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@ELCBK I cannot even imagine trying to knit a grippy material off knitting needles, or crocheting with one. Generally look for materials that will slide, yarn and the needle.
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Even with a sewing machine, you would use a special Teflon foot and needle becaise those materials stick.
I have some short dbl pointed bamboo knitting needles that have a little, very little grip, because with the socks I knit, I don't want to have to use long dbl pointed needles, but for everything else, needles and crochet hooks that release, with a material that does not stick.
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Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
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I don't think I'd have any trouble with the rubber cord once I found a comfortable gauge (loose enough) to work with... definitely would slow me down a bit. I don't usually like metal needles, but have them to try along with rosewood, plastic & bamboo.
🤔... sorry, I got focused on 'cloth' (for my set up), but makes more sense for 'rest users' to knit or crochet an actual shoulder 'rest' - using a larger diameter chord!
Oval shape, flower/animal shape, or narrow rectangle - thick or thin wherever needed.
It could be held in place with rubber bands (like some sponges are), but could work better than a sponge. It 'might' reflect sound better, not muffle it, while still providing height & a little cushion.
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The only problem with these shoulder rest substitutes, though, is if you are interested in technique then you have to be able to hold the violin comfortably between your chin and shoulder with the your left hand away from the violin. The violin is a stable platform and your left hand plays on it as on a piano. I've found this to be impossible with a lot of rest substitutes. And if you believe in technique, your substitute should be designed accordingly. Rolling up my violin blanket is the only one that really works so far. (if you're wondering about my view on car sponges, I haven't in fact sourced a good supply of large enough rubber bands yet!)
Andrew
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I don’t like shoulder rests, partly because I like to keep things as simple as possible -- I just don’t want to have to rely on extra gear. Also, every shoulder rest that I have tried has locked the fiddle into one position, instead of allowing me to move around naturally.
After trying sponges and other approaches, I tried a piece of suede leather to reduce the slippage. That kept the fiddle from moving around, so I cut the leather to a shape that more or less follows the curve of the fiddle’s lower bout, made two little holes, and attached it to the connecting rods of the chinrest. It was nice that the leather was a color similar to the fiddle -- nobody has ever commented on it so maybe it’s quite invisible!
My other fiddle is very dark, nearly black. I couldn’t find that piece of leather so I used a similar sized piece of black shelf liner. It works equally well.
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Something else I learnt about slippage from the gig in the church: -
I was wearing two vests and a very thin woollen pullover. With huge friction between the shoulder rest and the pullover, I found that the pullover slipped against the vest! Something to think about!
Andrew
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I've had that happen.
I'm sure folks have some unique remedies.
Some things to consider:
If standing, you can try to stabilize 2 garments ahead of time, like a shirt to a vest, by spacing out a series of safety pins . Movement can cause too much tension on a spot to use only 1 pin (damage the cloth).
If sitting, not sure how feasible it is to pull garments down tight in the back & hold them with the back of the chair (since I don't think people play that way in orchestra), but any garments (long enough) are sat upon & held in place.
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