Crotchety Crocheter is Crotchety

April 19, 2011 11:37 AM

Crochet-filter: Can you tell me how to make the edging of an afghan not be bunched up and stupid-looking?

I made a crochet afghan from a pattern I found in a book. I'm working on the edging now. I followed the instructions, but it seemed to be too tight or something because it bunched up and ruined the shape of the whole afghan. I took it out and re-did it, using bigger stitches. Then again with more stitches. Then again with fewer stitches.

Please tell me how to properly edge a crochet afghan so I can finish this project and get it out of my life.

posted by motsque to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (12 answers total)

Is the afghan rectangular or some other shape? Does the bunching happen evenly across the whole project? Mostly at corners? How many rows is the edging?

Can you give us the name of the book and pattern so we can look the pattern up on Ravelry and see if there's more info there?
posted by jacquilynne at 11:42 AM on April 19, 2011

Best answer: Looser stitches. I mean loose like driving a bicycle down a four-lane highway. Make your stitches loose, and then make them twice as loose as you think they're supposed to me.
posted by Melismata at 11:43 AM on April 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

BE.
posted by Melismata at 11:43 AM on April 19, 2011

Pictures might be helpful. I've had some luck with similar problems by using a different sized hooks.
posted by TooFewShoes at 11:44 AM on April 19, 2011

Best answer: Really, if you're hating working on it, I'd put it aside until you don't hate it or donate it to Goodwill unfinished. Frustration will not help your stitch tension at all. That said:

Picture? Are you putting extra stitches in the corners (usually 3 stitches in a corner stitch)?

A bigger hook will help you make looser stitches. You can elso experiment along one side/corner with different amounts of increasing (ex. *sc, 2sc in next stitch*). You can also try chaining 1-2 between stitches into the afghan.
posted by momus_window at 11:48 AM on April 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

I would suggest doing a single crochet row all the way around to even out the edge by adding and subtracting stitches as you go to keep it even and then you have an even row to do the decorative stitches of the edging into those single crochet stitches. Also using a larger needle might help on this foundation edge row and then using the correct needle size for the actual decorative edge stitch so it will match the gauge of the other rows. Good luck, it can be frustrating to get a nice edge on some patterns!
posted by blacktshirtandjeans at 12:15 PM on April 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If it's anything like knitting, you'd be amazed at how large you sometimes need to go.

That's what she said.
posted by Madamina at 12:23 PM on April 19, 2011 [4 favorites]

I think blacktshirtandjeans has good advice.
Plus, you need t play with your stitches per inch until things lie flat. It is sometimes not one stitch per stitch, or one per two. Sometimes it is 2/3, 2/3, 2/2, 2/3, 2/2, 2/3.
posted by SLC Mom at 12:47 PM on April 19, 2011

Nthing using a larger hook.
posted by luckynerd at 1:23 PM on April 19, 2011

nthing momus_window and luckynerd.
posted by royalsong at 1:52 PM on April 19, 2011

Also, plenty of suggestions and help available on Ravelry. Word of warning, though, the pattern database will consume your life.

Again, nthing using a bigger hook. (:

Madamina, thanks for making me spill my tea laughing. -.-
posted by Heretical at 3:53 PM on April 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all! I looked around on Ravelry but got dangerously close to starting five new patterns instead. I went up two hook sizes and made huge stitches; it seems to be lying flat now.

The pattern is from Donna Kooler's Crotchet Afghans, but I don't have the book and can't remember the name of the pattern. And I'm too ashamed to post a picture of this mess, but thank you all none the less!
posted by motsque at 6:58 PM on April 19, 2011 [1 favorite]