So – you’ve decided to challenge yourself and your hook with a blanket, only to find that your pattern is curving – when you’re trying to crochet yourself something particularly large, this can end up being a bit of a nightmare! Knowing how to fix crochet blanket curving, however, is easier than you might think.
If your crochet blanket is starting to curve out of control and you need to get back on the straight and narrow, there are eight likely reasons why this may be the case. Read on for what’s been tried, tested, and best of all – what works!
Investigating the curve
“Why is my crochet curving?” It’s likely that there’s an issue with tension, or that you’ve missed a stitch or two.
It may take a little while, but the best way to stop crochet blanket curving is to stop what you’re doing and look carefully at what you’re working with. For example, by looking closely, it may be quicker to frog a few stitches and replace those than having to start from the beginning again.
By determining the cause, you may also learn how to avoid repeating that problem in the future. It’s all a learning process! Here are some of the most common reasons why even the most avid crocheters find their blankets curving – and how they fix them.
Why is my crochet blanket curving?
1. It’s all about tension
Yes – the cause of curving in your blanket could be as a result of tension transmitting through your hands to the crochet yarn!
Have you ever felt stressed and suddenly become aware that you’re holding that emotion in a part of your body? Oddly enough, when you’re crocheting, and in the flow, your hook and yarn become extended parts of yourself. This is great when you’re relaxed, but if you feel hassled to finish a piece of work or under time constraints, you may not realize that you can transfer that tension to your project!
Equally, when we are over-tired, our attention to detail slips – which means that stitching can become sloppy. It may become so relaxed it turns loose, too! Either way, the stress in your body will affect the tension of the yarn. You’ll need to block or steam your blanket, or replace some of the stitches.
2. You’ve changed your yarn
Sometimes, the designs or patterns you’re following may need you to change colors, or even yarns. This isn’t a major problem when you stick with the same yarn type or manufacturer – but major changes can end up creating a weird or really disjointed look!
Prevention tends to be better than the cure in this instance – try and keep the yarn you’re using at the same weight, and where possible, from the same manufacturer. Keeping things uniform is going to be the best practice if you want to avoid bends and curves.
As with tension problems, blocking and steaming your crochet might help – as might removing borders and stitches.
3. You’ve changed your hook or grip
Maybe you misplaced your lucky hook, or you have kids who like helping by passing you different tools! Regardless, whenever you switch from a favorite hook to a less familiar one, your grip, technique, and performance can change. My advice, therefore – don’t do it! Stick with the same hook if you want to keep things straight and uniform. Different hooks generate different results – pick one and stay with it.
There are many different ways to grip a hook, too. If you have friends who crochet, you may all use a different style. Everyone has a grip they are most comfortable using, and changing it can cause all sorts of hand pain. Sadly, it’s sometimes unavoidable.
It’s worth knowing that changing the way you hold your hook, too, can affect the flow of the yarn and the tension of stitches. If you have recently changed the hook or grip, you may now be struggling with curving stitches.
Blocking your crochet blanket might help here – as might releasing and replacing stitches.
4. You’ve stored your blanket poorly
Crochet is hard work – so why spoil it by storing it improperly? If you have a blanket in process, it’s a good idea to try and store it flat, so that you don’t end up snagging any loops or stitches. Otherwise, you’re at risk of your blanket warping, deforming, or otherwise getting spoiled.
Fortunately, this is probably the easiest of the problems to solve. Simply lay the item out flat and gently tease it back into shape. If the integrity of some stitching has been seriously compromised, you may need to do more.
Blocking, steaming, and replacing stitches can easily remedy this issue – keep reading for more details below!
5. You’ve accidentally added stitches
Losing count of stitches, ugh! It happens to the best of us. A few seconds of distraction, and oops, there’s an extra five stitches on your line.
Can’t find your pattern and thinking of eyeballing the count? Don’t do it! No matter how talented or practiced you are, this is such an easy way to get the fundamentals wrong. Either way, there is really only one proper solution! You’re going to need to remove the stitches you’ve added unnecessarily – it’s as simple as that!
6. You’ve missed a few stitches out
Just like accidentally adding stitches, skipping them is easily done and can make an otherwise beautiful piece look really wonky. No matter how it happens, missing stitches are usually easy to deal with and can be invisibly repaired when done carefully.
It’s tempting to tug at your crocheted blanket to expand the area. This is not a permanent solution and can do more harm than good!
By pulling the fibers of the yarn beyond their normal extension, you risk weakening the overall structure of the piece. Every time the item is washed and dried, it may settle in an uneven form. If the affected area is easily visible, it will always draw your eye to a fault and can detract from the overall beauty of the piece. So, you’re going to need to add more stitches in!
7. You’ve ended up with irregular seams and borders
Irregular seams and borders can become an unsightly nuisance. Three things generally cause them – there’s either a mismatch in the tile joints, a mismatch between a tile row and a border, or a complete mismatch across a whole border.
To solve this problem, you may need to completely re-align the stitches by removing some tiles or some of the border.
You can fix this temporarily by steaming or blocking (more on this below). It is unlikely to be permanently put right unless you remove some or all of the border, however – sorry!
For a permanent and professional fix, consider total border removal and replacement. It’ll pay off in the long run and will be altogether easier on the eye – give it a try!
8. You’ve snagged an anchor
The tail of the first slip, or thread of yarn used to form your initial crochet stitches is called an anchor. Sometimes, an anchor can become snagged – which can, further down the line, lead to all sorts of problems with curving and structure.
This can happen through your anchor becoming trapped in a carry bag, rolled in a way to catch against other equipment, or even as simply caught in the zip of a storage bag! Snagging an anchor can pull crochet stitches out of alignment – which means you’re going to need to try and get things back on track.
Anchors are important as threads to make adjustments and close off areas of work. Snagging an anchor can be easily remedied by simply sliding threads in a needed direction to loosen the tension and regain your blanket’s form. This works well in most cases where the integrity of the anchor has not been compromised.
When you spot a loose or damaged thread, you’ll know it’s time to take action. Simply rework some existing stitches to act as new anchors!
How to fix crochet blanket curving
If your blanket is curving thanks to any of the above issues, there are several ways you can fix it. Some methods are more effective than others in some cases, so be sure to read carefully.
1. Block your crochet!
Blocking is a term used to describe the soaking and realignment of a piece of crochet to reform the desired shape. You’re going to need a clean, level surface and a tray to lay your blanket out on.
You’ll then need to soak your blanket in water and reposition it to the shape you desire over the surface – and allow it to drain. Blocking has the best results for natural fibers which absorb water – be warned, it does not achieve good results with acrylic or other artificial fibers.
If your crochet blanket’s curving because of a change to your process, you’ve lost tension, or you’ve stored it improperly, blocking is a great idea.
2. Steam your crochet!
Wondering how to get your crochet to lay flat? Steaming works well to deliver a blast of reshaping hot, damp air over an area of crocheted threads or fabric. To manually reform and reposition a piece of crochet, place it on a flat surface.
Hold a steaming iron a few centimeters over the surface of a malformed or curving crochet blanket. The hot steam will ease the tension of threads and can even loosen entire tiles.
Remember to allow the fabric to settle before lifting it. If you move it whilst it’s still soaking wet, you risk elongating some parts and affecting the structural integrity of the whole blanket – that’s going to make things worse!
Curving through yarn change, improper storage or loosening tension can easily be fixed through steaming.
3. Replace stitches, tiles and borders
If your blanket is losing some serious integrity, it’s a good idea to get back in there and replace several stitches, tiles, and/or borders. This is a work-intensive solution, but if your blanket is too damaged, I’m afraid you’re going to need to start from scratch – to an extent.
This can be frustrating – but replacing stitches, at least, is a near-universal way to solve all of the problems I’ve listed earlier on in this guide. Replacing borders and tiles, too, is worthwhile considering if you really can’t save them any other way.
4. Release your stitches
Sometimes, you may need to simply release stitches or threads if they are tangled (but not altogether torn away). This process is often recommended if you’ve stitched up improperly, or where you need to take some of your work away to loosen up a little slack. Be careful, however, as you’re going to need to be extra careful with tender, natural fibers.
5. Add more stitches in!
If you’ve missed stitches completely, then – guess what – a quick fix is to just stitch in new ones. This can be almost undetectable if you take your time, too. Adding stitches is ideal and easily camouflaged by using colors and fibers which readily blend in.
Carefully count how many stitches are filling a small base. Calculate the length of thread you will need to add and then double it! You can trim off excess. If you fail to allow sufficient yarn to fill the gap, you may end up making extra unsightly knots. Leave a tail of at least 1 inch or 2.5 centimeters, which you can tie off with a knot.
6. Take care with anchor threads
As mentioned earlier, anchor threads are crucial for keeping your crocheted blanket together. Securing damaged threads, thankfully, is nice and easy. All you need is a decent-sized length of yarn, some hairgrips, and maybe a magnifying glass (or, use the camera on your smartphone if you have one)! Simply attach and secure any reasonable fibers left as new anchors.
Depending on the size of your blanket involved, try to tie off and secure additions to the fabric. Remember to use a longer length of yarn than you imagine necessary – as this will allow room for error!
Conclusion
Crochet blanket curving can seem like a nightmare – at least to begin with! Now you know the major causes of this problem – and how to cause them – you should be more than prepared to tackle this issue if it ever pops up in future. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
Originally posted 2022-07-06 11:12:39.