Keeping Tension

[lolyttedesigns]

Im learning how to crochet but I have a lot of problems keeping the same tension throughout a project!! does anyone have any tips? I can knit and seem fine with the tension but I just can't get it with crochet which is a shame because I love the endless possibilities of making things and the ease of motifs

Edited November 8, 2011 by lolyttedesigns

[RoseRed]

Practice. Conscious observation while you're practicing.

 

I made scarfs. I chained the length and then worked the stitch I wanted to practice. Not only do you get scarves - you also get the practice. I did the same thing when I wanted to increase my crocheting speed.

[cris]

For me, tension is a major difference between knitting and crochet. With knitting the needles are there to hold the tension for you - they hold all the stitches and keep them the same size. With crochet, there is nothing to do that for you. You can pull a loop of various sizes which will throw tension off.

 

I control tension with my yarn hand by holding it a certain way - then I tighten and loosen the stitches with that index finger.

 

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for tension with crochet. It is a matter of practice. I would say that before tackling a large project, do some smaller things that give you ample practice with tension (dishcloths and scarfs are great projects for this because they are all usable regardless of tension and gauge never matters)

 

Wish I could help more

[carovan]

I was helping a neighbor this week to crochet a pair of slippers. Her tension was not the best and I happened to notice that she was tugging her yarn to tighten the stitch after each stitch that she made. Once I got her to stop doing that, her tension improved and her work looked like she had been doing it for along time. I don't know if this is something that you also do, but if it is, try not to do that and see if it helps.