Curling round afghan

[emma525]

How do you keep a round afghan from curling up on the ends?  Using acrylic yarn.

[redrosesdz]

What type of round afghan are you doing?  Round ripple? Doily Look-Alike?  Something else?  What's the pattern's link and/or name?

 

Make sure that you're using a big enough hook.  If your hook is too small for the yarn, it will curl.  Is it worsted weight acrylic?  If yes, then your hook should be at least an I, J or K for a round afghan.  I used J for mine.

 

The other thing to check is that you're increasing evenly and enough in each round.  If it's flat for the first few rounds and then it starts to curl, rip it out until it's flat.  Then add at least a stitch or two in each section to get it to lay flat.  Test that it's flat at the end of every round.

[Granny Square]

When you are working in the round, your stitch height is important, and if it's different than the designers', it could cause your project to either have wavy edges, or 'cup', even if you are using the appropriate hook for the yarn and are following the pattern exactly.  There is a ratio of diameter to circumference that has to happen to keep the piece flat, and stitch height matters and is something that varies between crocheters, like tension. 

 

'Curling up' sounds like cupping, to me.  Cupping means you have too much diameter for the circumference (you might make stitches taller than the designer).  The fix is either to increase the circumference (add stitches) or decrease the diameter by omitting rounds, or substituting round(s) of shorter stitches

 

Wavy edges means you have too much circumference for the diameter (you might make stitches shorter than the designer--I sometimes encounter this).  The solution is the opposite - reduce the stitch count, or sub round(s) of taller stitches.  I encountered a doily where I had to convert most of it from US DC to US TR to get rid of the waves.

 

On the other hand...and I think this happens with lace (where every round is different) more than solid fabric...sometimes patterns are designed to ruffle/be wavy in the very middle and then straighten themselves out later (and the wave can be blocked out).  Unfortunately cupping doesn't block out, so if this is the problem you'd need to rip back to where the cupping started.