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Bulge in middle of granny square


Dickiebirdsmum

Question

I'm crocheting a red heart pattern for a top which starts with a large granny square but even though I've restarted it about five times and gone down to a smaller crochet hook size when I get to row 12ish it starts to bulge out and makes it look horrible. What am I doing wrong? I'm a newbie to crochet.I will attatch a pic before I take it apart again.

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linky to your pattern http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/square-deal-sweater

 

Oh dear, not that a bulge in a piece that's supposed to lie flat is ever good, but right at the tummy, gaa!

 

Everybody has a sightly different stitch tension, tight or loose, and also the degree to which they snug up stitches short or tall.

 

For things in the round, like most doilies and granny squares, the tall/short stitch tendencies of the maker versus the designer matter.

 

When things worked from the center, like granny squares or round doilies, don't lie flat, it's because they ruffle or cup.  These happen when the specific ratio of diameter to circumference don't line up.

 

Ruffle (not your problem here, but FYI): caused by the circumference being too great for the diameter.  Fix:  reduce the stitches, make taller stitches or add a round with no or fewer increases.

 

Cup: caused by the opposite, circumference too short for the diameter.  Fix is the opposite - increase the stitches, make shorter stitches.  Really, if anything, if it is only cupping in the middle and not beyond (sometimes it's easy to spot the round it stops at if it's not the whole thing cupping), you might want to use the smaller hook to start with, and go up a hook size beyond that round.  Or, the pattern is alternating rounds of SC and DC; you could try subbing all or part of the DC rounds in that area with SC (I'm sure no one but you wouldn't notice).  Just watch that your sweater fit isn't affected, and you're still hitting an acceptable gauge if you make a change.  (You made a gauge swatch, right?)

 

Unfortunately, ruffling can often be cured in some things by blocking, but cupping has to be ripped out, sorry, no amount of yanking at it is going to fix it.

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