what am i doing wrong?

[susi]

hi

i have started to learn to crochet this morning. i get the chain (i am doing basic st and just a simple square patch to learn on). it seems like i am making a finegr for a glove not a square. it has simply curled upwards not at all flat.

where am i going wrong please anyone know?

susi

[Braden]

You're working too tightly. That tends to happen with beginning crocheters, just try to loosen up, it'll work out!

[susi]

You're working too tightly. That tends to happen with beginning crocheters, just try to loosen up, it'll work out!

thank you so very much. i will get it back out agian as i have obviously pulled it off. i loved doing it though, far far easier (the basics anyway) than knitting. it was quite tightly done. i strugled on some stitches to get the hook through to pick up the next stitch

i will start iver today

thanks again

susi

[Yarnlady]

When you do your initial chain, try using a hook a couple sizes larger. It'll make it much easier to work back on that row.

When I learned to crochet some 40+ years ago, my mother gave me a baseball size ball of yarn and hook and I had to chain the entire ball of yarn. Then frogged it and did it again. By the time I'd done it a couple times, my chain st was nice and even and loose. Practice makes perfect!

[DonnaS]

Agree on the larger size hook for the beginning chain. That's a trick you'll learn and use over and over again. My students typically have the hardest time with that beginning chain and going back into it with the foundation chain.

Also, if you are wrapping the yarn around your pinky while you crochet, try not doing that, but instead just putting it over the pinky finger and not around. That's another mistake I see new crocheters make alot... you need that tension when your crocheting smaller thread that has to be tighter to see a pattern (doilies for example) .. but if your tension is too tight with regular yarn then release that wrap and see if the yarn will flow a bit easier.

Remember.. the yarn should flow through your fingers, across your hook and become something beautiful. If you're fighting with it because it's too tight (or too loose!) then something is wrong and needs to be corrected. It sounds like you're doing a great job though.. it takes practice and perseverance to get that tension exactly right just like with knitting. Hang in there!

[susi]

wow i have some practsing to do. i tried a few times since but still got the same. it started of better though the second time. but the cat got involved with the yarn so i had to rip it off (just as well ilove the cat lol). i'm going to keep trying. i actually haven't wrapped the yarn over any fingers - should i be?

i think on my third attempt it was far far to loose, i over compensated.

its fun learning though. thanks for all the advise i will keep at it

susi

[Braden]

Another thing--I don't really tension the yarn when I crochet, I just put it over my index finger. The tension is controlled by how hard I press my pinky finger to the work. This way, the yarn flows through my fingers, making it extremely easy to work. I can't say I do this with knitting, because the yarns flow in a different way, so, what works for knitting might not work in crochet. Just find out what works best for you, but don't tension it too tightly.

[DonnaS]

I lay my yarn over my pinky, under my middle 2 fingers and over my pointing finger.. holding my stitches and work with my middle finger and thumb. This works well for tensioning my yarn for regular crochet as you can tighten or loosen the yarn by holding your pinky tighter next to the ring finger or looser.

Strangely enough I knit holding my yarn exactly the same way. It was very easy for me to learn to knit continental doing this and more than one older season knitting lady has commented that I knit just like I crochet lol but it works probably because I've been crocheting forever that same way

At the end of the day whatever works best for you individually. There is no right or wrong... it's all in how the work comes out in the end.

Oh and for those that think crocheting and knitting is a challenge with cats.. try using balls of yarn around a 5 month old Jack Russell puppy

[Riss]

I've been crocheting for years. My mom taught me to hold the yarn with my pinky and ring finger. If you just fold them into your palm so that just your finger tips are touching your palm, it holds just enough tension on the yarn to keep you going smooth.

It does sometimes cause my pinky to go numb if I lose track of time and end up crocheting for hours without a break though...