Often when people are just
beginning to crochet, they tend towards working tightly. It’s a bad idea to
do this as tightening your hands isn’t good for them. Your hand muscles are
small, and vulnerable to spasms. It's also more difficult technically to
crochet tightly, so you are making things difficult for yourself.
A good crochet stitch should
allow the needle to get in without any hint of struggle. Crocheting loosely
is faster, as you don't need to battle with every stitch.
Crocheting tightly won’t make
a denser fabric. The looseness of the fabric itself is only related to the
size of your hook. You won’t always want your finished work to be too dense.
Large objects like sweaters need some drape in the fabric to look good.
One reason
that's often given for crocheting tightly is that it gives a more even
result. However, it isn’t necessary to have your work look like it has been
produced by a machine. Frabric can be made more even by washing. In water
the stitches relax and tension gets distributed better.
The size and shape of
your stitches often depends upon your mood. When you’re tense, your stitches
are likely to be tight and small. When you’re relaxed, they will tend to be
loose and your yarn or thread will flow more easily through your fingers as
you work. Often, crocheters start out with tight stitches, which loosen up
once they relax. If this is the case with you, start with a larger hook,
then switch to a smaller size once you begin to loosen up.
Making a practice swatch helps. By the time you finish the swatch, you'll be
more relaxed. You could also try some hand flexing exercises before you
begin, or work with an exercising ball. Never try to crochet when you know
that demands are going to be made on your time as you'll try to hurry. Set
aside some quiet time for your work.
There are differences between
working with yarn or thread. Yarn is fluffy, full of air and stretchy.
Thread is harder and more solid than yarn. It doesn't stretch, and it has no
loft. (Loft is the air space inside yarn.) With yarn, you need to crochet
loosely enough that it still has room to stay soft and stretchy. With thread
you need a higher degree of tension.
However, it is possible to
work thread too tightly. You’ll know this is happening it if it feels
impossible to insert the hook into your chains or other stitches, or if your
work looks kinky. You’re working too loosely if the tops of your long
stitches are loose and loopy, or if their bottom parts look like bundles of
loosely twisted string. You can
increase tension on your thread by pressing the fingers on your tension hand
together, or decrease your tension by relaxing your fingers apart.
Happy Crocheting,