help with curling/puckering doilies

[Mickreed]

what caused puckering or curling in a thread crochet doily, is it hook size? I am using what the pattern says to use size "7" and which way do you go on size, bigger? I have made one before and didn't have this issue.

[redrosesdz]

Welcome to Crochetville! 

Puckering/rippling occurs when there's too much thread/yarn in a space. Was there a guage? Did you match the guage?

Your tension is probably different than the designer or they may have used different thread. You can use thinner thread or go up a hook size. If you go up a hook size, your doily will most likely be bigger than the original, but it should lay flatter.

By the way, if it's pulling/ cupping/ curling, it means that there's not enough thread/yarn to cover the circumference. Use thicker thread or go down a hook size.

[Granny Square]

Cupping (making a bubble-I'm guessing that's what you mean by puckering), or ruffling is a diversion from the ratio between circumference and diameter that's needed to keep it flat.  

Changing the hook size might help you block ruffling more severely in the end, but if your stitch proportion is the same with a different hook, the ratio will still be off and will still be ruffly before blocking.  Cupping, alas, can't be fixed by blocking.

Cupping= the circumference is too small for the diameter.  You need more circumference, or less diameter.  Cure is more stitches, or shorter stitches, thrown in there where it hopefully won't show.  Or, subtract rounds - this can be tricky. 

Ruffling = circumference is too large for the diameter.  You need less circumference, or more diameter.  Cure is fewer stitches, or taller stitches, extra round(s) if you can, without increases--also tricky, depends on the pattern.  Ruffling happens to me a lot, because I make short stitches, but luckily, most of the time you can block ruffling out without making chages.  

It's not you - we all have different stitch tensions, and so do designers, and designer & maker tensions don't always add up.  I notice a lot of patterns ruffle at the beginning, then 'heal' themselves by the end, which makes me wonder if they don't ruffle for the designer as well and they make a correction mid-doily.

 

[Mickreed]

ok, so I don't know weather to go up in a hook size, which means a smaller number as it is a metal hook for thread cotton size 10, so go from a 7 to a 6 or 5?? I thought I measured my gauge but as I went back and measured again, its off. sould be 2" and its 1", if this helps.

 

[Mickreed]

also do either of you know how to take a patten that calls for size 30 cotton thread to 20 and how to change the hook? would it be a smaller hook, and by 1 or 2 sizes?

[redrosesdz]

Regardless of the thread you use, try different hook sizes to match the guage. If yours is smaller than the guage, try a larger hook.

[Mickreed]

4 minutes ago, redrosesdz said:

Regardless of the thread you use, try different hook sizes to match the guage. If yours is smaller than the guage, try a larger hook.

Thank you very much 

 

[Mickreed]

56 minutes ago, Granny Square said:

Cupping (making a bubble-I'm guessing that's what you mean by puckering), or ruffling is a diversion from the ratio between circumference and diameter that's needed to keep it flat.  

Changing the hook size might help you block ruffling more severely in the end, but if your stitch proportion is the same with a different hook, the ratio will still be off and will still be ruffly before blocking.  Cupping, alas, can't be fixed by blocking.

Cupping= the circumference is too small for the diameter.  You need more circumference, or less diameter.  Cure is more stitches, or shorter stitches, thrown in there where it hopefully won't show.  Or, subtract rounds - this can be tricky. 

Ruffling = circumference is too large for the diameter.  You need less circumference, or more diameter.  Cure is fewer stitches, or taller stitches, extra round(s) if you can, without increases--also tricky, depends on the pattern.  Ruffling happens to me a lot, because I make short stitches, but luckily, most of the time you can block ruffling out without making chages.  

It's not you - we all have different stitch tensions, and so do designers, and designer & maker tensions don't always add up.  I notice a lot of patterns ruffle at the beginning, then 'heal' themselves by the end, which makes me wonder if they don't ruffle for the designer as well and they make a correction mid-doily.

 

Thank you for that info, I do appreciate it 

[Granny Square]

I wouldn't try to match gauge of a doily designed for #30 thread, which (example) might be supposed to be 10" using a 12 hook, by using #20 thread and trying to get it to be 10"- you'd have to use an impossibly small hook and it's hurting my fingers just thinking about it.  We can't tell you what exact size is going to work, because it depends on your tension.  It's not always possible or advisable (fabric drape for yarn, and logistics for thread) to resize things by using a bigger yarn/thread and smaller hook.

Is it really critical to get a doily of a certain size?  I think you'd be better off trying to find a doily designed to be 10" or whatever, designed to use the thread you want to use.  Some old doily books (from the 1930s-50s) would have one pattern and tell you what size it would be if you used (example) #10 thread and #7 hook, #20 thread and #9 hook, and #30 yarn and #12 hook.  Other patterns would have multiple doilies of a matching-ish design in several sizes, but all using the same yarn.

Just throwing this out there -- http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/html/warm/crochet.htm  If you are looking for a doily pattern of a certain size, this site is bound to have something.  Careful, they have you might want to stick to patterns 1930 or later for current terms; or 1900-30 patterns, with a warning that US patterns used UK terms back then.  Earlier than that, crochet terms were all over the place, those patterns are challenging...