My Crochet keeps twisting?

Question

I am working on an afghan through Double Crochet Stitch and like always the actual project, not the yarn, is twisting and bending and not staying straight. What can do in the middle of the project (or the beginning though I am too far ahead now for that!:D) to straighten it? What about when I am finished? Will washing help? Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

have you tried pulling the edges slightly [diagonally] in order to even out the stitches & chains, like one does for a starched fabric? sometimes that helps, because it tends to loosen any tight turns or straighten any stray stitches.



however, if this does not help, then here's an idea for after you finish the entire afghan. crochet a border all along the 4 edges. you don't need to be very accurate about the stitches you pick up on the first row to make your chain base : your main aim should be to tighten the loose border [or vice versa] . you can try this along a relatively short length to see whether you are on the right track. once you see the difference, do the entire border.

This measure will not only mask your 'twists', it'll add beauty to the finished product. choose a border design that goes well with your main pattern.

hope this helps

all the very best & have fun.

Answer 2

By twisting do you mean that it is wavy, or do you mean that it is twisting in a circle? If it's twisting in a circle, then I'm not sure what the problem is. But, if it is bunchy and not laying flat, it might be the stitch you did the first row with. When I first started to double crochet, I had this problem and it was because I single crocheted the first row. Then, if you do double crochet on the following rows, the bottom is too small for the rest of the afghan and it doesn't lat flat. I hope this is making sense, I am not even sure that I am answering the question right! As far as I know, there is nothing you can do after this problem, but for next time, if you do the very first row in double crochet, it should lay flat.

Answer 3

Sometimes the crocheted item will curl and twist. It is the yarn and the tension with which you are crocheting. You can make it flat by blocking it, or when you start something use a larger hook and ease up on the tension.To block it you need to use a spray bottle with water in it and lay it on a towel on a flat surface. Then you mist it to dampen it and then use straight pins to hold it down. Let it dry naturally and it will flatten out. There is also another way to do it: you can dampen a towel and lay it on an ironing board and put the iron on warm and gently press it for a few seconds at a time and do this all around the piece, with the dampened towel on top of the piece so the iron does not melt it. But the blocking with pins is the safest way to do it so you do not risk melting it with the iron. If it continues to curl, repeat the process and if that doesn't work, then you may have to start over with a larger hook and less tension. As you get used the yarn and the hook you can see how it makes a difference when you alter the hook size and the tension with different yarns. Good luck!

Answer 4

Hmmm... I'd probably need to see it to know for sure, but there's plenty of possibilities.



Have you checked to make sure your gauge/tension is even throughout the project? Having rows that are tighter or looser than others can really throw the shape of a project off.



Are missing or adding stitches as you go? I always used to have an issue keeping the number of dc's the same throughout. Try counting your number of stitches to see if you have the same as you started with. If you're off, you'll have to decide it you can correct the number of stitches or will have to rip back.



Perhaps your initial chain and first row or so are tighter or looser. I crocheted myself a blanket out of sc, but the beginning of it was a lot looser than the end of it, so the blanket never lay quite flat. There's not much you can do about this mid project. If you determine this is the problem, next time you can adjust for this in the beginning.



The good thing about large objects such as blankets or afghans, is that they are so large and have enough weight that they tend to stretch themselves into shape when draped over something or used. As long as it isn't horrible (you know, unusable ect) most people won't notice a little warp here and there. And if it really bothers you, there you can always frog it and start over. Though I know that's no fun.