Yarn Tension: What is "Just Right"?

[amymyers1973]

Hi, I'm Amy. I'm new here. There is so much information on the help board that it's a bit overwhelming. So I apologize for repeating a question. My problem is that I have the "iron grip of death" and my tension is too tight. My projects are made with acrylic yarn and plastic hooks, but recently I switched to aluminum hooks. I've tried working with larger hooks. The result is that the post is still tight, but the loop is too loose at the top. Also there is very little stretchiness in the work. I've been reading message boards and books looking for that tip or bit of information that shows what Goldilocks might call the "just right" tension for crocheting. What is too tight? What is too loose? What is just right? And what do these look like? Any visual aids will be appreciated.

Thank you very much!

Amy

[pretty_bug01]

I think it really depends on the crocheter. I do not think that there is a wrong tension. A trick I learned to keep the poof at the top, that's what I call it, is to pull on the yarn before I yarn over, so that the loop is tight on the hook before I go into the next stitch. I crochet loosely, so it really depends. As long as your gauge is correct when doing patterns, then I don't see a problem with your tension. I would just be concerned over your hands in the long run, but I won't put my own opinions on you. I hope I have helped.

[Crocus58]

Relax and enjoy the process - hold the hook as if it was made of balsa wood and the yarn so you still have circulation in your fingers then try to let the process "flow". Tension is specific to each individual, but if you have the grip of death, I can't see how you are enjoying the actual crocheting . . . .

[CrochetbyClarissa]

I agree that tension is specific to each person.

 

I think it also depends on how you hold the hook. Not just grip wise but do you hold it over or under hand?

 

I tried holding mine overhand when I started but I found I was gripping the hook way to hard and I would get cramps in my hand and wrist. So I switched to underhand...Problem solved...

 

You might want to try that and see if it works.

 

Good Luck!!!

[carovan]

When you are doing your stitches, try to keep your loops in the area between the hook and the flat spot. Don't let them get too loose in this area. My next piece of advice for loosening up your "death grip" is while you are holding your hook hold it so that someone could easily pull your hook out of your hand. I had nuns when I was in grade school that would come along and pull our pencils out of hands to make sure we were keeping the right tension. It really is a lot easier on the hands if you can do it this way.

 

They make gauge swatches for different projects because we all have different tensions.

[Tiga]

I'm going to disagree - there IS correct tension for everyone. Now, how tight or loose YOU need to pull on the yarn to get that tension will vary, but what you should look for when holding the yarn in your yarn hand is that is is taut, but not pulled tight. You should not be pulling the yarn so tight that it is becoming thinner than it is when it's wrapped up in its skein. It should also not be so loose that there is slack between the yarn coming off your yarn hand and the hook.

 

You should be able to easily pull the yarn onto your hook for a YO, but it shouldn't be loose and floppy.

 

Also, do NOT pull your stitches tight or pull up on your stitches after you make them. I made this mistake for a long while, thinking it would make my work more secure.

 

It just made my work look tight, full of holes and actually will weaken the yarn.

 

Your stitches should look full, tall and secure. We're not knitters - we don't have to have nice, tight stitches! Nor are we hand-sewers - keeping it loose and easy is actually better for us.

 

The ONLY time you want to have tighter stitches is when you are doing amigurumi, and even then, you don't want to pull the yarn too tight. It's just better to use a smaller hook and crowd the stitches together.

 

Just remember to pull the yarn until it is taut - that means it's straight, but not TIGHT - but still can be pulled from your yarn hand.

 

I have a problem with getting the yarn to flow through my fingers, so I actually pull a bunch from the skein to lay loose in my lap, and that helps me keep my tension loose enough.

[MaryPat]

I agree with Tiga. If you're interested in doing an exercise that will help you loosen up and produce an afghan... Just chain a huge amount and then do a very repetitive but simple stitch like SC HDC SC HDC ... and so on for the entire afghan. By the time you get any length to it, you will have trained your fingers to relax a bit and produce an even tension.

 

I'm not sure why this works for a lot of people -- maybe it's so boring that your sub-conscious has to take over.

[Thia]

I too will pull yarn off the roll/skein into my lap or next to me and go from there. Helps me keep better tension. If I notice I am crocheting too tightly, I will put it down for a minute and take some deep breaths and concentrate on relaxing my body. Usually, with a death grip, I am ruminating on something in my mind and it shows in my work.

[nela42575]

Your stitches should look full, tall and secure. We're not knitters - we don't have to have nice, tight stitches! Nor are we hand-sewers - keeping it loose and easy is actually better for us.

 

Okay... the last line of this paragraph made me snicker. Like when you're a little kid and someone says something 'naughty'.

It also gave me a good idea for a 'naughty' crochet slogan. But... its not entirely PG, so you'll just have to use your imaginations there.

[amymyers1973]

Thank you all very much, ladies! I appreciate all your good tips. You are absolutely right about having a relaxed grip. That's my biggest problem, even when writing in my journal with a death grip on the ink pen. My ambition was greater than my skill a few years back when I started an afghan project. It sat in the storage crate for a long time. Then I ripped it all out and "recycled" the yarn. This was a bad idea because the tightness of the stitches ruined the shape and elasticity of the yarn. I should have thrown it all out rather than continue practicng with it. Now I'm just working on small projects, dish cloths and granny squares, before attempting another afghan. I will continue practicing with your advice in mind. Thanks!

Amy

[pretty_bug01]

I just remembered something I learned about it special education class. This may sound dumb, but you could try it. Take a tennis ball and cut a small hole in it, take one of your crochet hooks that you can sort of destroy and glue it into the ball. The tennis ball will keep you from gripping too hard and will ease your hands due to the bigger circumference that you are working with. I would love to hear how this turned out for you.

[amymyers1973]

Hello ladies. To update you, I've begun a scrap afghan. The pattern is just working one row at a time of various stitches. So far, so good. I think about all your suggestions while I'm crocheting. I bought a stitch gauge tool which is proving to be very helpful. Also I switched from plastic to aluminum hooks. The "death grip" is easing up, the tension is flexible, and the piece is stretchy but not too loose.

 

The only problem I'm having is with the gauge of the variegated yarns, which for some reason are thinner than the solid color yarns (made by the same company). I use a larger hook for the thinner variegated yarn, but those stitches are still a bit too small and the edges are slightly uneven. But since I'm alternating variegated and solid rows, and the ends of the rows will have fringe, it won't make a huge difference. You know, it doesn't have to be pefect. It's only going to be on my bed. No one but the cat will notice.

 

Thanks again.

Amy

[sherryzzz]

.....You know, it doesn't have to be pefect. It's only going to be on my bed. No one but the cat will notice.

Amy

 

My motto in life is "anything worth doing is worth doing imperfectly!" Much less stress and much more fun that way!

 

When I was first starting to crochet, I did a gazillion scarves and a ton of felted bags. Working on the bags, I did rows and rows using a repetititive stitch and it really helped me to loosen up my grip and develop a nice gauge - plus felting covers up a lot of "problems"!

[jleinhauser]

It's possible a contributing factor is that you are not working on the proper place on the hook. Many crocheters work on the throat -- the shaped part just above the hook end. You need to draw each stitch completely up onto the working area -- the straight part before the finger grip.

 

Jean

[paperflowers]

I'm still fuzzy on loop size myself. I "cheat" by passing the thumbrest through the loop and back to stretch it. It actually works for most hook sizes.