glue somewhat by putting the blocking board in the sun (by a window inside or outside where the blocking board won't be bothered or blown away) so the stiffener will soften (if you have any sunny days right now where you live). Then you should be able to remove the pins, leaving the snowflakes on the blocking board. Then bring them out of the sun and let them cool on the blocking board to harden the stiffener. You can't use a hair dryer or the oven because they would melt the plastic wrap under the snowflakes. And you can't use a microwave because of the steel in the pins. Please let me know if this helps. Happy crocheting (and stiffening), Susan Lowman

@@TheCrochetArchitect Thank you for the reply! I don't think I got enough glue out with a paper towel after all. I'll try out your advice.

I've never cleaned stiffened crochet pieces before. But my best guess would be to remove the stiffener by soaking the pieces in warm water, then gently rubbing them just a little to help loosen up the stiffener, which could have been white glue or starch. Once the stiffener is removed (if they still look dirty), I would give them a good soaking in lukewarm water with a little liquid laundry detergent. After they've soaked for a while (15 minutes to a few hours should be long enough), remove them and rinse them. Gently squeeze out the excess water. Then lay them out to dry on a clean, dry towel. If they're sufficiently clean, you can stiffen them again per my video instructions using white glue or fabric stiffener. For the shaped pieces, you'll need styrofoam shapes (or anything similar, like cardboard) covered with clear plastic wrap. You'll probably need some pins to keep the pieces in place on the shapes until the stiffener is dry. Make sure the pins are stainless steel so they don't rust!!! I hope this helps. If you try these instructions and they're helpful for you, I'd love to know. And if you have any suggestions that I can pass along to others, please let me know, as well. Happy stiffening! Susan

@@TheCrochetArchitect I will try that....thank you....and I will let you know how it works out....The bells were shaped on drinking cups, so that will be easy, the Angel's are going to be tougher🙃

I did a lot of stiffened, shaped Christmas ornaments 20-30 years ago. I remember using some styrofoam bell shapes for the Christmas tree bells and styrofoam cone shapes for the angels I did. The cones come in several sizes and are typically available at local craft stores, so you might be able to find one that will work for your angels. I look forward to hearing how your cleaning project goes!

@@TheCrochetArchitect I have finished my cleaning and restiffening....it was fairly easy and they look great so happy I did it....I have a bunch of pictures but I can't figure out how to post them here, I can email them

I'm so glad that your cleaning and restiffening worked out! I would LOVE to see photos. Please contact me through the "About Me" page of my website and I'll email you back.

I'm sorry you think this video is too long and I talk too much, Sima. I hope you learned some good tips to help you stiffen your crochet snowflakes. Happy crocheting to you!