Crochet frustration!

Sprite64 · Crochet frustration!

I've got some Muskat yarn ( (here) and I've been having a go at a few simple granny squares - coz I want to make a big throw for the sofa. I'm getting a bit frustrated as they are not coming out particularly neat and the yarn is very easy to split. Maybe I shouldn't have picked cotton (I haven't done much crochet at all) - but I thought it would be more hard-wearing than a wool based yarn. I love the colours and it has a nice sheen to it - but I will have to make a LOT of squares. I did some squares using some wool I had and the stitch definition seems much better. Is it harder using cotton as it doesn't have much give in it? Off to have another go now Rolling Eyes

Wildpurl

Hi Sprite, when I learned to crochet they gave us cotton Dk to practise with, so it woud seem to be OK for beginners. Probably the neatness is to do with cotton not having so much springiness as wool. I have done some granny squares for cushions and I used acrylic and wool from my stash, and they came out OK . What I did do though which makes a lot of difference is I blocked each square. I pinned them out to the dimensions I wanted and then I actually steamed them with the iron and left them to dry, but you could just spray with water and leave to dry too, which might be better with cotton. this stretched them a little and squared off the corners, and it just generally made them look more even. If you try one you will see if it helps.
I think that will be all you need though to get a good result. I bet it will look lovely Very Happy

Sprite64

Thanks! I'll have another go this evening Smile

I get frustrated easily if I can't get things right first time!

CJ

I actually prefer cotton for crochet, as it splits less - well the sort I had anyway - I used the DB pure cotton which is an aran weight and that was lovely to crochet with.

Sprite64

I've had another go and got on better this time - I've gone up from a 3mm to a 3.5mm hook and I'm just doing a bog-standard granny square. I'll take a photo when I've finished it. I think i'll stick to the basic square for a bit and then try some of the more complicated ones later. I'll have to make loads of them to make a big enough throw. Not sure I want to know just how much yarn I'll need!

melody yarns

Is the hook the correct size for the yarn?? I would have thought that a 4mm hook would have been better for Muskat as it's slightly heavier than DK cotton at 21/20sts per 10cm... maybe more of an aran weight than DK. Maybe you could try a 4mm or 4.5mm hook and see what happens?

Sprite64

loobyj

Hey Sprite - nothing much to add, Janice's advice re blocking is spot on - and I'm with Melody on the hook size. I'd use at least a 4mm for that tension yarn. A bigger hook will give a much better drape - and as each square will be bigger you'll have less to do!

lj

Sprite64