How to Maintain Proper Tension When Crocheting

There is no right or wrong way to hold your yarn.

The tension of the yarn coming from your skein and ending at your hook affects the size and density of the final project. You can control the yarn tension by controlling how you feed the yarn off its skein and to your hook. A loose tension will result in larger stitches because it allows you to pull up bigger loops. A tight tension will result in smaller stitches because your loops will be smaller and tighter. It can be difficult for new crocheters to maintain a constant, uniform tension, but it can be mastered with practice.

Instructions

Grip Hold

1. Hold the yarn in your off hand -- your left if you are right-handed, your right if you are left-handed.

2. Wrap your middle, ring and pinkie finger around the yarn tail. The working end of the yarn should come up from your grasped fist around the back of your index finger.

3. Pinch your work between the thumb and index finger of your off hand.

4. Use your three other fingers to control the tension of the yarn. Grasp it tightly for a tighter tension. Relax your grip for a looser tension. For the loosest tension, holding the yarn isn't about controlling the tension, but more about keeping it out of your way.

Wrap Hold

1. Wrap the working end of the yarn around the index finger of your off hand -- right if you are left-handed, left if you are right-handed -- twice.

2. Pinch your work between the thumb and middle finger of your off hand.

3. Extend your index finger so that it is an inch or two away from the current stitch. This allows your index finger to work like a bobbin. Moving it closer or farther away from your current stitch can ease or tighten the tension of the yarn. The double loop keeps the yarn uniformly taut by preventing it from being pulled too easily toward the hook and off the skein.

Tips & Warnings

• If adjusting the tension of your work is too difficult to maintain evenly, or too stressful on your fingers, but your gauge is off, try using a smaller or larger hook: a smaller one for a swatch that was too big, a larger one for a swatch that was too small.

• If you have trouble with the yarn not unspooling correctly, unravel your skein and roll it into a ball.

Resources

• Lionbrand Yarn: Learn to Crochet